Why do we have to get rid of the bottle?

[AidansMommy]

So this may be a stupid qustion, but why is it that we are recommended to get rid of a bottle?  What is the difference between grabbing their bottle to suck water out of or grabbing a sippy to suck water out of?  And if they are FED a bedtime sippy of milk what is the difference if they are FED a bottle of milk?  I am confused.  Sorry if this is dumb I am just wondering what the benefits are of getting rid of a bottle.  Thanks for your thoughts!  Tammy

[nathan_smom]

My Lo is still on 2 bottles a day and I have never even pondered this thought...I am soo interested to hear what people say!!  I havent been overlly concerned with weaning him off the bottle....he drinks plenty of water from his straw cup, so I know he is capable...he just for some reason doenst prefer milk out of the cup yet.  I am hoping he will wean himself like he did for soo many other things in the past.
I do know that having the bottle at night....I think it was only when you gave it to the baby in the actual crib, could cause what they call tooth rot....but I make sure to brush my Lo's teeth after the bottle at night.
I also guess it gives the babies a sense of independence when drinking from a cup??

[AidansMommy]

yeah, if we brush teeth, etc then what is the big deal? is there one?
curious!
hugs, Tammy

[Two mummies]

We've changed the morning bottle to a sippy cup with half the amount of milk to encourage Riley to eat more breakfast but we kept the bedtime bottle as it's still a significant part of our wind down routine and comes after dinner. The rest of the time she has water or juice from either a sippy or a straw cup.

We figure she will wean herself from the pm bottle and we're in no hurry to get rid of it.

As for why you should wean I think the argument is the whole dental caries and filling up on milk instead of food thing.

Be interested to hear what others think/do...

Soph

[Lana]

I think "they" make the reccomendation so that your LO will get more of their calories from solids as opposed to the bottle.  In the end if you dont want to stop using one you dont have to.  Both my boys stopped with bottles at 12 and 13 months respectively and I was happy with that.  I dont have to wash bottles anymore and I can just put the sippy in the dishwasher.

[matthewsmama]

ok, I know some moms will likely object to his, but my ds, who is 3 and a half, still takes a bottle.  I dont say it often because people often think I am a bad mother.  He takes one bottle at bedtime, gets his teeth brushed and thats it.  He LOVES his bottle.  ill tell him its time to go to bed and he doestn want to, but he sees his bottle and hes ready.  Dr and dentist both know that he takes it and are fine with it, because we are so careful.  We have had a ton of transitions since he was born adn are just now settling inot our new home and have adjusted to the new baby, which is why I hadnt taken it away.   As long as you are ok with it, and you are careful of his teeth, listen to what you want to do.  I know from expreience that with all the changes we had his first 3 years, it was not a good time.  Good luck, christie

[matthewsmama]

My ds will actually go to sleep without it, he takes an afternoon nap no problem, but yes he likes to drink from it and as stacy says...its a carrier of milk, which is what the pediatrician said to me. 

[nathan_smom]

I think its being used just as a carrier as well. He has always been such a good good eater, so I know his bottle milk consumption is not hurting his appetite!! And he definitely goes to sleep on his own, so its not being used to put him to sleep.....so I guess we're ok for now!!

[MDHmommy]

We're the same way - carrier of milk.
DS really loves the bottle at bed time. He drinks it and we read stories, then he hands it to me when he's done and ready to be put in the bed! I'm not in any rush to get rid of it - it's a nice part of our nighttime routine.

[catmom]

My friends who are NICU nurses tried drinking from a bottle one night and everyone had a sore jaw the next day.  Obviously, it uses different muscles than drinking from a cup or straw.  I doubt you can overdevelop the muscles.  The only thing I could think of is other kids will tease them about using a bottle.  I expect it is primarily developmental to move into the next stage just like starting solids, walking, etc.  Just a thought.  Maybe think about the question "why don't adults use a bottle?" to help find your answer.  

[nathan_smom]

I think that answers the question right there..."why dont adults use a bottle?"...we DON"T (Beer bottles don't count!!)....because eventually it gets phased out ...one way or another!!!!!!  Its kinda like potty training...you dont see 10 year olds wearing diapers or drinking from bottles.....eventually everything clicks into place.
Right now it is a comfort thing and part of our night time routine which will eventually get phased out.  I am just not flipping out about it at the moment. There are too many other things to enjoy!!
I do however...agree with catnmom...I think that by using a cup...straw or sippy...they learn how to use and develop different jaw and tongue muscles. But like most of us said, our Lo's drink from these cups...just not the full ounces of milk like they do with the bottle....kwim??

[Zoey]

My thoughts are...

I feel strongly that whatever works for your child and your family is what is 'right'.  If your child loves his bottle and it isn't causing issues, then I don't see how a bottle is harmful so long as he isn't going to bed with it, for obvious dental reasons.  I do think it is important when babies get older to introduce them to cups since that's what people drink out of for the most part.  Like we use forks and spoons, plates - etc.  Like mentioned sucking liquid is a much different task then drinking it from a cup. 

For us...
My son isn't FED his milk anymore (13m).  His milk isn't his meal anymore, its part of his meal as it is mine.  So he gets milk three times a day in a cup, with his meals.  But that's what works here.  My son has no attachment to the bottle.  He could care less what vessel his beverage comes from so long as he gets some lol.  So, it wasn't an issue here.

I really don't think you have to do anything you aren't comfortable with.   Just my thoughts!

Zoey

[AidansMommy]

Wow, you all said so many interesting things I don't even know where to start in response!  I agree about the dental care of not drinking bottle in bed and brush teeth before bed.  Got that and totally agree.  I see the point about making sure not to allow bottle full of milk a substitute for meals.  We do have food issues.  But I don't know if that is the bottle problem or not.  We have gone days of just using sippies but I FEED IT TO HIM he doesn't drink it himself.  I am not sure how to fix that.  He doesn't tilt it properly to drink from and so he gets mad and throws it and i end up FEEDING it to him, he doesn't feed himself.  Maybe i am not using th right sippy.  We have had big problems with his solid food consumption.  I suspect that the problem is because he has developed a negative connotation to meal times as we have had great difficulties with my step son and meal times.  ONce we (too late) realized that we think it is affecting the lo we have TRIED to stop the battle at the table but it is hard.  I don't know how to remove all of the stresses at the table - which would in turn help my lo find more enjoyment out of eating (oh, when he was littler he would eat anything but now hates the approach to the table and everything about it.......one time step son was not here for a week and in that week my lo actually tried a dozen things he would never try...now we are back to beginning again...)
SO I guess maybe i have more questions that just about the bottle! hahahaha  Any ideas about how to make meal times fun?  especially when you have obstacles (dss who is almost 6 uses meal times as his battle ground -- he literally will vomit all over the table if he doesn't get his way! yikes!!!)  I guess I need alot of help!!!!!!!
hugs, Tammy

[Zoey]

Aww Tammy, that sounds difficult indeed.  I'm sorry I have no ideas on how to help older ones, I wish I did.  Stacy may though, she has worked alot with kiddos.

What I did with Owen and the sippy was hold him in my lap with a sippy with water, each day (or whatever) I reclined back more and he would raise his arms higher.  We did it while he was watching baby einstein or something so it was really stress free and associated with happy things.  There is a link in the bottle feeding section about something like this - which is where I got the idea.  He does amazing though with an open cup  - I didn't think he would and yes its messy sometimes - but he can see the milk and tips further back.  Maybe worth a try? 

Also, there are SO many sippies out there.  Just keep trying some til you find one that he likes.  I know that can get expensive lol.  Can you do an open cup?  Or at babies r us they sell simple small cups with a lid that has a free pouring spout.  Maybe he'd like something like that.  For out and about we use a cup with a straw and he likes that as well. 

Perhaps you can post your feeding/milk routine and people can view it and offer suggestions?   Maybe that'll help too.

Here is a link for a supportive chat regarding sippy cup transitioning: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=79426.0

Sippy cups: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=55022.0

Sippy cups: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68677.0

As far as food intake, we have hit and miss weeks lol.  Some days Noodle will eat like he has never eaten before and then pick for the next few days.  I find it best to end the meal when he seems done. 

Hang in there, Im sure others will have more advice for you.  Hugs.
Zoey

[nathan_smom]

Lots of great things here....Tammy i also wish you luck with the dinner table wars...
Just a quick question....to those of you who have your lo's drinking at meal times....about how much milk are they drinking?

I think this is also one of my fears...that he is not going to drink what he's "supposed" to drink...still have that infant bottle mentality in that sense.  I do know that when he drinks from his cup at meals, he will only take about 1...maybe 2 ounces of milk at a time...is this sufficient?? (He also has water available all day long)
Thanks eveyrone....interesting conversation!!!