Bye Bye Bottle

We are 10 months now and I am strategizing on the method on how to get rid of the bottle. I am certain I do want to toss the bottle around the age of one. Most pediatricians suggest children should be weaned off the bottle at one year old.

Benefits to weaning:
• Children using bottles are more likely to develop tooth decay
• Children who drink from a bottle may have improper dental development
• Children who depend on bottle feedings may not consume enough solid foods to meet their nutrient needs
• Children who are not weaned from the bottle may not develop appropriate feeding skills

There appears to be two schools of thought amongst Mommies on how to get rid of the bottle
1.) At age 1 go straight to the sippy cup and cut out the bottle cold turkey
2.) Wean your little one off the bottle slowly

With each step and growth point for my daughter I choose to ease her into the situation and not an instant drastic change. At this point it feels as if I am merging the two schools of thought together. I have been weaning my daughter from the bottle slowly and I have been trying feeding her more and more from the sippy cup. I initially introduced the sippy cup at about 5 ½ months with apple juice. (Although I did break a No-No, I gave her juice from the bottle and the sippy cup especially if we were out and about it is an issue of convenience). It took some time for her to get use to the sippy cup. So I took the normal route gave her the sippy cup to play with, but that did not work either. Then I realized it was the hard spout that was the issue. She was going from a soft flexible nipple to a hard rigid piece of plastic that is shorter than what she is use to sucking. Confused? Maybe. After buying several brands of sippy cups from Dr. Browns, Nuby and then Born Free – all with different types of nipples/spouts. Hands down Nuby offered the nipple that was closest to her bottle. Nuby is also the hardest to suck from (we had the same problems from their bottles) to this day the Nuby sippy cup is still in her play pen as a toy. I tried several other sippy cups, but the Born Free sippy is what she took to with the most ease. Born Free also came in flow stages just as a nipple would. Most importantly, the Born Free is sold at my supermarket along with the interchangeable nipples.

Weaning my daughter off the bottle is much more than a change of apparatus. Removing the bottle is also going to change our nightly routine. Currently after she is washed down and dressed, I rock her while she has her good night bottle which normally leads to her falling asleep. I always remove the bottle if I see that she is getting sleepy before the bottle is empty and replace the bottle with a pacifier. Falling asleep drinking increases babies risk of an ear infection.

Now, instead of giving her a bottle as I rock her to sleep she will have a sippy cup before bath time. And with getting rid of the bottle also comes the pacifier (which is both Mommie and Daughter’s best friend). To ease her through the break up I will give her lots of hugs and kisses.

Which leads to the next “my baby is really a tot now step” not rocking her to sleep at night. I have been trying to prepare my daughter for laying down on her own and going to sleep without me rocking her because I wanted to enforce this at one. Right now ….well let just say it is a work in progress. When I lay her down and she is not quite sleep she immediately stands up (regardless of how many times you lay her down, she will not stay) and ends up not going to bed at 9PM but more like 10:30 – 11:00PM. Not to mention the crying if she finds herself in her crib awake – God Forbid, right?

TIPS FOR WEANING

Gradually introduce the sippy cup

When you start giving your baby juice put the juice in the sippy cup. Your baby may not take to the sippy cup initially but give the sippy cup to your baby to play with.

Nipple Selection

For your start cup select a sippy cup with a softer nipple similar to a nipple for a bottle. After the baby drinks from that nipple with ease introduce a harder shorter spout.

Diluter the Bottle

If you are still giving your baby a bottle dilute the contents of the bottle whether it is milk or juice water it down. This way your child will prefer the contents of the cup.

One Bottle at a Time

Start giving your baby a morning sippy cup, once this has gone over well. Change the midmorning/afternoon bottle to a sippy then afternoon, then evening (wait at least a week between each substitution).

With all parenting techniques and practices consistency is key.  Switching back and forth from bottle to cup only will confuse the child once you start continue to move forward.