Please help me get dd off bottles

[LoveYouForeverMyBaby]

Dd is 11 months old and hv has said at 12 months I should stop the bottles cold turkey once she's 1. I've also had comments from other mums at playgroups etc "she's still using a bottle??"

She uses a beaker really well for water but refuses to take more than a couple sips for milk.

Here's is her milk schedule:

7am 150-200mls
11am 150-200mls
3pm 50-100 mls (usually only 50mls, sometimes nothing)
7pm (bedtime) 180-200 mls

Usual milk intake around 500mls but she can have more or less deadening on the day.

Now my issues with stopping the bottles full stop are:

• dd wont drink anymore milk as she won't take it from a beaker or cup
• the 11 am feed she falls asleep while on the bottle and then has her 2 hour afternoon nap. Even if she isnt fully aleep she needs the bottle to get sleepy. I know this is bad.
• At bedtime she has her bottle, brushes teeth and goes to sleep from being wide awake, but again uses the bottle to relax and get sleepy.

What should I do? Remove the bottles cold turkey? I have tried getting rid of the 3pm one as she doesn't need it but he just cries and cries.

She eats breakfast and dinner beautifully, but lunch is barely a snack. I assume because she's drinking too much milk.

Please help.

Feel like a failure having other mums tell me how embarrassing it is that she's still using a bottle!

I think most people experiment with different types of beakers /cups before they find one that suits. It doesn't happen overnight. The daytime bottles go first and then breakfast /waking one and bedtime last.

I got my DD on to beakers by offering juice which she really likes (as opposed to same old water / milk).

I think if a bottle is a sleep aid you may to find a replacement for that. For the daytime nap I would try a walk in the buggy.

My DD is over 2 and still has a milk bottle at night though. I know a lot of people in the same situation. I think if a baby is FF then the nighttime bottle is the same as the boob for comfort etc and it's very hard to give up. I'm considering bribery/chocolate/stickers atm..Generally though, I don't think it's a huge deal - I think there is bigger fish to fry rightly or wrongly!

I think at 12 months, 2 bottles of milk is fine ? So she would be ok to have juice /water outside of this.

Have you tried straws? There are the "toddler milk" cartons of formula you can buy for out-and-about, or buy a reusable straw cup. Both my DCs have liked straws, because they still suck as with the bottles. The dentist told me that straws are good because then whatever they are drinking bypasses the teeth (mine have water or milk, but still).

My DC1 held on tight to her bottles until 2yo at night time, at which time we went cold turkey. Two nights of screaming, then the bottles were all forgotten.

My DC2 is now 14mo and he still has a bedtime bottle but is doing really well with straws, probably because he wants to be like his big sister. But TBH he gets a lot of dairy through other sources such as yoghurt and cheese - it doesn't all have to be milk. (I am still bf though.)

The other mums should not be making you feel guilty. Plenty of children have bottles past 12mo. At least you're not walking around town with a 3yo drinking coke from a bottle. Shame on the other mums!

Don't do it. My son didn't lose his bottle until he was 3. He's fine.

Tell the HV and anyone else who raises an eyebrow to fuck off.

My DD is 2 1/2 and still has bedtime milk in a bottle. The main issue with bottles is putting juice in it as it bathes the teeth in sugar and they tend to sip it a little at a time. This can cause bottle caries - severe tooth decay. A child who downs a bottle of milk and then has their teeth brushed - no big deal (and I'm a dentist!) Nod and smile to HV.

Well I have seen children age 5 still Using a bottle so please don't be too hard on yourself OP! Now obviously that is NOT good and you do need to get her off a bottle soon. Ignore the other mums and their sneering though, that's not fair. Great advice upthread, apart from telling HV to fuck off. I would add - if you're going to do it, then do it. Don't backtrack, or it will be twice as hard the second time. You're doing the right thing. Good luck!

the other kids will still be on rag books when yours is on Dickens
dd was 5
you might try
www.disneystore.co.uk/kids-cups-tumblers-drinkware-kitchen-dinnerware-homeware-minnie-mouse-curly-straw-tumbler/mp/47226/1000320/

the main problem with bottles is the big bits of mashed Gregs sausage rolls get stuck in the teat

Julia, that's so grim!

at Julia

Bargainous Nuby straw cup pack of 3.. I asked for straw cup recommendations on here a while back and was told Nuby were the best.

I'd just stop her using it as a sleep prop, actually falling asleep with it in her mouth - other than that no issue at all.

When you are ready, how about targeting the daytime ones first, say the 3pm one with distraction, so for a week or so always be at the park at this time and have a beaker ready for thirst.

How about a carton of juice, mine started these at a young age as you can help them get the hang of it by squeezing the carton slightly so the juice goes up the straw.

Or how about reducing the quantity by 10mls per day?

Excellent advice from everyone, thank you all. As of tomorrow they'll be no falling asleep on the bottle at naptime, 3pm will be beaker only and will take it from there. Thank you all again!

My HV told me not to worry about the night time (and middle of the night) bottle. Just use beakers for the morning and mid-afternoon.

Another one still using a night time bottle, they are just over 2. Starting to think about getting them off it by diluting it down and reducing the amount. One of them has too much milk at that feed and could do with reducing it. I'm not too worried, it will happen with time.

Smile, nod and ignore.

Agree with zomtee, what harms it doing? And at least you can get fluids in when she is sick. She will give up in her own time.

Agree with Zom she's still tiny let her have a bottle so long as teeth are cleaned before bed.

Op, I had same advice and same challenges. Mind would drink water from cup but not milk. This lasted till they were3 when the teats wore out. Their teeth are great. Don't worry about it.

You can cut the 3pm milk now give water instead

I cut the 3pm milk today from a bottle, I bought one of those free flow active beakers for toddlers she had a few sips but point blank reused anymore. I morrow not offering any milk at 3pm.

I don't know how to break the 11am feed though. This is the feed tht gets her to have a 2-2.5 hour afternoon nap.

Shall I point blank cut it out and sleep train so she can fall asleep for her nap in her own? (Like she does at bedtime) or shall I keep the 11am bottle for now but stop her falling asleep on it and get her sleepy with the bottle but down from awake.

The am and pm one I feel I can tackle much easier than the 11am one.

As long as she is eating three meals I wouldnt worry about cutting out the 11am bottle. In my (albeit limited) experience they cut bottles out on their own. My dd started taking just 1 or 2 oz of her 11am bottle so we dropped it, but she still (at 15 months) takes 5/6 oz of her afternoon milk, so we keep offering it. She is only on the 25th centile for weight (and 75th for height) so I figured a)the extra calories come in handy for my skinny minnie and b) she will let me know when she doesnt need the milk anymore. She eats 3 meals and 2 healthy snacks so I am quite happy that she is having a balanced diet.

IMHO I think it's about breaking the habit of her suckling to sleep because of tooth decay. Have the bottle until sleepy but put her down awake, perhaps just put less in the bottle so she doesn't have enough to fall asleep on?

Mine is still on 2-3 bottles a day at 12 months, I don't think there's any need to get her off them, she's incredibly strong and healthy so I don't understand the rush to get them off the milk.

What Zomtee said is spot on imo

Gosh my DD still has a bottle morning and night and I don't care! She never falls alseep with it and always cleans her teeth before bed. She's perfectly adept with a glass at nursery. It's just more practical to use a bottle while I read a bedtime book or get ready for work in the morning. I'm sure she won't want to keep the bottle for ever. She was very proud to drink sparkling apple juice from a wine glass on her birthday while we had champagne. :)

Ps my DD is 25 months.