when did you switch from bottles to sippies?

We are close to dropping bottles - they still get three bottles of whole milk a day, but drink beautifully from their (water) sippies at breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I know they can do it.

My fear is dropping that last before bed bottle from the bath-bottle-bed routine. Did you continue to give them a sippy before bed time or just drop the last bottle when you switched to sippies? My pedi said it was fine if they were off bottles by 15 months and we are quickly approaching 14...

I plan to go cold turkey on the bottles, probably after I drop their middle of the day bottle, and give them milk for lunch and dinner instead of water. What did you do??

 

We pretty much just stopped cold turkey. They do still get an "after dinner" cup of milk with instant b'fast powder per their peds instructions. My girls are still small for their age and need all the extra cals we can squeeze in. They get it at least a half an hour before bed.

 

We switched cold turkey from bottles of formula to sippies of milk about a week after their first birthday, when we finished up the last open can of formula. They switched with little trouble. They still get 3 sippy cups of milk a day (per pedis recommendation). 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and 1 in the evening. At first we were giving them a small sippy before bed too (total of 4 a day) but just stopped doing that and they are doing just fine.

My suggestion is to just stop cold turkey but I dont think I would drop any of the milk since they still need 18-24oz a day. I would just switch the timing a bit so that its not right before bed.

 

We dropped bottles at one year but started slow. We'd offer the cup and if they didn't take it so good we'd pour it into a bottle to finish off. We still offered the bottle at night for a little longer but had them on sippies during the day. Now we have no more bottles at all.

 

We dropped the bottles right around the first birthday. We had been working on it, and transitioned over a 2 - 3 week period. Mine never took a bedtime bottle, so I can't help you there - but maybe they could cuddle a little with you with a sippy of milk instead to help the transition?

 

We dropped the bottles the day we stopped formula at 11 1/2 months. We went for 3 bottles of formula a day to milk in sippies the next day. When we stopped bottles, we also stopped offering a drink at night. They could ask for one, and get it, but we didn't offer one.

 

Similar to Sharon for us. We went cold turkey from formula in bottles to milk in sippies just into their 11th month. We had dropped the bedtime bottle around 9 months when we went to three a day...morning, lunch, dinner.

 

We dropped the bedtime bottle and gave them a little milk in a sippy right before bed for 2 days. They didn't seem to need it, so the third night we just had our last milk with dinner and gave them a drink of water before bed. That's they way it has been ever since then (they were 12.5 months old).

 

I had the same fear. We dropped the bedtme bottle at 13 months. We gave them a few ounces in a bottle and the rest in the sippy for 2-3 days...reduced the amount in the bottle and adde to the sippy and they were fine. We still give them a sippy of milk before bed but are in the process of transitioning out of this..this will be gradual..They don't drink too much before bedtime b/c dinner time is so close (dinner is 4 or 30 and bedtime is 530 or 6).
After they are done with their milk we brush teeth and give them a binky. Then off to bed. (they watch blues clues for a little bit)

 

We were done with bottles by one year and my boys sort of did it themselves. I was in no rush to do it, but they just wouldn;t drink from their bottle anymore. We kept the night bottle for a week or so after dropping the day bottles, but they just stopped taking interest anymore at about a year, so we just quite one night. I give my boys sippies of water before bed, no milk. They get milk at all their snacks and meals during the day.

 

We've dropped bottles slowly...

They really were hit or miss with their 11 and 3 bottles, so those dropped first and were offered sippies of milk. We dropped the morning bottle just this past week, they get a sippy of milk, now. We plan on dropping the bedtime bottle next week. I plan on offering them a big sippy of milk though, because they still drink 8 oz of milk right before bed. It hasn't been traumatic at all....but don't feel you need to rush them.

 

Wow! Am I glad I read this post! I haven't even started weaning from bottle yet! my bad I guess. Daycare woman says I need to, and she doesn't give the girls bottle during the day - but I tell you what - when I get home in the early evening with the girls - they BEG for a bottle!! I've been giving it to them! they drink from sippys well, so I'm just going to start putting formula in there. I've been mixing 1/2 formula 1/2 milk as I still have 5 cans of formula left. I guess if no one has seen any reactions etc. to going cold turkey with the milk - I think I will do it. AND - start putting it only in sippys. Okay - that's my goal for this week. heehee

 

Honestly, the before bedtime bottle was the first one we dropped. We just switched things up a bit. Gave them a bottle around 4 and they ate dinner (with water in sippy) around 6 or 6:30 and bed at 7:30. They had absolutely no problme adjusting. Dinner was plenty enough to sustain them until morning. We also always have kept a sippy cup of water in their crib so they can drink water while they sleep or when they wake up in the am. To this day they are huge water drinkers. We ended up having to quit sippy cups cold turkey around 14 months or so. I was so back and forth because they just weren't drinking milk from the sippies and I kept panicking. So, I finally took all the bottles and tossed them in the garbage (I didn't even keep one) so that I couldn't keep changing my mind. The girls stopped drinking milk for a while but my friend assured me it's ok. As long as I give them other dairy products everyday, they will be fine. They did eventually start to drink milk after several weeks but I cheated and put Quick in it which is now the only way they will drink milk in the sippy (although Arwen will sometimes down plain milk). I don't really care as long as they are getting the milk in some way. I also started feeding them cereal a lot more often during that slow down in milk phase so I know they were getting it. Yogurt was also our best friend during that time and still is to this day.

My girls have just recently really started to get into drinking milk to the point they ask for it and will often drink most of it but there are days where they just aren't into it. I do wish that I had stuck to just trying the regular cold milk without the quick for a bit longer but ah well. What's done is done.

 

We switched to whole milk at 11.5 months in bottles and sippies, then sippies only at 12 months. The first couple of weeks were a bit of a challenge for one dd, but we packed up the bottles and put them away despite it. I think it's really up to the individual, but my philosophy is that it's easier to break a habit earlier than later... I was afraid to wait too long when it would be much more difficult to make the switch. So we did it right at the first b-day. Worked for us.

 

Similar to pp, we dropped formula and bottles cold turkey at 11 1/2 months. Next day, sippies with whole milk. We did offer them a drink of water right before bed. I was worried about it but there were no issues at all!

Now (for the past 8 months) we let them have their sippies in the bed (crib previous) with them at bedtime with water in it. They abused it a little at first-drinking A LOT. But now, just a drink or two and that's it. But it's there if they get thirsty during the night and first thing in the morning.

Good Luck. I hope you'll be surprised and they transition easily.

Cherie

 

I dropped bottles with my dd when she was 13 months old, cold turkey and with no problems. With my ds...well, he is still getting two bottles a day. :blush: Mine didn't get night bottles, so I have no advice on that one. Good luck.

 

I am the odd ball out...I still give my a bottle before bed! (After reading all of the responses, I am ready to stop doing that now!!)

Good luck!

 

I stopped cold turkey at 13 months and just started offering their milk in sippies instead of bottles. They still drank a sippy of milk before bed for a while and then we brushed teeth and read a book afterwards.

 

We did it cold turkey also they were completely off bottles by 13 months. I started to give them their milk in a sippy one meal a day, then two, then all three and the last to go was the one before bed. After they were completely off bottles I only gave milk at breakfast, lunch and dinner if they were thirsty in between they got a sippy of water...certain sippy for milk only used at meals and a different one for water...still the same to this day although we are starting with cups here and there but I love the sippy!

 

they both tossed their own bottles at 13 months - they were drinking the formula out of a sippy at that point (didn't switch to milk until after 13 mos) but would get a bottle in the afternoon for a snack...one day they just didn't want it and that was the end of the bottle...

we never did a bedtime bottle either as the first solid meal introduced was dinner and a sippy of formula around 6 mos