how do I stop the bottle and get my 18 month onto a bedtime cup

[pmgkt]

I am trying to move my 18month ds from bedtime bottle to a cup, but he refuses to drink from it. he is happy drinking water from a cup during the day, and always gulped down his bedtime bottle, but he will not take milk from a cup.

I am trying to keep up his milk intake by adding to his cereal which is all soaked into his weekabix or readybrek, and he has this hot or cold, chesse, and from frais during the day.

HV has said to designate a cup to milk so that he knows what is in it (stops him refusing water cup)and stick with it and dont worry if he doesnt take it, which is what i am doing but am concerned that he is not getting enough calcium

Should i be worrying, what age should they have milk drink until and any tips please

If you find a method let me know!!! I've been trying with my 21 month old for 6 months!!!!

Waits for wise words from others!

Hi Peppa Lets hope there are some wise ones out there!!!

He loves his bottle, you want him to have milk, so what is the problem?

Why does he need cup?

Lots of babies love their bottles !

Hi madly. I have had that thought process up until now, the HV bought it up at his one year check and i didn't nothing about it then for exactly the reasons you said, her advice is to give it up about at 12 months, last time i got him weighed (about 2 months ago) it was mentioned again and when i went to the dentist the other day she said about it too.

DS had a bedtime bottle until he was 2.7. Like your DS he would happily drink water from a cup but would not drink milk from anything other than a bottle so we let him have a big bottle of milk before bed. He drank it down in less than 10 mins, had his teeth brushed and went to bed. It's not like he was having several bottles a day, or walking around constantly attached to a bottle, he just had a drink from one once a day.

We got the Bottle Fairy to come when he was 2.7 as he was getting a bit silly messing around with his milk before bed so it seemed time to stop. He left out his bottle, the Fairy left him a new cup and he used that for a bit to have his milk before bed.

He's now 4 and will happily drink hot milk, cold milk, frothy milk, chocolate milk etc etc etc!

OP, I'd let him have the bottle as long as he wants it, after all if you were BFing he would have that. WRT tooth decay (and I am a dentist), I suggest that you brush after the last bottle. DS is 22 months and has just dropped the bottle of his own accord in the last week or so. When he still had the bottle we would brush them in his room with a tiny bit of toothpaste just before he went into his cot. We used a tissue to wipe off the paste from round his mouth.

oh, and now DS has dropped the bottle he gets yoghurt at 2 meals a day to make up the dairy.

thanks born and sprinkles, making me feel like maybe it is still early and as you say it is only once a day, not walking around with it all day. I brush after his milk anyway so that is fine, thanks for your professional opinion!

peppa - i think we just wait for them to show signs of wanting to drop it!

Sprinkles, does your DS have no milk at bed at all now, not even a cup? I have been giving 2 yoghurts anyway to make up for what he is not having at bedtime, plus cereal and cheese, is that enough anyway?

DS has no milk at bed time now, we stopped the bottle because he was only having half an ounce or so. He gets 4-5 oz at breakfast, plus another 2-3 I think on cereal (he still has the cow and gate "my first muesli" for age 10+months) which is fortified with various minerals. He gets plain greek yoghurt (I want to avoid the sugar in children's yoghurt pots, and he hates the lumps in normal adult yoghurt). I don't measure it, but he probably has 2-3 dessert spoons at lunch and supper. He's taken a dislike to cheese. Sounds to me like yours is probably having enough too, though I have no idea what the guidelines are.

DS2 is 23 months and still has numerous bottles, probably 3 or 4 a day. I see no need to stop and so will only do so when he's ready. What's the rush btw? He has juice etc in a beaker but is really attached to his morning, pre nap and night time bottles.