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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

When do your child stop drinking milk from a bottle?

12 replies

Effsee · 10/03/2021 10:43

Just wanting to know when your child stopped having bottles. Spoke to my health visitor on the phone this morning and she mentioned that she no longer needs milk from a bottle. I'm getting conflicting information, as I read online they need cows milk until 2.

My daughter is 13 months and has cows milk in a bottle for nap time around 1pm and cows milk in a bottle at bedtime. She has 3 meals a day and pieces of fruit in-between whenever I feel she's hungry.

She went through a fussy period with her food just after her 1st birthday thanks to her jabs. So we had to give her more milk in her bottles on days she didn't eat. Past week she's finally getting back to normal with eating full meals.

Me and my partner tried putting the milk in a sippy cup rather than a bottle but she just refused completely and honestly, it wasn't a battle I had the energy for at the time. She's happy to drink water from it though Hmm
Should I put a stop to the bottles of milk now or keep at it for a bit longer? Any advice would be great, thanks Smile

OP posts:
Fivemoreminutes1 · 10/03/2021 17:29

The longer you wait, the tougher it will become for her to let it go. After age one, babies can develop habits. Past age two, they start to develop strong opinions! Gradually add water to the bottle milk so that after a week or two the bottle contains only water. At the same time, offer the sippy cup with the milk. You can also try to reduce the amount of liquid in the bottle and present the sippy cup alongside the bottle with plenty of milk. This might encourage your dd to try it when she is dissatisfied with the contents of her bottle. The goal is to make the sippy cup more rewarding.
I found that my dc tended to be clingy early in the morning and at bedtime, and would put up more of a fuss. So I began the process with the afternoon bottle first. The evening bottle was the last to go.
Bring the spout up to her lips, and until she gets the hang of drinking from a sippy, remove the valve. While it prevents spills, it also makes the liquid harder to drink.
My nephew rejected every single sippy known to man and had my DSIL terrified she’d be packing bottles in his school lunches one day, but he loved the silicone spout!
Oh, and, don’t forget to always ‘cheers’ with your cup and her sippy-cup! a fun way to make it seem special!

TortaCioccolato · 10/03/2021 17:31

My daughter had a bottle of formula at bed time until she was about five - and she loved it so I didn't see any reason to stop it. She's an adult now and hasn't been adversely affected although I remember her making me hide it if she had a friend round to play!

nimbuscloud · 10/03/2021 17:32

9 months for one and 14 months for the other here. Neither particularly liked milk but ate well so I wasn’t fussed.

pinkywinks · 10/03/2021 17:41

Mine loved his bottles but stopped suddenly overnight at 11 months and has only started drinking milk in a cup now he's almost 2. He drank water otherwise. I was concerned initially but the health visitor said that milk isn't necessary, just make sure he gets enough dairy in other forms.

dementedpixie · 10/03/2021 18:17

Dd was 15 months before we switched to cows milk from a cup. Ds was around 11 months. They can stop bottles but still have milk

wheresmycrown · 10/03/2021 18:22

DD was 2 and DS was 1. They both gave up at the same time. It was harder with DD than DS

Fivemoreminutes1 · 10/03/2021 18:28

Try the Nuby Boogie flashing lights cup!

FolkSongSweet · 10/03/2021 18:31

Milk doesn’t have to be in a bottle though? They’re completely separate issues. They shouldn’t have a bottle after age 1. Mine had cows milk in a cup from 12 months.

Original poster
Effsee · 10/03/2021 22:24

Thanks for all the advice and comments everyone. She went down for a nap on her own without milk and only fussed for 5 minutes prior to falling asleep. So I'm chuffed with that.

Past 3 days she's taken a liking to one of the sippy cups that I tried her with months ago (can't remember the brand off top of my head, but it has a silicone spout) and she's drinking water fine from it. Better than she does with the tommee tippee ones.

Going to knock the nap time milk on the head first then focus on the bedtime botte in a week or 2. Hopefully it goes smoothly 🤞
I think I was worried I'd have a battle with her again if I swapped bottle for cup. She's eating alot better now so I don't have to feel guilty about her not drinking any milk now👍

OP posts:
yaybacktoschool · 10/03/2021 22:40

By 10-11 months, definitely before first birthday.
Milk then just in a sippy cup

Frogartist · 10/03/2021 22:45

After age 1 no bottles and no formula is the UK advice. In other countries formula is recommended until several years old and bottles are fine.

kimlo · 10/03/2021 22:50

dd1 9 months. Milk avoider so easy.

dd2 about 18 months, was only having one in the morning by then night time bottle was dropped before 1.

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