How many bottles at 18months?

[J & J's Mum]

Hi,

My DD is about to turn 18 months and I'm not sure how much milk she should be having. 

At the moment her routine is a bit like this:

6.45-7/7.30 wake and bottle herself - about 6oz  (This waking has only just happened - it used to be a lot earlier)
more or less an hour later - breakfast - doesn't always eat it.
10.00 - snack
11.30 - 11.45 - lunch
12.15-12.30 nap for 2 hours
2.30-3.00 - snack
5.00 dinner
6.00 bath
7.00 bottle herself - again about 6oz
7.30 - 8.00 bed

Do I continue with the 2 bottles, or drop the morning bottle and when she wakes up give her some breakfast with a drink of milk?

Thanks
Rachel x

[Lolly]

My DS dropped his morning bottle at about 18 months. That milk is probably affecting her breakfast intake so I would drop it and give milk in a cup with breakfast.

They need about 12oz of milk after 1 to get the nutrients so depending on how much she drinks with breakfast you could always offer milk with her other meals or snacks if you don't already.

HTH!

Laura

[* Paula *]

I hope you don't mind, I am going to move this over to Eating for Toddlers.

[Mashi]

Hi Rachel!!  Hope you are well!

Over the past couple of weeks I have started giving DS his milk in the morning in his sippy cup, sometimes he will take 5-6 ounces and other times he will only have 1 oz.  I've let him keep his bottle before bed, but I have limited it to 4oz at the moment with the aim of having it gone totally within the next few weeks.  I give him a couple of sippy cups through the day - one with his lunch and one with either his morning or afternoon snacks, just a few ounces at a time. I found that the larger amount in the morning was stopping his breakfast and the larger amount before bed, well he was holding out for it and not eating his dinner as he'd rather have milk.   But, smaller amounts more frequently and he uses it like a "drink" rather than a meal, kwim?

[bennysmama]

Hi there,

We're still doing two bottles a day.  But what works for us with the morning bottle is doing solid breakfast first and then -- about 2 hours later - the milk.   So, eg

Wake 7
E 730 porridge with blueberries/raisins
E 0930 milk 

xxx
 

[lilisuze]

so glad i found this thread! we are having massive breakfast refusal issues. But he is having 2 milk drink a day, a 7oz sippy in the morning and 8oz bottle before bed. the bed time one seems fine, but maybe it is time to drop the morning one, and move to a sippy with breakfast or afterwards.

so happy this is normal!!

[J & J's Mum]

Thanks guys 

[alexr]

My 14 month old LO still has two bottles a day as well. I was so glad to see J&J's Mum's schedule as it is nearly identical to my LO one's (except he is up earlier and in bed by 7). I have wondered if I should stop the morning bottle but he always eats a good breakfast. He drinks from sippy cups during the day. Should I be making the change to milk with breakfast now or can I wait a bit?

[lilisuze]

we have successfully made the change to sippys full time. one now after breakfast about 7.30 and one before bed.

[J & J's Mum]

I've tried giving her the breakfast when she wakes up, but no!!  She really wants the bottle of milk!  Sometimes she'll only drink 4oz, but she does eat a good breakfast though.

I tried a different kind of sippy cup last night and no way!!  Yet I poured her milk in her bottle and she drank it!!!

She drinks out one of those beakers with a straw during the day, but just will not drink her milk out of anything other than a bottle.

[MeAndVee]

We weaned off bottles at 20 months.  But before that he would have his morning bottle like a snack between breakfast and lunch and then the evening bottle during book time.  Sometimes he would finish them sometimes not.  He has never been a good eater regardless how much milk he would consume.

[babybarr]

DS has sippy in the morning and sippy at night, has had since about 17mths. However he takes about 5-6oz from each. 

[shresmummy]

Hi ladies, I am also glad to have found this thread..for the past month or so DD had been refusing breakfast and was really difficult to also feed her milk in a bottle so I just bit the bullet and made the transition to sippy cups. I also found that she varies how much milk she wants from her sippy. What I have been doing is similar to Mashi's in that I give her milk as a drink rather than a meal.

Just a point I noted, I found that the type of sippy cup also made a big difference. It really needed to be a fast flow cup for DD, which was I guess was similar in flow to the bottle.

J' and J's mum, I noticed you're in Australia, like me. I found the Nuby flip top straw cup is what DD likes her milk in.

I'm not sure which sippy cup you have tried before. But the Avent leak proof ones and also the Tommee tippee ones we were not successful with either.

[babybarr]

Fast flow sippy works for us too.  We tried a non spill and various others but DS actually liked to drink it rather than suck - IYSWIM?!

[MeAndVee]

We use Avent and we just removed the valve on the inside.  He doesn't need to suck just tip it up and it flows right into his mouth.  Does leak if it falls over but he doesn't get it free will.  We use a thermos straw cup for his kefir and that doesn't leak.  Works just like your standard straw in a cup.

[shinysarah]

My lo is coming up to 18 months and he has a 5oz bottle in the morning about 6.45isham which he gives himself.  He has his porridge/weetabix etc at 8am.  He did have 6oz but he started to cut back on his solid so I just knocked an oz off and at this stage it worked.

He doesn't have any other milk to drink through the day except at 7pm bottle for bed where he has anything between 5-9oz and this usually depends on how much he's liked my choice for his dinner!

[J & J's Mum]

Thanks very much guys.  She's still having her morning milk, but is eating a better breakfast too.  Still been experimenting with different sippys!  Will try the Nuby flip.

Thanks xx