Well KristieSue posted a few days ago about how she is trying to get her little guy off the bottle. So I though that it was time for my confession. So maybe someone had some hints or tips for me. Luke still has his bottle. He is 2 years and 3 months old today!!!! So it is pretty sad I know. He just has one at night before he goes to bed. He doesn't have a bottle at all through the day. Which is a good thing, but also bad because he will STILL not drink milk out of any kind of sippy cup. I have bought every kind of sippy cup known to man and he has refused them all. I have tried to put a little bit of sugar in the milk hoping that might get him going on it....didn't work. I tried chocolate milk. What kid doesn't like chocolate milk?.....mine doesn't!! So really he has no milk through out the day. That is another thing that bothers me, wondering if he is getting all the nutrition he needs. I try to make up for it my feeding him lots of dairy products through out the day, like yogurt and cheese. But I still don't know if it makes up for how much milk he used to drink. When he had his bottles during the day he was a milk drinking machine!!!
So lets just say that Luke is very very very attached to his bottle, and not just any bottle. He is very picky about the bottle that he drinks out of and what kind of nipple is on it. Sometimes he would get a hole in the nipple and I would have to buy some new ones. Well there was only a certain kind that he like and if I went to the store and they were out of them, then we were in big trouble. He would refuse any other kind. I know it is strange that he is sooo particular!!! So you can see why I have a problem finding a sippy cup that he likes!!!
So how did all this start? When Luke was a baby he never took a pacifier. I thought that was good, I never had that struggle of getting him off the pacifier. Little did I know that he would get so attached to the bottle. It is so funny to watch him drink his bottle. He still looks like he did when he was a baby nursing. It is the same sucking motion and everything. When Luke was a baby he loved to nurse too, it was like every two to three hours, even when he got bigger it was that way. So I nursed Luke until he was 11 months old. Then I put him on the bottle. I know a lot of people would have just gone straight to the sippy cup, to avoid the bottle attachment. This is probably where I blew it. But at the time it just didn't seem right to put my sweet little guy, fresh from nursing to a sippy cup. Plus being a first time mom you don't know all the tricks to the trade.
So here we are a year and 4 months later after putting him on the bottle. I have to admit, I really haven't tried that hard to take away his bottle at night. We have such a good routine down. He has his bottle, goes to bed and sleeps all the way through the night in his own bed!!! Which means I get my good sleep too!!! So I am afraid of messing this up. I keep telling myself, "Well when he gets a little bit older and can understand more, I can just tell him he is too old to have a bottle and that he doesn't need it and that it is time for bed without it" I am not sure if this is just wishful thinking or what, cause we are not to that point yet.
I read an article at Baby Center which made me feel a little better knowing that it is not a horrible thing that he still has a bottle at his age. But I think that it is time for him to give it up. So If anyone can relate to my situation and has some words of advice feel free to send them my way!!!
10 comments:
I definatly dont think it is a horrible thing that he is still on a bottle. With my boys I just took it away one night and we had one night of crying but after that they were fine. I just had to make sure i didnt have any around for them to see. Mary never took a bottle I nursed her until she was 19 months and with that i just had to stop and not give it to her and we had one night of screaming but after that she was fine. She Never took a sippy cup either she hated them she went straight to a regular cup. Good luck
I have a feeling I'm going to be in the same boat. John has a bottle every night too. And a pacifier! Double trouble.
Good luck!
The only way that I got my son off the bottle was to throw them all away and when he was thirsty enough to want something to drink, I gave him a sippy cup and told him that he was too old for one and that he wasn't a baby anymore. It was awful for about a week, but he came around
I dont think its awful for him to have a bottle either Beth. Every baby has something particular that he/she enjoys and doesnt want to give up. In time you will know when you are ready to go through the giving up phase. Until then dont feel guilty. But for me, when that phase hit,I just took it away. With the pacifier, for Levi, I cut off the top and told him it was broken so he could see that it wasnt just lost but that it was no good. He cried for the first day off and on and then he moved on. You are such a good mommy, go with your instincts.
I agree it is not a bad thing, no two babies are the same. I have been slipping with Brett and giving him a bottle at nap time and bed time. Mostly I feel so bad for him. The other night he just cried and cried and once when I got up to put something in his sippy cup I noticed there was blood on the mouth piece. He was sucking so hard it was making his little mouth bleed :( I don't think I gave him enough time to get used to a sippy cup before trying to take his bottle away.
You might try giving him watered down milk and then slowly going to just water in his bottle. Maybe it won't be so appealing if there's no milk. Just an idea. And don't worry about it too much. You're doing a good job :D
Beth, here is something to consider that maybe you havent thought about. Giving him a bottle of milk or anything to go to bed with is TERRIBLE for his little teeth. That milk sits on his teeth all night long. My son Justin was allergic to all dairy when he was little and I worried about his teeth and bones. I worried he wouldnt have nice teeth. He finally out grew the allergy to dairy but he never acquired a taste for milk. He eats cheese, yogurt ect but no milk. Out of my 4 kids, he has the best teeth. One more thing to remember, he will drink from a sippy cup when that is the only choice. Yes, you may have some crying but he will get over it. I dont think you want him on the bottle until he is 5. I know someone that didnt want to deal with the crying so she let her have them until they were over 5! They would come home from school and have a bottle! Be brave, he will survive!
Thanks everyone for the advice and words of encouragement. I will put them to good use.
Kristiesue: Oh the poor little guys!!! That is so sad.
No comments or word of advice. I had the same trouble with my youngest daughter. She is now 6 and still sucks her lips.
Let us know how it goes.
How is the bottle breaking going??? Just curious. :D Still thinking about it and praying for ya ;) You can do it :D
I wouldn't worry too much...I was sailing along with the twins, happened to be at a twin function...when another mom mentioned how her husband just took her twins off their bottles cold turkey one day...it dawned on me as she said that "we have to take the twins off the bottle" as mine were a number of months older...I completely overlooked this (and to think these are #3 and 4!)...thankfully they gave them up without a huge fight. Lance still takes a soother though...he is only allowed it in bed. Em doesn't want hers. I just do what feels right for each child. It is all we can do!
Good luck!
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