Am I Wrong for Taking the Bottle Away?

Lana,
Hello! We went through this same thing! My daughter was 18 months old when we had little brother. She still had a night time baba, and my pedi said not to take it away due to the upcoming events....ie the new baby! She kept it for a few months after he was born, and then suddenly didn't care for it anymore....the pedi mentioned something about if she saw him w/a baba and we took hers away she might think we gave hers to him.....who knows...I decided not to take it away at such a crazy time...for her sanity and mine! Good luck. Hope everything goes well for you and the new baby!

P.S. my daughter's teeth are just fine! =)

I would stick with it. She will be okay but I know how breaking it is to watch. Most pediatricians are recommending taking the bottle away by 12 mo. I tried, it was miserable and gave in. By 18 mo. he did it without a problem.

Get her a cup with a straw and cuddle her with that. The sucking motion is about the same. Don't give the bottle back. It can cause issues with her teeth. She'll be fine and you'll be fine. :)

When my niece went from bottle to sippy cup, she also didn't want to drink milk from the sippy. One day, my sister-in-law told her that it's special "bubble milk". She would put an ice cube or two in the sippy and shake it up to give the milk lots of bubbles. My niece was fascinated by the bubbles and the noise it made. She loved it right away and hasn't looked back. She always asks for her "bubba". (Note: make sure it's a sippy that won't make a mess when shaken)

Honestly, she should have been fully off the bottle at a year. Don't give it back.

You are right to want her off the bottle. However, in hindsight, it likely would have been easier quite some time ago - maybe make a mental note for child #2. It really was providing her more comfort than nutrition, so I wouldn't worry at all about milk/calcium. Indeed, humans do not need cow's milk to be healthy and cow's milk is a very common cause of iron deficiency in young kids. There are actually excellent real food sources of calcium, such as almonds/almond milk. Just google "non dairy calcium" and you'll find lots of good info.

I would suggest you take her to a toy store (or Ikea) and let her pick out a soft toy that can be a new comfort item and reserve that for bedtime. Also, she likely needs even more lap/comfort/snuggle time with Mom and Dad for a few weeks. And, please remember, she will need even more of this after the new baby arrives. Indeed, this problem may not so much be the baba as her just needing extra comfort - even if she's not yet verbalizing, she is fully aware that her life is being encroached and she can't help but sense the excitement in the family about the birth of the new baby.

Good luck.

This is a tough one. A personal choice. I can tell you what I did with my daughter that was 18 months and still loving her pacifier before our second was born in a few weeks. I just stopped offering it to her and she didn't ask for it. So I just hid the pacifiers from her since she was fine with everything. When my second was born; she played around and would put the baby's pacifier in her mouth. However, since she hadn't use one in a few weeks I would just say that is your sisters. And she would give it back. It really wasn't a big deal. If you wan't to stop the bottle with your older. You may want to do it gradually. that is what we did with the pacifier - only offering it in the crib or used it for emergency situations. That way it wasn't so tramatic when it came time just take it away completely. What about just offering at night before she goes to bed and eliminate morning for a week or so. Then the next week replace the night bottle with some cuddling or a new "lovey" that she can hug on. Just a suggestion. Good luck with the new baby!!!

Lana, I think the decision to take away the bottle is yours and yours alone. I can tell you that as a mom of 4 I have a 24 month old who takes one bottle at night to settle down and go to sleep. I figure that as long as during the day she is eating and drinking from a big girl cup and plate that one at night is fine. It comforts her and she goes right to bed afterward. If your little one and you are ok with having one at night and in the morning then maybe it is ok for your family too. Since a new one is coming I think it is ok to have that one special thing that helps her cope during the day and at night. A snuggle is a wonderful thing for a little one. Good luck and congrats on the new one!

I honestly don't see any reason to rush. Its only her morning and night time baba and you said she drinks juice from a sippy. I tried taking the baba away from my little girl and it made her so sad, that I just couldnt do it. Not yet. She's only 1 though.
I suppose it depends on your reasoning for eliminating the bottle.
Since I'm a stay at home mom and she is not in daycare, I see no reason to take her baba away. She only drinks it in the morning and at night as well.
Besides, I just saw a photo of Suri Cruise in Us Weekly holding her Playtex bottle, and she is almost 3.
If it's important to you that she uses a sippy cup only,then you may have to toughen up. But if it's no big deal, then its totally ok to hold off.
Just my opinion.

I agree that this time might be a big challenge to her if you take the bottle away and then have a new baby with a bottle, BUT I also think that giving the bottle back after 2 days would be confusing to her.

Since you already decided to take her bottle, stick to it. Stand firm on your decision and decrease the confusion there.

As for calcium, there are lots of other food that has calcium like cheese, yogurt, broccoli, etc. She doesn't have to have the milk for calcium.

When we took the bottle from my son, we'd simply give him his milk in a sippy cup with a small amount of Ovaltine for some chocolate flavor. Once he was drinking that, we decreased the amount of chocolate until there wasn't any (we did this over about 10 days) and now he drinks milk with no problem.

Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

You have done and are doing the right thing. Don't give it back, although she is tugging at you heart strings keep it up! It is actually harder on you probably. Transitioning from one to two can be a challenge because it plays with your emotions. Try to keep that snuggle time maybe instead of a sippy or a bottle you can cuddle with a good book and make it new big girl time. You could probably also try just a regular cup with the milk. Obviously it is not something that you would let her carry around with her and there will be a few messes but you could make a big deal out of what a big girl she is and making a big fuss over the big girl helps with the new baby transition.

This is a long shot but it worked great with my son. I got one of the spillproof sippy cup and I put ice in it and put milk in it but at the same time I gave him his favorite toy something he would attach himself to other than the bottle. We also would give him drinks out of a straw we had in our drinks until he learned how to suck out of it then once he did that i got him a sippy cup that had a spillproof straw in it he LOVES his sippy cup. But seeing how my little one is only 14 months I still give him a bedtime bottle of milk but I let him lay in bed with us until he drinks it all gone so he still gets his bottle only when he gets ready for bed. So In away we made bedtime special for him he gets to come and watch tv with mommy and daddy til his bottle is all gone and then he goes right off to sleep with his favorite toy or blanket.

Good luck,

T.

My son is 18 months, and he still enjoys a bottle at night. About a month ago, he refused to drink milk from a sippy cup. I finally replaced his morning bottle with a sippy cup, which he usually didn't drink, but I stuck with it, and now he's down to 1 bottle at night, and drinks milk from the sippy cup throughout the day. I just make sure he has other dairy during the day, like cheese or yogurt. I've started giving him less milk in the bottle each night. Stick with it and she will eventually give it up.

You are not wrong for taking the bottle away from your daughter. That is good that you are sticking with it and not giving it to her. She will definitely eat more food if she is not drinking so many liquids. If you are concerned that she is not getting enough calcium, you can give her foods like yogurt, pudding, cheese, or anything that has dairy in it. Keep up the good work by not giving in. It shouldn't be too much longer and she won't even think about it anymore. She should be off the bottle at 1 year anyway. You don't want her teeth to decay from sucking on the bottle.

Good luck,
K.

I think you are doing the right thing. She will give in and start drinking her milk from a sippy cup in a few days. In the mean time you can give her yogurt or cheese to replace her milk. My two boy did not like milk until they were over 4. They ate cheese and yogurt to get there dairy.

Hi Lana,
You are doing just right by removing the bottle at this time, even though it is really hard! She only needs 16 oz. of milk plus her healthy foods to grow properly each day. This she can take easily from her sippy cup, even though she prefers her bottle. Also, it is so much healthier for her little teeth to drink from a cup instead of from a bottle. Tooth decay can be so prevalent in little ones who stay on the bottle past 12 months of age, so I recommend you stick to your guns, give her an extra snuggle or two, and get ready for your new baby. Congratulations and best wishes,
S.
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

She doesn't need anything other than water at bed time - it sets the stage for bottle rot. Milk in a night bottle is BAD for the teeth.

That said - I nursed my babies well over the age of two. By that point it was morning and night time nursing, a total of maybe 15 minutes at a time - but it was important. It was settle in, get comfy, bonding time - like the toddler equivalent of a glass of wine and a good book.

That said - it's done. Don't go back, or the next time it will be much harder. Don't cut out the snuggle. Snuggles are important long after bottles are un necessary. A milk strike for a week or two isn't going to affect her bones or teeth - just your nerves. :) The odds are excellent that, once the craving is over for the baba - she'll drink milk from a cup.

You might also try those sports bottle type nuby's - they're very similar to a bottle in form and function, without the baby-ness.

Good luck
S.

Keep up the good work. She will be fine in afew days to a week. Our pedi says that a child should be off the bottle by 18 months. It is hard for a child to give anything up,but when it is consistant it will work. Good Luck!

STICK WITH IT!!! She will get over it. She is old enough for no bottle.

Alright you are getting lots of opinions! I wouldn't feel bad about waiting for 20 months, but you do need to put your foot down. She will start drinking milk again.

We personally went to only a bottle at night time at 1 year, and then a little after 18 months no more bottles. It went natural for us. I know some people are pretty beligerent about the no bottle after 1, but we switched to milk at 1. I like to space out all the big changes.

A good idea might be to get a bottle like sippy cup (for a transition) or a cool one that she pics out at the store herself so she feels more like she is also part of the decision. It sounds like to you have a strong headed one like mine if she is that disciplined not to drink any milk!!!

Anyway good luck. Don't beat yourself up, stick with your decision, but also work with your child's personality.

Hi, Lana. I have four young children, and really your daughter should have been off the bottle at one year. The delay in doing this is no doubt what is making it more difficult now; however, you are doing right by taking it away. I know it seems really difficult on her, but it is really harder on you, as her loving mommy. I experienced the same sort of thing when I waited until my oldest son was two to take away his pacifier. I kept delaying for different reasons...if he got sick, etc. But when I finally just took it away for good, and all was said and done, he did great. Your daughter will do great, too, and will be better for not having her bottle. Remember, if they keep their bottle too long, other issues, such as tooth decay, etc. can arise. You're an awesome mom...good luck!!

only you know what is right for your child...my first LOVED his bottle but i took him off at 11 mths before our next came when he was 12 mths. he transitioned really well to a nuby soft tip sippy. however, he still used it as a bottle (with water in it) before bed....so i felt like i kind of replaced a bottle w/ a sippy, not sure if that was really an improvement or not. my second i threw the bottles away at 13 mths and i was shocked that he really didnt miss it. i give him a sippy w/ water at night as he sometimes has coughing fits and it helps with that.

ALL OF THAT SAID...you do what YOU think is right. we're all just trying to do our best as moms and our opinions are merely that. figure out what you really feel is best and then STICK WITH IT!! if you want her off the bottle, take her off but dont go back and forth. want to keep her on it longer until you are both ready...go for it! good luck, being a mom is hard, isnt it!?

I definatly think it will be best if your daughter starts drinking milk from a sipper cup. She needs to think of it as something that a baby does and as she approches her 2nd birthday in a few months beging to talk to her about being a big girl and all the wonderful things that big girls get to do. Also the fact that she will be the big sister should help with the transition from her being the baby to feeling older. Have her feed her babies with a bottle so she can realize that she is older then them and needs to use a sipper. It will be even harder once the new baby is at home. Start her now on drinking a sipper on her own and not in your lap. Snuggle time is important, but can be done in other ways. A good idea for getting her off the bottle is to cut a little bit bigger whole in the nipple and continue to do that for a week. Each day she will realize she is getting more milk out of it and will not like the feeling of it on her tounge. Ask her if she would rather have the sipper. Continue this every day so the nipple opening gets a little bigger and soon she will willingly put it aside. Hope this helps. You can do the same with a pacifier too.

I am really surprised at all the answers that say to take them off the bottle at 1 year. they are still babies at one year. if you were nursing you would not stop at one year just because they turned 1. My Dr says all kids are different and while some do fine making changes earlier some dont and you have to use your own judgment and base your decisions on what is best for your particular child and not what others say or do.

I am a mom to 3 boys ages 5,4 and 2.5 and my 2.5 year old still takes the bottle at night and sometimes in the morning and I am fine with it. I have learned after 3 that you pick and choose your battles and that is one I really dont care about. its not like hes walking around during the day with a bottle and some kids just need it longer...

plus its not a good time to take any thing away from her yet because your expecting another one and she senses something is going on even though she is not for sure what.

wait until the baby comes and you are well setteled into a routine before you make any major changes for her because 2 things can and will happen, 1. she will resent baby because she had to make changes because there is a new baby to replace her

and 2 she will regress because of the stress of a new baby and will want her baba so let her have it until you are setteled into a routine and she is well adjusted with the new one before you transition.

also dont cold turkey her away from it, take the morning one away first then later on, replace a little milk in the bottle with water over a period of time you should eventually have more water than milk in the bottle and then just water then you can take it away..

once you start adding the water and dilute it over time to just water she might give it up on her own saving you from being the bad guy.

but its really ok for her to have a daily bottle at her age (even 2) shes still a baby until 3 IMO. kids just grow up too fast as it is.

Good luck!
A. J

I personally wouldn't have taken both away at the same time right around the time a new baby is about to arrive, but since you did, I wouldn't go back now. I hope you plan on nursing exclusively for a while so your daughter won't see the new baby with her bottles! Good luck and congratulations!!