[crayolamom]

Hi all,
My question, or concern is this...Owen is now 29 months old and he LOVES this bottle and Milk. Typically, his has a bottle before his nap and then again before bed. I have tried milk in a sippy cup and he just DOES NOT go for it. I have not pushed this since I felt like I missed out on the first 10 plus months of his life, so has he approachs 3 how do I transition to only sippy cups. His bottle seems to give such comfort I am torn. Does it really make a differenceor is it one of those things that when he's ready, he'll be ready?
thanks so much,
Carolyn

[dac_cincy]

I think it is one of those things when he is ready he is read- but that said- maybe using cups at meals times- without the lids (they sometimes are problematic) or a sippy in the car if you are driving. Keep the bottles for bedtimes and snuggle times.

I think Bug volunatarily gave his up right after he was 3- but we kept sippy cups for bedtime cuddle time so the tradition stayed.

I think he pretty much has given up sippy cups- except for car rides or when he just wants to sit next to me on the couch (he likes to turn his cup over for the heck of it).

But also liked straws way more than sippy cups- so using straws from the store in cups with just a little milk in them might be an idea to try.

love and hugs,

[DPline]

You might try some other cups or sippys. My oldest would ONLY drink out of a straw cup or regular cup with no lid. He hated regular sippy cups. (Had to work too hard to get anything out!)

My DD gave up her bottle a little after age 3. She was a bottle-holic and I thought it would be horrible but we went cold turkey one night and it ended up being no big deal. Just to give you a positive story! Though there are still days at age 5.5 that I have considered hauling out a bottle when she is being a real booger!

Neither of my younger two would drink regular milk when they were little, so we did some rice milk and I just really pushed other dairy products (yogurt, cheese, etc.) Our doctor was fine with them not drinking milk as long as they were getting the nutrition from other sources. What finally got them on regular milk was putting it on cereal. Then eventually they would drink it out of a cup.

Personally I am not one for taking away the bottle until the child is ready (within reason!) but just my random thoughts for when you and he are ready!

[JustBarbara]

I would try to get him to a sippy cup or the cups that have straws in them. What I did was gradually throw the bottles away ... I would bring DS into the kitchen, show him one of his bottles and say something like 'this is old, this is yucky, it has to go in the trash' and let him open the trash can and throw the bottle away. After a week or so there were no more bottles and he was okay with that. DS now uses cups with no lids at the table, at preschool but we still use sippy cups if in the car, at the beach etc. Good luck

[Mommy K]

Sport water bottles worked for us, and our dd likes using them. We stopped the bedtime regular bottle after a few accidents while being potty trained at night, becuase she hated being wet. I told her that if she stopped the bottle she would be drier at night and it worked. Drinking 6-8 oz of liquid (she's lactose intolerant) in bed was definately making her have accidents. She sips some water from a regular plastic glass and is fine with that.

When she wants her regular bottle I give it to her, but it is not a habit anymore, a special thing for times she needs to feel secure.

[Bebe2007]

We used sippy cup with silicone spout. We used Nuby sold at Walmart - It has 3 different spouts, one is similar to a bottle nipple - then a regular sippy cup spout and a straw like spout. This worked really well for us.

Hope this helps.

Yvette

[sheababy]

We use the Nuby sippy cups as well. DD doesn't want anything to do with regular milk now that she doesn't have her bottle. We put a little Ovaltine in her milk-only about 1/2 teaspoon for 4-6 oz. Our pediatrician said this is a much better solution than not getting their milk. I would not use the store prepared chocolate milk-way too much sugar.

[SKL]

I agree with some of the comments here. (1) Maybe just skip the sippy cup and graduate to regular cups without lids, or maybe straw cups. (2) Maybe mix in a little flavor (chocolate or strawberry milk, or whatever) so he is motivated to practice until drinking from the cup is comfortable for him. (3) Let the bottles die a natural death, or convert them to doll accessories. (4) Phase out the pre-sleep feedings.

I think sometimes we assume kids are going to have a hard time with things, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes a matter-of-fact approach is the best. If that doesn't work, you can always fall back on the "he'll be ready when he's ready" approach - but even then, I'd start giving him water instead of milk in the bottle.