How to wean 15mth old from the 1 bottle still being used

[meredith1851]

I am not sure I need to rush this but my 15 mth old DS only uses his bottle 1 time per day and that is when he wakes up in the AM. He loves this bottle and it gets 3/4 of his daily milk intake into him (8 oz).  The other milk he gets in a sippy with dinner and seems to only take 2-3oz at the most. I am worried that if I take his only bottle away that he his milk consumption will drop too much.  He eats a piece of cheese and yogurt during the day but is a picky eater so that is about the extent of dairy he gets.

[creations]

My DS also has a morning bottle, 6oz (approaching 14 months) and a sippy milk at dinner, about 2oz like yours.
I'm not much help really as the only time I tried to swap the morning bottle for a sippy he took a few sips then got upset so I poured it into a bottle

Have you tried other dairy rich solids foods, pasta in cream cheese sauce?  rice pudding?  Home made vegi pate or liver pate which can be made high in cream cheese/creme fraiche/butter as a spread on bread or toast?

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Hon,

I tried to wean DS of the bottles from around the same age and he became very upset, so I just kept trying every month or so and he has actually just given it up shortly after turning 2 but it was a no tears situation. I am generally a believer in LO's doing things in their own good time (obviously within reason) and I really wouldn't worry about that one bottle, especially since it's in the morning, and you can clean his teeth afterwards. WRT him dropping his milk if you take it away, Sam did exactly that  I have to really coax him to drink any milk now, so I definitely think that is a genuine concern. At Sam's age I'm not worried, he has porridge with a few ounces in every morning and he loves cheese and yoghurts but for your DS age I would want him to keep the milk IIWM.

I would say to relax and let him enjoy it a little while longer...I felt great pressure to take the bottle away but I'm really pleased I waited until Sam was ready  .

(X)

[Mackjack]

Hi,
Just thought I'd add - my LO is 20 months and still will only drink milk in a bottle. That's morning and evening. The rest of the day she'll have water in a sippy cup, no problems.

And like you all say, any attempts to give her milk in a sippy ends in tears and no milk being drunk.  I brush her teeth after her milk in the morning and evening.

Like Sammy's Mammy, I just feel this is one thing I'm going to have to deal with when she's ready.

[lily528]

My dd still takes 2 bottles a day at 18 mos old...I dropped the morning bottle with no issues ( I breastfed but took to bottles when switching to milk at 13 mos old because she wasn't drinking it out of the sippy cup, though I tried) I'd give her the bottle straight out of the crib and was petrified to stop afraid she would not get what she needed knowing she would not drink it from a sippy.  after just a few short days she stopped even asking for it and I felt the 2 other bottles she got each day was enough...dr said 16-24 oz/day at her age.  So long as she's eating well.

I am planning on dropping the other two bottles and encouraging the milk in the sippy.  I don't just offer the sippy at meals...its pretty much always available to her when she wants it and in this way there is a better chance she will EVENTUALLY drink the whole thing in time.  Also she LOVES yogurt and cheese.  I wouldn't stress about the intake too much...just push dairy in other areas as much as you can and offer the milk whenever possible. 

goodluck!