[OakShannon]

As I posted on another thread, D is a great eater. (He's 10 months old.) He eats a wide variety of foods and has a good diet. BUT - he has very little interest in his bottle. I think if I stopped giving him a bottle today, he wouldn't care.

I know he's going to stop taking formula in a couple of months anyway, but I'm worried that he's not getting enough iron and other nutrients because he sometimes drinks less than 14 oz a day. I mix it into his oatmeal sometimes. I've also tried putting it into a cup for him, but he doesn't like that. He wants water.

I'm guessing this is fine and I should just take cues from him. But I just didn't expect him to be refusing a bottle so early! Do you think I should ask his pedi about putting him on a multivitamin? At what age did your kids start staying, "No thanks, mom."

[mumofone]

Three of my children were off the bottle at 12 months. One was on it until about 14 months.

[Stormster]

Wow! E is almost 16 months and zero sign of stopping. I think it's going to be a while!

[kelceesmom]

Kelcee didn't stop a night time bottle until she was almost 2. The day ones were gone by about 14 months. I felt if that was what soothed her to sleep I didn't care.

[sadiegirl]

Mine was 15 mos, for day and night. (The bink,however, was until 3! Yikes)

[SchmennaLeigh]

We did it the week after Nick turned 1. It wasn't an issue at all.

[missymissus]

My fs was willing to switch from bottle to sippy cup at 9 months and never needed one to go to sleep.

[jules17]

I don't think our sons ever would have said "No thanks, Mom," but we put our feelers out about it at around 18 months.

The switch was surprisingly not traumatic for them and they did great with it (at 18 mos, only a bottle before bed...during the day, cups).

For us, since they came to us a bit later, we really enjoyed the snuggling and bonding time.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by OakShannon

As I posted on another thread, D is a great eater. (He's 10 months old.) He eats a wide variety of foods and has a good diet. BUT - he has very little interest in his bottle. I think if I stopped giving him a bottle today, he wouldn't care.

I know he's going to stop taking formula in a couple of months anyway, but I'm worried that he's not getting enough iron and other nutrients because he sometimes drinks less than 14 oz a day. I mix it into his oatmeal sometimes. I've also tried putting it into a cup for him, but he doesn't like that. He wants water.

I'm guessing this is fine and I should just take cues from him. But I just didn't expect him to be refusing a bottle so early! Do you think I should ask his pedi about putting him on a multivitamin? At what age did your kids start staying, "No thanks, mom."

One of the NP's at our practice (the one I don't like, and WON'T be seeing again) read me the riot act that Tyler occasionally didn't get enough formula. She told me in no uncertain terms that if he's not getting 24 ounces of formula everyday, he's basically not getting enough to eat. That many people mistake a baby that is a good eater for a baby that needs less formula, but that solid food just couldn't provide what they need in such small servings. She said even if he was "chowing down" on everything we gave him, his intestinal track wasn't developed enough for him to break down and extract everything he needed from his food. She basically told me I was starving my kid and I was crying by the time I hit the parking lot. Like I said...NEVER going to see her again. I guess they have had other complaints on her.

SO. I guess long story short is we are now in the exact same boat. Tyler drinks from a sippy cup with meals but we have formula "milestones" everyday, or we adjust mealtimes. If he hasn't has 10 ounces by lunch, he gets a bottle and has to have that till he's taken a total of 10 ounces before he gets solids. I feel like a monster, but for us, weight and formula intake is a big deal. He. Gets. Angry. When he wants lunch, he wants lunch. Sometimes I will let him get close to 10 ounces, and then give him lunch, and formula in a sippy cup and every few bites have him take a few sips of formula. He does pretty well with the sippy cup and sometimes it seem the change of pace will help. I don't think Ty would care ever one little bit of all he had from today forward was a sippy cup. Well...maybe his night wakings he would care...cause he's really lazy if he wakes at night, and just wants to suck down some food as easy and fast as possible...but otherwise. No attachment to the bottle at all.

I don't know if age one is some magical age where the intestinal track switches on and they can suddenly drink cows milk and we don't have to monitor their fluids or what? Maybe age one has a fluid intake requirement as well. Maybe I'm doomed to follow this kid around between 6:00PM and bedtime with a bottle or sippy cup getting the last 4 ounces into him for the rest of his life.

If you ask your Dr, tell me what they say. I'd love some back up that there MUST be a range in what they need? How does a 25 pound 10 month old and 17 pound 10 month old need the same thing? Doesn't make sense...

[shy_bear]

My girls were like your son; once they started eating a wide variety of foods there was little interest in the bottle. They were officially off of it by 12mths. My son on the other hand is 17mths. and I have been told by his speech therapist that he needs to be off the bottle, is still taking it two times a day. He will NOT drink milk out of a cup and will go days without drinking. I have tried to only give him milk from the cup, no juice and no bottle, and he pushes it away. After two days I worried b/c his poop got really hard and he barely wet so I went back to the bottle.

[lovemy2boys]

AJ was off the bottle at 13 months and JD was off at 12 months...

[startedover]

12 months. Then my Pediatrician said she didn't care if she ever drank milk again as long as she gets the right amount of calcium from some where.

[aallen25]

We stopped daytime bottles a few days before DD turned 1. She still receives one bottle right before bedtime (at 13 months) but I'm thinking we'll be ending that before this month is over.

[tweetybirdus]

13 months, we just stopped using the bottle and gave her cups and she didn't seem to notice. She actually gave up her bedtime bottle at around 10 months though.

[Fran27]

Aclee all doctors disagree on how much formula babies need once they start solids. It's funny actually. I've heard everywhere from 16oz to 30oz, which is ridiculous.

Mine get their bottle first though, otherwise they'd feel up on solids and not drink. They're not attached to their bottle either... they just drink because they're hungry.

But of course they're nowhere near ready for a sippy so it's going to be a while... I don't even know how to teach a baby to drink from a sippy when they can't hold their own bottle.