Author Topic: When the last bottle goes........  (Read 5504 times)

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Offline clairebear79

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When the last bottle goes........
« on: July 11, 2012, 20:53:20 pm »
DS still has a bedtime bottle.  We've tried once unsuccessfully (a few months ago) to switch it to a sippy cup & he didn't drink any more than 1oz & got quite upset wanting his bottle back.

So he's almost 2 now & I feel the time has come to try & encourage the switch to a cup again.  he drinks totally fine from a cup during the day but just doesn't seem to want his milk in it - I think the bottle is a comfort thing, yk?

Tonight I asked him 'who drinks milk from a bottle?' & he said 'babies' so I told him 'that's right, babies drink milk from a bottle and you are a big boy now so you are going to drink your milk from a cup'.  I gave him it in a cup & he drank 3oz then asked me to tip it back into his bottle.  I reminded him that he was a big boy.  He didn't protest or cry but he shook his cup up & down & then told me he was finished.  He didn't have any more.

I am prepared to persevere in the hopes he will get used to the cup, but am wondering what do I do if he continues to only have 1-3oz (instead of his usual 8)?  Do I just keep on offering it?  Or treat it as him completely dropping the feed & stop?   And if he completely stops having the milk from the cup, do you offer something else in its place eg a light snack/supper?

Offline *Kara*

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2012, 21:18:19 pm »
I have the same questions Claire - Alexandra is still having 2 bottles a day, 5 ozs at nap and 7 at BT. 

As for what to do in terms of replacing the calories at BT, if he doesn't drink the milk, I would offer a small snack... something like cheese and crackers (or similar as if I recall, Oliver is MPI so cheese would be a no for him)...



Offline j.and.e

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2012, 21:23:53 pm »
You cud try a new cup? Mine both have 'cow cups'. I also do the milk quite warm. I usually offer it with a light supper (biscuit, or bread and butter, or banana, or cereal). Tbh I wud not mind keeping the bottle, but if he is not botherd about giving it up then you have probably pickd a gd time xx

Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2012, 20:38:28 pm »
Thanks ladies.  Yea I've been ok about him keeping the bottle up to now, but I just keep thinking - he's not a baby any more, he is almost 2 & I think its time to move on from the bottle.  He definitely doesn't though.  :-\ He point blank refused to drink even a drop of milk from his cup tonight, and asked repeatedly for us to put it back in his bottle.  :( If it were in the bottle he would guzzle 7 or 8oz without any issue. 

Am I being cruel to take it away ???  I think if I stick it out this will be the complete end of bedtime milk.

Offline Jimbob

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2012, 21:08:27 pm »
Do you feel your ds needs his bedtime milk? If he drops his bedtime milk is he getting enough calcium and good fats in his diet? If not you could always try adding other foods into his diet. To be honest though I would not think it is a huge issue if you decide to keep the bottle for a little longer. I really think this comes down to what works best for each individual family.

Kelly x



James has atopic eczema, multiple food allergies, asthma and late talker

Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2012, 21:22:02 pm »
Kelly - he's MPI so he doesn't have any other dairy in his diet other than a wee bit of cheese that he finally seems to be tolerating.  He doesn't eat any veggies at home either so the milk is his only source of calcium really.  As for good fats - what other foods does he need to be eating to get those?  Eating can be a struggle - he's rather picky & diet is quite limited to meat, sometimes pasta & sometimes potatoes.

Gah I can see I'm going to end up giving him the bottle back again!  Not being very consistent am I?
« Last Edit: July 12, 2012, 21:23:55 pm by clairebear79 »

Offline Jimbob

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2012, 21:50:06 pm »
My ds has multiple food allergies and was on neocate advance until he was around 6 as he suffered with a severe food aversion to. James still had a bottle at your ds's age and to be honest I chose not to fight that battle at that point as getting essential nutrition into him was more important. I can't quite remember when he accepted a cup instead of a bottle though. I know we just kept trying it every month or so and he did eventually accept it. We also tried lots of different cups to.

It might be worth waiting until your ds is eating a more varied diet before changing to a cup if you think he will stop his bedtime milk altogether. Have you tried offering his milk in a cup during the day?

Kelly x



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Offline MadisonC

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2012, 21:53:26 pm »
You could try giving him peanut butter? Whenever DS doesnt eat a good meal I feel fine about giving him bread or crackers with peanut butter.



Offline Bex09

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2012, 21:59:31 pm »
Hi hun, we are the same. It is a nightmare because C is so stubborn over this even though I have been so consistent for weeks now and not gone back. But now C literally won't drink milk. I have tried everything, new cups, straws, warm milk, cold milk, nothing works. When we dropped the morning bottle C has hardly ever drunk milk in the day since. She has yoghurt and cheese and milk on cereal but now she has about 2oz at best to drink at BT in a cup, she used to down a 7oz bottle no problem. I do worry that she isn't getting enough and wonder if I should go back to the bottle.



Offline *Kara*

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #9 on: July 13, 2012, 03:14:50 am »
For those who are worried - I spoke to my doctor about DD's resistance to milk that wasn't in a bottle... he laughed and reassured me that she would be just fine without it ;)  Calcium in milk isn't easily absorbed and the fats/protein can be easily part of LO's diet in terms of food.



Offline Hedgehog17

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #10 on: July 13, 2012, 08:12:46 am »
I'm keeping DS on his bottle for the forseeable future!

In his case, as he's MPI and barely tolerating the smallest amout of goats cheese / yoghurt, and seems to have the opposite faddiness to O (loves veggies, hates meat  ::)), he needs this for nutrition as I'm concerned that his protein intake will suffer without it  :(

DS is currently getting 4oz mid-morning, 4oz when he wakes from his nap, and 8oz at BT, all in bottles.

I will re-assess after his next dairy trial at 2yo!

If you feel that O is getting enough nutrition, and is growing / developing, then you can give him less milk without a problem  :)

Offline *Becky*

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2012, 08:55:28 am »
claire - I think this is exactly how Martha will be. I tried to get her onto a cup in the morning but she just would not drink from it so now she just has water when she gets up and then bfast. I am happy with bedtime bottle for a while yet as she is only young but I am sure when we stop it we will stop milk drinking.....




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Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2012, 20:02:28 pm »
Hi ladies

We're a week on & he's completely refusing to drink it from his cup.  Tried a different cup & still no joy.  But he's not getting upset about it, so we're just going to continue offering it & if he says no we get on with bedtime routine & he goes to bed without.  I think if the refusal goes on beyond a month then we'll just stop offering. 

Perhaps he can have an extra story instead.  We've decided not to give food in place of the bottle atm, and I have to admit the last couple of days his appetite seems to have increased.

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #13 on: July 18, 2012, 20:13:43 pm »
And he is still sleeping through fine?  Good boy O!



Offline Hedgehog17

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #14 on: July 18, 2012, 20:16:33 pm »
the last couple of days his appetite seems to have increased

Great news!  :D Glad he's doing well without the bottle  :)

I'm having to take back what I said about keeping DS on his bottle - he's constantly chewing holes in the teats, and today he chewed the end clean off his silicone straw  :o :o

We will have to move to an open cup or beaker, starting tomorrow!!

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #15 on: July 18, 2012, 20:20:36 pm »
Yikes HH!



Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #16 on: July 18, 2012, 20:52:33 pm »
LOL HH! 

Kara - yes he's doing fine without the bottle, no hungry NW or EW at all, though he is very ready for his breakfast when we get up.
x

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #17 on: July 18, 2012, 21:30:26 pm »
Awesome!  I am certain that i need that BT bottle more than A does ;)



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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #18 on: July 20, 2012, 12:37:54 pm »
So far DS is doing ok taking his mid-morning and post-nap milk from a sippy  :D

I had almost weaned him off milk from the bottle a few months earlier, but DH let him have it again, so we were back to square one  >:(

If he doesn't drain the cup I'm not panicking - he's cutting the last of his 2nd year molars right now (the last 3 have all come in within 3 weeks  :o) so eating and drinking are a bit off, but he'll catch up once he's done teething  :)

And yes, I do often wonder if I gave birth to a crocodile  ;D

Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #19 on: July 20, 2012, 13:25:43 pm »
thats good hh.  O is still point blank refusing.  Tell me your secrets?!

Offline Hedgehog17

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #20 on: July 20, 2012, 14:52:41 pm »
Secrets? Hmmm... well when I first tried to introduce the sippy, I did it as I roused him from his nap, and that's the one he's taking most of this time too  ;)

I go in and wake him gently, pick him up out of the cot while he's still in his bag, and put the spout into his mouth (which is usually wide open, bird-like, expecting milk  ;)) and feed him on my lap while sitting in the chair, keeping the room dark until he's finished. He does hold the handles as I was feeding him out of a bottle with handles before. We always have a nice cuddle then too  :)

For the morning one he's wide awake and downstairs, so he doesn't take as much milk then, but I give him a choice of where to sit (again he prefers on my lap, while I'm in the chair) and he had almost all of it this morning  :D

Letting him be a baby in my arms seems to work best for getting milk into him, whether that's in a bottle or a sippy!

Now I just have to make sure DH doesn't stuff it up again by giving DS a bottle in the daytime  ::)

Try O just after his nap and see if that works?  :-*

Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #21 on: July 20, 2012, 15:42:30 pm »
Hmmm, could be an idea.  He hasn't had his bottle in our arms for a long while tho - he decided he wanted to sit on his own at BT so for almost the last year he's sat propped up against cushions for the bottle.  That said, he does often like a cuddle on our knee esp after he wakes from nap so it may be a good time to try it.  Only thing I am worried about there is whether it will affect his appetite at tea time (he's a picky eater).

Offline Hedgehog17

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #22 on: July 21, 2012, 11:42:14 am »
Another idea!  :D

DS wasn't having any of his mid-morning sippy of milk, so instead I offered him a bottle at lunch with no lid or teat but a plastic straw  :) He chose the colour of straw he'd like, and the milk got hoovered down in one after he'd eaten his scrambled egg  :D

I helped hold the straw in place in the bottle so he got every drop  :)

If O is into straws, this might be another option to try?

Offline clairebear79

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Re: When the last bottle goes........
« Reply #23 on: July 21, 2012, 12:59:57 pm »
I think I like that better!  Will give it a go tomorrow!  He's in bed sleeping the day away right now!