Switching from bottle to cup

[fee77]

DD will be 1 next week and i am getting in a tizz about her not drinking her milk from a cup. She drinks juice and water from a cup with a spout but refuses to drink milk from it. Should i persevere or just leave it for a month or so? She has 3 x 5oz bottles a day.

Hi there
One of my close friends had a similar problem. In the end she followed some advice from her lovely Health Visitor. She took her daughter out to a shop and let her choose a 'milk cup'. I think it was one of those ones with a flip-up top and it had fairies or whatever she was in to on it. Basically, they told their daughter (15 months old) that the bottle fairy was coming that night and because she was a big girl, the fairy was going to leave her a special big-girls cup to drink her milk from. So, the next day, there was a parcel on the breakfast table with the new cup in. All bottles had disappeared (packed away in a wardrobe). Mum and Dad made a big fuss about what a big girl she was now and, apart from a couple of attempted 'coups' where Olivia made an attempt to look hard done by, it has worked a dream.

Another tactic I have seen used is just refusing to give the milk in anything other than a cup - the child soon learns that if they want milk, they have to drink it out of what it comes in. Personally, I couldn't do that, but I am a BIG softy.

I hope this helps. I can talk to either friends for more info if you think it would help.

Take care and good luck.

Just thought.....you could always wait until xmas and use father christmas instead of a bottle fairy!

i am definately too soft to force the cup issue -she is perfect in every other way! And it seems i have a choice. Give her milk in the bottle and she has a nap or give her milk in a cup and she screams uncontrollably! I think she must have her fathers temper!!!

Fee77 - I wouldn't worry about it. My DS1 was like this and I got really het up about it. I think he was probably 18m or more before he was bottle free. The last one before bed was the worst one to get rid of. I reckone if it's only milk (not coke!!!) and she cleans her teeth and doesn't eat loads of sweets which I'm sure she doesn't it's not such a big deal.
HTH

Virtually all my friends children and myself included found our children disliked milk from a cup at first. Perhaps it's the milk + bottle = comfort thing, or perhaps (I wondered) had they every truly tasted their milk before, as milk from a teat pretty much goes down the back of the throat without really tickling their tastebuds on the way through? Hmmm. Ponders?

Anyway - the point is that it is just a bit of perseverence and eventually they do get the hang of it. With DD1 we went away just before she was 1 and forgot to bring her bottles !!! She pretty much had no choice but to have it out of her spouty cup, but thankfully didn't seem too bothered by it, and I decided that was as good a moment as any to ditch the bottles. That saying - a year later, she still wants a cup of milk before bed, and I don't see it as very much different from a bottle before bed (teeth wise etc) - my nephew is 2 1/2 and still has his bottle. Think my sister is going for the "Father Christmas is going to take your bottles and leave you a special cup" ploy ;)

Fee - dont worry about the bottle. Both my Dds had milk ONLY in a bottle until they were about 2 (but only at home) and they have very good teeth. My teenager is one of only two kids in her school year of 200 who has no DFM teeth ( decayed filled or missing). The other girl is the daughter of a dentist!!!

I am very fussy about this as I have TERRIBLE teeth and didn't want that for my children IYSWIM. Milk or water in a bottle is not a problem for their teeth.TBH you would be much better keeping her on the milk in a bottle and cutting out the juice in a cup! I would avoid giving her juice for as long as possible, certainly another year.

HTH