when should LO exclusively use sippy cup instead of bottle?

[Silas Mum]

I've looked through the board, albeit quite quickly, but I couldn't find an answer to my question.
Our LO is 8 months and has 4 bottles a day (since birth) and throughout the day he uses a sippy cup that just has water in it - granted most of the time he just nibbles at it.  At what age do we put all his liquids in the sippy cup and wean him off of the bottle?  I also have another question, but I don't know if this is the right place for it : I've been reading that we should be brushing LO's teeth before bed, but he has a bottle at 700pm and falls asleep on it, so should I be stopping this so he doesn't have all that bacteria on his teeth while he sleeps?

Thank you!
Allison  =)

[*Kimberly*]

My plan is to try to have my lo using only sippy cups by his first birthday.  I am not sure how that will work out because my lo only drinks about 1 ounce of water a day from his sippy cup and he is 9 months old.  I was reading a thread on switching to cows milk at 1 year and noticed that a couple of moms mentioned that their los were still using a bottle at the bedtime feed because that is what they wanted.  I would think that definitely by two years your lo should be using a cup.

I personally don't let my lo fall asleep on the bottle because I want him to fall asleep on his own and I want to brush he teeth before bed.  I have had problems with my teeth all my life and I do not want my lo to be like me so I make brushing a priority.  I have read that when los fall asleep with milk in their mouth that it can cause tooth decay.  If you don't want to wake him maybe you could just use a small washcloth and rub it over his gums and teeth?

Hope that helps.

Kimberly

[Katet]

In our play group I know there are 2 toddlers older than 2 who still have bottles... I think the UK really push for 12mo, here in Australia the health advice is before by 18mo.

Not from a teeth point of view (but totally agree with that too - unless it is expressed b reastmilk & that apparently has be shown to be ok for teeth), but from a night waking issue, letting him fall asleep on the bottle is actually very likely to cause him to wake as it is a sleep prop... if he isn't waking at night you are lucky, but for how long because as he gets older & more active he is more likely to wake & as he falls asleep with a bottle he will expect/ want a bottle to go back to sleep.

[gemmah]

Hello, My LO 9m and i have been thinking about this 2.
She is still using 4 bottles a day and a one of the sippy's with straw for water.
She a bit of a poor feeder so i was worried she would take less if i took away bottle. LO doesn't fall asleep on bottle, she soo bloody lazy she wont even hold bottle just cup!!!
Maybe we could start giving cup at the middle feeds to start e.g 11am & 3pm??

[Silas Mum]

So by 12 months is the goal?  Can anyone out there testify is this is attainable??  How do I change his routine (for lack of a better word) so he doesn't fall asleep on it so I can brush his teeth? 

[Katet]

Offer it about 15-20mins earlier & if he starts to drift off take him off the bottle & give it back after a minute or 2 of chat & keep doing that so he doesn't fall asleep feeding
Now is a good age to introduce a story as part of the bedtime routine, so maybe bottle, teeth, story, bed. He may well protest if he is used to going to bed on the bottle, so make sure you have a settling plan eg Pu/Pd if needed.

[Gippie]

Just reading to see what others are doing.  I am in the US and our DR said off the bottles and binky's by 15 months - sort of the middle of 12m and the 18 I see here.   She really DID just drop them.   One day we stopped doing the 10:30 and then the 2:30.   She wsa recently sick and hates the AM bottle - we do a sippy cup and are keeping the night bottle for a little longer.  I am going to try and wean the binky soon as well - nervous about that - THAT is a sleep helper.......

[First Time Mom]

My lo is almost 13 months and refused a bottle so I introduced a sippy from about 7 months but she only chewed it. I took out the stopper and she drank water from it. I added the stopper back in around 11 months and she fussed at first. I bought new sippy cups in different colours and hid the others, she had no choice but to accept the new ones. She accepted them within a day! I then brought out the others. My lo is still bf'd but happily accepts the sippy for water throughout the day, I usually place it near her during play time so she can come and take a drink when she's thirsty.

[LeslieG]

I would love to give up the bottle but I am too worried that it will cause night wakings. She only gets one at night before bed. My Dh is home with her and he sees no reason to give up the night time bottle. She never falls asleep drinking it but it is part of her routine. Anyone out there with suggestions? I might try to give her warm milk in a sippy to try it. Or we might have to resort to putting lots of holes in the nipples so she won't like it anymore....