So, how do we scrap these bottles then?

[*Liz*]

J has 2 a day - one shortly after waking and one before bed. He is a rubbish eater and really needs to keep the milk calories (and nutrients from it). He still has formula for the same reason.

Thing is he is driving me mad with them - he is hardly drinking anything and is fussing and messing about. I;m pretty sure it is because he doesn't really have time to sit and drink milk - he has books to look at, and drawers to empty and toys to throw in the bath  .

But the silly child won't drink the milk from a cup either.

We are down to him having about 3-4oz of milk in the morning before he goes mad and wants to get down and play. At night he is having 5-8oz but is on and off and on and off his bottle for a good 30 mins.

He wants me to read his books while he has his milk - which would be fine if he would hold the bottle - but he doesn't all the time and wants me to hold the bottle AND the book AND turn the pages.

I'm SURE the answer is sippy cup - but how do I pursuade him?

[clazzat]

Does he take anything else from a sippy?  My thought is that perhaps you could make a smoothie-type thing with the formula and give it to him with his meals - that way you aren't expecting him to sit still for any longer than he does already, iyswim.  Another option could be to let him have his morning milk in two goes - again so he doesn't have to sit still for as long - or to let him have control of it for an hour or so and see how much he drinks if he is not just sitting on your knee.

[*Liz*]

Yeah - he drinks water and juice from a sippy usually.

I don't really want to have to make breakfast an early thing though as it will be really hard to do and get out of the house in time for work as we leave at 7.30am, and J takes at least 30 mins to eat  . So I really need him to take the milk so he can have breakfast at my Mums house.

So I guess option B and just hand it him and see what he does with it?

Now if only he would have a non spill beaker - his is free flow and he will upturn it if I am not watching and he is walking all over.

[LucySol]

i got D off a bottle by putting the milk in a sippy but putting the teat from the bottle onto the cup so she could get used to holding it herself.once she was used to that i swapped the teat for the original cup mouth piece iyswim?

[deb]

This might sound weird, but some kids will take stuff from a carer that they won't from a parent. Since your mom is the carer, can she maybe work on giving him milk in a cup at her place? Just bring it with you and let her have at it? One less thing for you to worry about then.

Just a thought.

[Nauvoo]

LizJ, I could have written your post.  My LO is doing just the same with 2 bottles a day and taking only about 3-4 oz in the morning and 4-8 oz at night.  So Frustrating when it's only 4oz!!!  I ended up having to add another 3-4 oz in the middle of the day (this is all she will take) just to get it in seeing how my LO doesn't eat well either.  I try to give her milk in a sippy at meals but she doesn't even touch it and only wants water.  Of course my LO is 11 months and a few months younger.  I know how you feel though.

[clazzat]

Can he drink from a straw?  If so, this is fantastic:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NQB4AU/ref=asc_df_B001NQB4AU966606?smid=A2ZZGD0WFH5CWA&tag=nextag-baby-mp01-delta-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B001NQB4AU

You can buy them from Sainsburys and Boots.

[*Liz*]

Yes he can drink through a straw but I have never found any decent straw sippies in the UK.

Would certainly be great for reading stories and drinking milk at the same time  .

[~*Nicole*~]

Liz....in all seriousness.....can you offer him a sippy cup of milk (spill-proof for him turning it upside etc. DD does the same) every morning straight away when he wants it...and no bottles until he starts taking them. I know he needs to take more calories at this time so he makes it to your mom's....I am wondering if keeping breakfast type snack-able things at home that you can grab and give him to carry around while you get ready (so he doesn't think he can wander with a proper sit down meal) and let him get calories that way but have his proper breakfast at your mom's.

DD LOVES to carry around a ziplock freezer baggie of:

*raisins
*cheerios
*crackers
and will also eat a whole grain fruit breakfast bar (granola bar) type thing on her own as well.
she will eat any fruits cut up and in a mini-toddler sized bowl or baggie, also.

Maybe if you prepared them at night and had the sippy cup of milk and the snack ready to go and hand him while you get ready it would fuel his independence and he may start taking milk/formula from the sippy at some point? Literally Ava would NOT take any milk from the sippy even though she'd take water or diluted juice...and I just KEPT offering it and one day after about a week or two straight (I can't remember how long) she started taking actual drinks of it and then I switched the REST of her bottles to cups. But I started with the morning since she was so HUNGRY she wanted it right away and I think it helped her switch b/c I just stopped offering her the bottle at that time and she learned she HAD to drink from the cup if she wanted to stop the hungry feeling. (That's why I suggest the snack things since I know if J is stubborn you'll worry about his caloric intake so I thought that could hold him over and make you feel better until he made it to your mom's)

But truthfully I let her wander with her cups b/c she puts them down and picks them up and drinks from them at random. I just dump them if it's been over an hour or two. I just have her do "meals" in her highchair. ykwim?

[clazzat]

We found these for snacks - they're quite useful, if not entirely mess-proof!  Perhaps you could do as Nicole suggests and put together a snack cup for the morning.

http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfash.php?type=FASH&code=A7165&proddesc=Snack+Catcher&supercategory=BRN00005&branch=&wcategory=CAT00077&catdesc=&super=0030BRN00005~0010BRN00014~0040CAT00077&treecode=TRE00009

Also, a friend of mine swears that these are spill-proof (although I haven't tried them):

http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfash.php?type=FASH&code=A7283&proddesc=Healthy+Eating+Cow+Cup&supercategory=0030BRN00005~0010BRN00014~0040CAT00077&branch=&wcategory=CAT00077&catdesc=&super=0030BRN00005~0010BRN00014~0040CAT00077&treecode=TRE00009

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Babies-R-Us/Feeding/Weaning/Cups/Tommee-Tippee-Explora-Green-Active-Straw-Beaker-Cup(0070879)  Another type of straw cup.

[~*Nicole*~]

oooh Clare I LOVE those snack cups. I may just order some. Hmmmm.

[*Liz*]

Both great ideas - TBH I think you are right Nicole and I need to just do a routine change on him and hope he catches on.

Yes he is stubborn - but at the moment a lot of his stubborness is being directed into refusing to sit still and drink his morning bottle. Some days we only manage 2-3oz anyway - and that is really not a lot to lose is it? We do find it he misses his milk he has a bigger solids breakfast as well.

I have no real issue with eating snacks wandering around. My Mum does because of the puppy so one of those snack things would be a really great idea for her as well. I have no issue with him wandering with a cup of milk either as long as he doesn't dump the contents on my carpet.

I have really struggled with bottle trainers and non spill sippies with J. He just seems to like the hard spout free flow. And he HATES lates spouts which a lot of the bottle trainers have. His bottle is one of the MAM silk teats. He never even took a regular bottle teat  .

So what do you guys think? Cold turkey approach to a straw sippy once I have found one I like. He has never used a straw with a valve though  so I hope he doesn't have to suck too hard on it.

[clazzat]

E cottoned on to the difference between a regular straw and the straw with the valve pretty much instantly, so I guess that they are not too hard (I tried it myself, and definitely found it harder than she did!  ) - the only problem is persuading her not to tip it up to get the contents out.  It certainly doesn't seem that she has to suck too hard on it - I'm sure that he would get used to it pretty quickly if it was the only option.  It does sound a bit like you just have to be more stubborn than him...

[~*Nicole*~]

DD's first sippy cups were straws (she didn't/wouldn't tilt back yet) and she figured it out pretty easily.

Over here we are now using pretty consistently hard spout cups with valves....I think they are Gerber.

We have taller ones than these with no handles, although she has used these as well at my mom's and I am pretty sure they have a hard spout:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3642427&CAWELAID=352137679

We have a couple like this (given as gifts) that have no insertable valve, just soft plastic points in the tip of the spout and somewhere else along the top to let air escape. Seems to keep spills in.

So not sure if you can order some from somewhere. I could probably buy some here if you don't have them available there and send them?

[LizzieN]

Hey Liz,
I will be interested to see how you go.  Dyllan is still loving his bottles (he still has 2 per day too, my paed said he should be having about 600mL milk a day...how the heck do you get that into them if not in a bottle???) (btw he loves to set up his pillow and hold them himself now, gets quite crabby if I try and cuddle him during his bottle time!!) and every time I try and give him milk in his sippy or the special "moo juice sippy" I bought from him he frowns, screams and throws it.....seriously he HATES it when there is something other than water in there!!!

One thing that I have found that he won't crack it over is giving him a little bit of milk in a cup (mug) with a spoon...he happily plays and spoons some of it in...but not 600ML!!!!  I'm not sure how I am going to change him over, so I will be interested to see what works for you, please keep us posted!!
xxLizzie