Q's about when changing from bottle to cup and when to stop morning milk?

[lin7604]

IF you understand the question, lol.  Ok here is the thing, my ds was having 2 bottles a day, one when he first wakes up and one before bed.  The rest was in a sippy up during the day and would be either milk, water or juice.  I have transitioned him to a cup forthe am one when he akes up and still gets a bottle at bedtime so far.  SO when do i stop giving him the am cup when he wakes?  I always gave him milk as soon as he woke and then about 1hr-1,5hrs later we would have breakfast. so eg) wake at 7am, cup of milk and then breakfast at 8:30-9am.  should i keep giving this am cup of milk till no longer wants it? or do i just replace it with breakfast when he wakes up with a smaller amount of milk in a cup with his breakfast?  and then later in the am offer a snack and another small cup of milk?  He normally doesn't seem to eat snacks during the day as the he doesn't eat at meal time and doesn't seem to want anything before that time.  confused on what to do?

[Kimberly®]

how old is your LO??

By 1 we had switch morning milk to breakfast, with 4 oz of milk after breakfast. We fully cut bedtime milk by 13 months, we had to use the watering down method for that so it took us a few weeks.

By one they need 16oz milk per day, thats with milk and milk products, so we would have milk at each meal and snack and no bedtime milk or morning milk. Now at 27 months she has milk with breakfast and with dinner, and then milk products through the day to give her 16oz or more a day of milk product.

[lin7604]

thanks, he is 13 month as of yesterday.  I was wondering about this, so now i know i can just give him breakfast when he wakes and a cup of milk with it. The thing is as soon as he wakes in say 10 min he's fussing for his cup of milk.  I also notioce that he won't eat till later on, so how can i get rid of the first am fussiness if i don't offer his milk 1st thing in the am now?  I will offer breakfast eariler since he won't be having his milk but i think it might be a bit hard to get him not uswed to having his cup of milk a hr before he eats.

[Kimberly®]

it may take a few days, but just offer him his food right away, limit milk, if he wants few oz then thats fine, but try maybe only 2-3 rather then 8, then eventually he'll relize that he can eat first and he'll not be as dependent on the bottle.

I'm sure someone else would have better advice. I'm afread we switched DD very early (10 months) and she kind of did it herself, so I'm not really sure how to start that at 13 months. Its a bit of a habbit at that age..

[lin7604]

ya it is a habit.  he won't drink 8 oz from a cup at all, i give him6 or 7 in it and let him drink what he wants, i think the most milk he has drank from his sippy is 4oz at a time.  There is always milk left in it.  The only way he would drinka full 8oz is in a bottle and i only give that to him at night right now.
i will start offering breakfast first from now on and hope that his milk intake picks back up after he is used to this.

[Kimberly®]

keep in mind he only needs 16oz of milk now and thats with milk products like cheese and yogerts. You can always give extra of those foods if your worried.

He will pick it up The best idea though is when you want to stop the bottle, stop it. Cold turkey, don't look back. If you give in and give him the bottle then he will keep resisting. Eventually if he relizes the only way to get milk is a cup/sippy he'll drink more there.

I wont lie there may be some crying and screaming, but be firm, and make sure he knows you do understand, but he's a big boy now, he will pick it up.

Good luck and please do keep us informed

[lin7604]

oh he has taken very well to a cup in the am, i don't give in at all!

[Kimberly®]

The you can do the same with the PM

[lin7604]

all i know and worry about is that when i do the same with the bedtime one then i know he won't be getting enough of milk during the day!  I find somedays when i put say 7 oz in a cup when he wakes up, he will drink 2oz maybe 3 right away then is a sip here and thre all day.  In and out of the fridge, etc.  sometimes i still have at least half of it left when it's bedtime.  The rest of the day hewon't drink it, he will want water or juice.  so if i do the bedtime one too right now or very soon, then he will be getting a lot less then he will need.

[Kimberly®]

Up his milk intake through food then. Cheeses, yogerts, and other milk products make a difference. He only needs 16oz of milk product (thats either milk itself, or milk products) His intake may go down for a few days after you take the bottle, but it will go up again once he relizes he'll only get milk from a cup.

Giving him the bottle at bedtime means he knows he's going to get a bottle, so why drink more, cups are harder to drink from, and it also leads to a prop for sleep, and really you don't want him dependent on that bedtime bottle, both because it makes sleeping harder, but also for his teeth. Drinking milk before bed leads to faster tooth decay.

[lin7604]

we always brush his teeth after the bottle.  we do pj's, bottle while reading 3 books, then brush teeth, then off to bed.  He is a real picky eater right now, he will only eat yougart, no cheese wether or not it's cheese whiz, cheece slices, hard cheese.

[Kimberly®]

yogerts still a great milk product. Let him have that once a day and thats 1 serving, you only need 1 more, so a 4 oz cup of milk.

[lin7604]

so 1 serving is 4oz?  i read somewhere ( i think what to expect when you are expecting, 12 month pages) that they should have 3 cups a day, so even if you make mashed potatoes, use it out of the 3 cups a day serving for them, etc  Well when he won't eat anything other then yougart, that is a lot of milk to need to drink in a day then?  So that is why i am confused on what to do as i give him 1 yougart a day and his 8oz bottle at night but then what?  and when i take that 8oz bottle away then he'll be really under.

[maisy]

Just to make you feel better, my DD is 21MO and I am only just weaning her AM bottle. I have no plans for the near future to wean her PM bottle. It is the only chance we get for a cuddle each day as she never sits still LOL
. also Tracy actually mentions that it is ok to have a toddler with a bedtime bottle so long as they dont fall asleep on it. My DD definitely doesn't so we are keeping it for now

watch it all bite me in the butt now as whenever I say something the little cherub switches on me and changes what she does

x x x x

[Kimberly®]

You can always leave the bottle if your trully worried, just don't stop and start kwim?

You wouldn't a;ways have to make up for his milk through yogert, that was just an example of how to start. Milk levels do drop when they start with a sippy, because its harder work to drink from. Once they're used to the cup, and there is no other means of getting milk, they do increase that intake again. Just be sure he has a good intake of cacium while he ajusts.