Can't get 22mo to take milk from cup

[Raquelita1]

So my 22mo ds currently has milk twice a day, still from a bottle, but I think it's about time he switched to a cup.  He takes about 250ml each time, and has been on regular milk since he turned one.  Actually these last couple of months he is on sheeps milk due to cow's milk protein intolerance.  He loves his milk, and has it in the morning and at bedtime.  I would like to continue to have him take milk at these times each day, the same as my 3 1/2 yo dd.  She was much easier and had switched to drinking her milk from a cup by the time she was one.  But she was always much more independent, and happily gave herself the bottle way before she turned one.  Ds is different story, still needs me or dh to give him his bottle, refuses to take his milk unless we do. 

So yesterday we decided to try switching the morning bottle to a cup.  I figure that we'll focus on the morning bottle first, and once he successfully starts taking his milk from a cup, we can move onto the bedtime bottle.  He always drinks water from an open cup, and has the occasional juice from cartons with a straw.  So yesterday, unsuccessfully, we tried: open cup, closed cup with straw, Tommee Tippee sippy cup, sippy cup with built-in straw and non-spill valve (basically all the different cups he has used with his water over the months), and today I even resorted to straw in his open bottle, and when that failed I tried cutting the end of his teat and giving him the bottle that way but he tried it, looked at the teat, then pushed it away in disgust!  He just wants the teat and bottle!  So nothing seems to work and he has been cryingand moaning for his milk.  I haven't given him his bottle, as I don't want to "give in" and I know that I can fill him up at breakfast with extra cereal or something. 

Not quite sure what to try next .  Any ideas welcome....

Cheers
Rachel 

[Colin Macs Mom]

Bumping up for you

[MomofEllen]

My 15 mo dd is having trouble with this same issue.  She will drink water from a sippy gladly, and she still has a bedtime bottle, but we'd like to have her off the bottle for her daytime milk intake.  We haven't given her a bottle for a week or two (other than bedtime), and she just wants water in her sippy.  She sucks down her bedtime bottle, but if milk is in a cup she refuses it.  We've resorted to trying strawberry flavor in it, with the intention of weaning the amount of flavoring to none eventually, but she's still not fooled. 

We're worried about her calcium intake...she is definitely not getting enough!  We're just trying to supplement with whole milk yogurt and cheese (though she's not crazy about cheese either). 

Sorry I don't have any ideas to offer to you, Rachel...I'll be anxiously waiting with you to see if someone else offers any suggestions!

  Cyndy

[aisling]

Hi Rachel,

DS was really difficult with this too.  He BF'd until 19 months.  He loathed the bottle until almost 7 months. When he finally would take it, we still had to hold it for him until almost 18 months! He could drink from a sippy/straw cup (water) at 6 months.  An open cup of water at 9 months. Eat with a spoon and fork at 1yr.  BUT his milk was in a boob or bottle form only!.  After BF ended he still had to have that bottle for his milk. This lasted until.... ummmm 4 months ago!  DH and I were stressed at first and tried to take it away then it was so hard and it was his only vice and he LOVED his bottle.  He only took it 1x a day after dinner or late in the afternoon. (was 2x a day at 2yrs)  So we relaxed about it.  He could eat and drink independently so no worries there, we knew he would stop on his own time and he did. He now drinks his milk from a tea mug and doesn't really drink a lot of it anymore.  He is a very good eater as well btw. I think that is important too, so they are not filling up on fast flow bottles and then not eating well, then we would of been more concerned kwim? Our experience, hope it helps.