When should babies be weaned off of the bottle?
Kate F asked:
My son is almost a year, and I know that he’s not quite ready yet, but at what age should babies be weaned off of bottles? He now takes four bottles a day. Anything that he drinks other than formula comes from a sippy cup. He doesn’t seem to care what he’s drinking from, as long as he’s getting something.
My son is almost a year, and I know that he’s not quite ready yet, but at what age should babies be weaned off of bottles? He now takes four bottles a day. Anything that he drinks other than formula comes from a sippy cup. He doesn’t seem to care what he’s drinking from, as long as he’s getting something.
I have no concerns about switching his bottles to cups when he starts drinking milk, but I worry that the evening bottle will be a hard one. We’ve worked it into our routine as part of his bed time ritual. Any suggestions? Thank you!
When they are ready. He’s not going to school with the bottle so don’t get too stressed over it. Some babies need a night bottle longer than others and the day bottles should be turned to cups now. But the comfort of the night bottle could last until he’s 2. don’t make your life hard just to do this, he’ll give it up eventually.
Comment by hmmm — September 28, 2009 @ 7:59 am
NO ITS NOT “WHEN THEY ARE READY”. I THINK AND HAVE HEARD FORM ALMOST ALL SOURCES THAT YOUR CHILD BE OFF THE BOTTLE AND ON TO THE CUP BY ONE YR OLD.
GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATS ON YOUR BABY!
I PROMISE HE ISNT GOING TO MISS THAT BOTTLE AS MUCH AS YOU THINK. MAYBE A NIGHT OR TWO BUT THEN HE WILL ADJUST PERFECTLY AND NOT GIVE A POO ABOUT IT!
Comment by Shannon E — September 30, 2009 @ 8:06 am
around 1 year is when you should start trying to get rid of bottle habit, i think. but don’t force them some kids take longer than others
Comment by . — October 2, 2009 @ 9:03 pm
By 1 he should be off the bottle. Especially at night. He shouldn’t be on formula at 1, he should be on whole milk. Give him a cup of milk before he goes to bed. It may take a little time for him to get used to not having his bottle but he’s better off.
Comment by mrsdeli — October 4, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
My doctor said to try to have him off the bottle & pacifier by 18 months. I tried just sippy cups for a day when he was about 12 months old, and had no problems whatsoever with it! He’s 15 months, and hasn’t had a bottle in 3 months. The pacifier is another story though!!
Comment by kathsps — October 5, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
I would say around the age of 1. My daughter was off at 9 months. I took her off the moment she learned how to drink out of a sippy cup.
Comment by Kathy O — October 6, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
We had our older boy switched over to sippies by 13 months.
He didn’t have a bottle as part of his bedtime routine, so it wasn’t a big problem…but for the times that he maybe woke up in the night and wanted a bottle for comfort- we offered him a Nuby sippy cup that has a very soft spout. It’s kinda like a bottle/sippy hybrid, if you will. After he got used to that instead of the bottle, we just went straight to sippies.
Comment by momtojullex — October 8, 2009 @ 6:11 am
the day my daughter turned one, she never ever had another bottle or formula. formula says on the can 0-12 months so i was like well, youre over 12 months so no more. lol we didnt play around with it either. yeah, she was fussy for a few days but she got over it and does just fine with her sippy cup. when she was 11 months old she was only have a bottle during the day and a bottle at night to put her to sleep. so before your one year old goes to sleep, instead of giving him a bottle, give him a snack and milk in a cup. to me it was SOOO easy to get her off the bottle. i just told her dad “NO matter how bad shes fussing, do NOT give her the bottle” and like i said, she was over it in a matter of days. and it wasnt like she was fussing all the time either. good luck
Comment by LuLu — October 9, 2009 @ 4:59 am
You can start by letting him learn to use a sippy cup now so in few months when the bottle starts going away he will be more comfortable with using a cup. My daughter was totally off the bottle by 14 months and it was easier because she was already a pro at using a cup. The evening bottle was a routine in my house as well but once she got used to not having it as much it didn’t seem to matter at all really.
Good luck!
Comment by jade_izzy — October 10, 2009 @ 6:37 am
at least a year but, it’s okay to wait till he is 18 months at the latest, since all babies develop differently i wouldn’t wait any longer then that b/c they can get baby bottle tooth decay! my son is almost 16 months and he is on a sippy cup i started him out with the soft tip ones that are similar to the bottle and he does great with it!
Comment by Emerald Eyes — October 11, 2009 @ 12:43 am
My friend took her baby off the bottle as soon as 2 teeth came in. Now my daughter I took her off the bottle at 13 months. My hardest would be at bedtime, so when it came to bedtime I took the bottle from her and she did just fine.
Comment by spoiledmogurl04 — October 12, 2009 @ 12:22 am
your son is almost a toddler so its best to switch to a sippy cup.
Comment by CC — October 13, 2009 @ 11:37 am