almost 1 year old...time to drop bottle?

[Alison_3]

My ds is almost a year old and I was just wondering what I "should" be doing in regards to his feedings.  Currenty he eats 3 meals a day, an afternoon snack and three bottles (thickened feeds because of reflux) of 4-8 oz.  (depends on the amount of solids he eats).  This afternoon, he ate such a big lunch, I knew he didn't need/want his afternoon bottle.  Is the afternoon bottle a good one to get rid of first?

Also, he doesn't have his 1 yr. check-up with his pediatrician for another month so we aren't going to get rid of his formula just yet.  He isn't having any problems with milk though because he eats cheese, yogurt, and he has whole milk on his oatmeal and cereal. 

As long as his solid intake increases, should I stop the afternoon bottle?  Or do I just go day by day?  He drinks well out of sippy cup...lots of water and some decaf. mint tea in the afternoon.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  This is my first child and the whole weaning process is confusing to me! 

Thanks!

[Poppy & Lily]

Hi alison,

At 1 yr old my DD was on 2 beakers of milk one in the morning and the bedtime one.  I think the fact that he is on 3 solid meals a day means he is definately getting the calories he needs, I would definately wean him off the afternoon bottle and see how he goes.  It's great that he eats cheese and yoghurts as they are a great source of calcium.


Also at 1yrs old he can be put onto full fat cows milk, and I would also perhaps encorage him to take his milk out of the beaker.

It sounds like your DS has a great diet and you are doing a great job!

HTH xx

[Meg's Mom]

Hi Babyben

I can't get dd to wean from her bottle, so you are not alone.  I am also confused, doc said not to worry about it till age 2~!  But other mom's i have spoken to have already weaned at age 1. 

Aparently she (dd) has rules - bottle is for milk (we are on whole milk), sippy cup is for water and that is it!  If she'll drink juice it is from a big girl cup.

[Alison_3]

Well ladies my ds is sick and doesn't want his bottle at all.  So I am thinking I might take advantage of this situation...Is that a bad idea?  He wants nothing to do with his bottle, but will drink out of his sippy cup all the day!  I am going to try and start milk with him this weekend.  (if he's feeling better)  I was afraid he was going to be waking up all night because he wasn't drinking any of his bottles, but he's still sleeping through the night.

Is it a bad idea to just stop giving him his bottle?  I know he's sick (sinus infection), but I don't think he even misses it!  Am I lucky?!

thanks for your replies!

[Meg's Mom]

You are sooo lucky!  I would take that opportunity and run w/ it.

[Kori]

Michelle, have you tried milk in the sippy recently? I honestly haven't and am nervous to. I so want to try to drop the bottle. I have heard just to go cold turkey and then hopefully after a few days she will want it enough to drink it out of a sippy. Our daughters are just alike though. Has anyone else had lots of difficulty getting your baby to drink the milk out of a sippy? It makes it hard to understand when my dd LOVES the sippy cup.

[Meg's Mom]

Hi Kori

No i haven't tried to put milk in her sippy recently but i did try juice last week and she won't drink that either from her sippy  :? .  It must not fit in w/ the rules in her world  :roll: . 

She loves her sip cup too, but not as much as her bottle.  I tossed out all the paci's, tonight actually.  She only used them in her crib any way and i noticed they have not been moved nor used.  So i think we are on the right track.  This gives me hope that she will drop it when she is ready.  So i am not too worried yet.  I'll give her till 18mos and re-think it. 

I don't know if i have the back to just go cold turkey YET. 

PLEASE let me know what you do if anything, like you said our DD's have followed each other for a while now  :wink:

[Meg's Mom]

PS: She has started showing less interest in her pm bottle so i think i will drop that also.  Again....gives me hope...in her time.

[Hunter & Sithia's mom]

HI All:

I am so glad that I'm not alone here!  (as if any of us could be  :roll:  ).  Recently we have started to put Hunter's afternoon milk (full fat cow's) into a sippy cup, with his am and bedtime milk still in the bottle.  Once he is used to the afternoon milk in a sippy, we will move the am, and then the pm milk too.  We use an insulated cup for his milk so that it can stay out for up to 5 hrs and still be fresh. 

Some days he will drink all the afternoon milk within a half an hour after his nap.  Other days, like today, he only finishes it shortly before 7 pm, and sometimes he doesn't drink any of it.  As he doesn't like cheese or yogurt, we allow him the 3 bottles of milk and let him lead.

Sorry for rambling, I've quite forgotten where I was going with this reply.   :oops:  :roll: .

[Kori]

Hunters mom, I do like your idea of trying it with the afternoon bottle. Maybe I will do that tomorrow. We don't do an afternoon one, but she is getting less interested in the pm one anyways so I could just put a little milk in there. We even try using a "specific" milk sippy cup. Doesn't work. Plus then she won't drink her water for awhile afterward because my dd thinks you are trying to trick her! Babies are too funny!!

[Meg's Mom]

That is a great idea...afternoon in sippy only or not at all.  Thanks for sharing as i am going to start that tomorrow!!  :evil:

We use an insulated cup for his milk so that it can stay out for up to 5 hrs and still be fresh

  Is that the playtex ones?  I didn't realize it was fresh that long!

[Hunter & Sithia's mom]

Yup.  Playtex.

We tested it out with my mom first.  She's the best at tasting and smelling milk to see if it's still good.  We left the sippy for 4ish hrs, lidded, and it was fine.

[Meg's Mom]

okey dokey, thanks!

[Mum to Ella Rose]

We just started giving dd all her milk in a sippy. We bumped her feeds to coincide with her meals and kept the bedtime bottle so it meant going back up to four milk feeds when she used to be on three. Does that make sense? We went back up to four because initially she would only take a sip or two if the milk was in a sippy and we wanted to make sure she was getting enough. We gave her her formula in a sippy with breakfast, lunch and dinner and would follow each meal with the bottle and we kept the bedtime milk in a bottle. She slowly started to take more and more from the sippy at her meals so once she got up to 4-6oz we dropped the bottle follow up completely. We then switched her bedtime bottle to a sippy too. So she still has four smaller feeds instead of her 3 8oz bottles but we've been able to ditch the bottles altogether. The whole process too about 2 weeks. Does that make sense? Just thought I would share. 

Sharon

[Alison_3]

Milk in his sippy cup is NOT working!  It has been 10 days since we stopped bottle feeding, but the no milk revolt continues!  I did mix a banana and milk in the blender and he drank that, but plain milk...no way!  He makes this funny face like mom what are you doing?  I put water in his cup and drinks like crazy!

I do give him yogurt, cheese, pudding, etc.  I am just nervous because he's not drinking milk.  He eats a ton of fruits and veggies, but no milk.

Any suggestions?