from bottle to cup - HELP

[ExistentialistCat]

Originally posted this in Breast & Bottlefeeding but thought it might go better here, and the situation has escalated and I'm really, really upset and need some support .

DD is 11 months old and has 4 bottles over the course of the day - first thing in the morning, mid-morning, mid-afternoon and bedtime. Eats 3 solid meals in between.

HV has advised to wean her off bottles and on to a cup sooner rather than later because of tooth decay, speech development and bottles generally being a bad habit beyond 12 months.

I've tried replacing just the daytime bottles with milk from a cup over the last 2 days. DD drinks water out of a free-flow cup without any problem when she's thirsty, but she just won't have formula from a cup. She's been screaming with rage and frustration today.

I'm so upset. All I can think about is the delighted little smile that she always gives her bottle when she's finished with it, and that I'm taking this away from her.

Do I need to persevere in the interests of long-term health issues - 2 days in isn't very long after all? Or do I need to stop this utter misery right now and go back to bottles?

OMG - my DS still has a morning and an evening bottle and he is 2 in July!!!

I know it is not good for him and a terrible habit but his little face when he says "bottle"....

I tried not giving him it but it has become such a habit and I'm not really ready to break it yet.

Try not to get too stressed about it and think about me and my DS next time you feel upset [grin}!

I'd do just one feed at a time and offer it in the highchair along with a snack and let her try using the cup herself. Only once she is happily taking some from the cup would I move onto another feed. I did this with ds from 9 months and he was off bottles by 10 1/2 months.

p.s. I used a different cup for milk than I used for water

Have you tried a doidy cup? My DS (6mths old)is EBF, won't entertain the idea of a bottle, spits out anything from a sippy cup but WILL drink water & the occasional bit of formula from a doidy cup. He sort of laps from it, like a cat (very cute!). Got his from kiddicare, about 4 quid.

Does she use them to settle for naps out of interest?

My son still has a couple of bottles a day at 16 months, I can give him milk in his cup but he doesn't drink much of it. He's very different from his sister who'd dropped bottles by 12 months. Sometimes when he's agitated he finds a bottle of milk very calming, especially if overtired. But he's a thumb sucker and only sucks that when he feels like it Where as his sister had a dummy and used that to settle IYSWIM?

Tbh if it was me I might try dropping slowly to 2 bottles a day with distraction and perhaps offering more dairy in meals, as for weaning completely, I really wouldn't worry just yet, she's only 11 months.

I dropped the bedtime bottle by slowly increasing milk in the cup at dinner, and decreasing milk in the bottle at bedtime, until they hardly had anything at bedtime and then stopped. You cannot do that yet if she doesn't like milk in a cup. Doidy mugs are a good idea as the other person said, been around for years and are fab. Take it all one step at a time and try not to worry. I think your HV is putting a lot of pressure on you, when they're only 11 months. It's a bigger problem when they're old enough to go to the fridge and get the drink themselves

Some sucky cups have a softer mouth piece like this one. That's always a thought? More similar to the bottle in a way?

Different cups for different drinks isn't a bad idea as someone else said as well? It's a tricky situation for you

Thank you all for your replies. To answer some questions/suggestions: I've tried the doidy cup and different mugs for milk/water - no luck. Tried giving milk in a cup in the highchair - no luck. But there has been a little less screaming... She doesn't use a bottle to settle for naps (nipped that one in the bud a few months ago ).

I think the bottle-to-cup transition may just mean no milk being drunk during the day, as DD would happily have snacks that I offered alongside the daytime milk. DD does have a 6oz bottle first thing in the morning and up to 8oz last thing at night, as well as being a bit of a cheese monster, so I'm hoping that'll be ok.

As for feeling like a really mean mummy for taking her bottle away during the daytime, I think that's probably more my problem than hers!