How can I wean my 2 yr old off the bottle?

Question

My son is the youngest out of 5, and I've never encountered a problem like this with any of my other 4 children, that's why I'm asking for some advice. He has cried himself to sleep because we have refused to give him a bottle, but it HAS to be MILK and ONLY milk in the bottle...he will literally throw it if it is not milk. Yes, I must admit that my husband and I have given after hours of crying and tantrums. I have no idea what to do anymore. We've tried hiding the bottles, telling him that , there nomore, the garbage man took them etc. We've tried to put milk in the sippy cup, and he refuses to take that. I'm running out of options. Please help. This bottle is his companion. I've read the jalapeno method and vicks vapor rub on the nipple, which I personally think is just mean to a child....that can upset your child's stomach for goodness sakes. If you have any REAL answers to my question, I'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

For a child who is strongly attached to her bottle as a comfort object, a gradual approach may be too agonizing. And she may already be down to just one or two daily bottles. A sudden withdrawal can be painful for everyone, but it may be the most effective method.

Start by skipping a least favorite feeding, such as in the middle of the day. Instead, engage in a fun activity together, such as reading a book or playing a game. Nap and night are favorite feedings and will probably be the last to go.

Answer 2

My son just turned 18 months old. We threw all of his bottles in the trash three days ago. He has not missed them at all. He also does not really like milk in his sippy cup for some reason. He will drink a small amount and that is it. At two years old he doesnt need large amounts of milk. They eat better when they are not filled up on bottles. At bed time I give my son a sippy cup with flavored water in it and he is fine. I would say throw the bottles in the trash for real and tell him that he is a big boy now. The take him out and let him pick a new big boy cup out at the store. He will get over the bottle very quickly. I think the parents have a harder time because they dont want to hear all the crying. Just get through it for a few days and it will be all over with. good luck.

Answer 3

I have a 17 month old and I'm trying to wean from his one bottle a day too. A few things I've heard :



First the cute ways:

1. Explain to your son that there might be other babies in the world that might need his bottles. Have him help you put his bottles in a box for "delivery"



2. You could tell him that he no longer needs a bottle and have him help you throw them away. That way he knows they are gone. He asks for one and then realizes he threw them out.



3. One night after he has gone to sleep pack up all his bottles. When he asks for one tell him a bottle fairy came and took them away to other babies.



Now the serious ways:



1. Gradually start limiting the milk you put in the bottle. So say you start with 7 oz milk. The next few nights give him 6 oz milk and 1 oz milk. Gradually taking away more milk untill there is only water left. By this time he may not want it any more.



2. Quit cold turkey. And stick to your guns! It will be hard for awhile but he will soon learn that it isn't getting him anywhere. This could go on for awhile...and it's tough.



3. There are these sippy cups called Nuby cups (at WalMart). They have a clear rubber spout that may help with the "suck" he needs from the bottle. This is what I've been doing for the last few days and it seems to be working. My son has't had a bottle in 3 days now :) Put every liquid he drinks into that thing.



Good luck! I know what your going through!

Answer 4

You know that 2 is way too old for the bottle, so be the parent and take it away. Don't just take it away, throw them out today! Every single bottle, nipple, etc in the house, toss them! He will throw tantrums, he will cry, but don't give in because if you do, he will be the one in control.



If this seems too harsh, then do it gradually. Let him pick out some cups at the store, and only give him a bottle once per day, not at bedtime though. No more nighttime bottles! Once he's down to one bottle a day, gradually make it once every other day, etc. and never give him a bottle on an outing. Outings are for big boy sippy cups, no bottles allowed!



I don't know what you've tried, but seems like you are giving up way too easily. May seem harsh to you, but within a week or two, the tantrums and crying will be over with,and he'll happily be drinking his milk from his favorite cup that he picked out at the store! Let him help you fill the cup, and make a special treat (like Ovaltine) that he can only have if he drinks it from the sippy. Start giving only water in the bottle too. If you're worried about his milk intake, like he stops drinking it, that's what the Ovaltine is for! YOu mix it with milk, lots of vitamins in it and it's very tasty.

Give it a shot, and don't give up!

Good luck!

Answer 5

I love your question. I had the same problem with my middle daughter. She was 2 when my youngest was born. I admit I used the bottle as a crutch, to keep her quiet or occupied while I took care of the baby. At 2 1/2 I realized that she was getting too old. I tried hiding the bottle but would give it to her out of frustration. I finally threw all bottles away. No "just in case" bottles hidden away.

The baby only breastfed so she didn't need one. I went through an evening of crying and the next day for a few hours. I just kept her occupied. It really wasn't that bad. Just dig in your heels and do it. It will be easier at 2 yrs old then at 3.

Answer 6

Please don't worry. Been having the same dilemma will my little girl. She will drink water out of a sippy cup, but not milk. We have now moved onto a bottle cup. It has a soft spout similar to a sippy cup, but looks just like a bottle. She never really noticed the difference! You can get them at Boots or Toys R Us and cost approx £2-£3. My health visitor advised me to gradually water down the milk to wean her off by adding half an ounce of water per day reducing the amount of milk. We're only losing our daytime milk, so we've been doing this and it seems to be working quite well. I am doing it really slowly though. Like you I will not resort to really drastic measures. My health visitor did say though that she doesn't have to lose her evening milk at all as its still good for her regardless of age. You sound like you're being a fantastic Mummy. All the best xxx

Answer 7

I'm actually having this problem with my 2-year-old. She is very much addicted to the comfort of a bottle, more so in the middle of the night and while falling asleep.



So far what I've learned is to just not give in, even if they scream at the top of their little lungs. If you give in then a pattern develops and they know that if they just scream louder next time you'll give in just as quick. They're training you while you think you're training them.



Get rid of the bottles, and keep only a few for when he goes to sleep at night. Give him soft sippy cups or those cheap nuby ones from walmart with the wavy sipper. let him kick and scream and throw the cup all he wants, just keep your cool and set it down where he can see it. eventually when he realizes that you're not going to give him the bottle he will take the cup if he is really thirsty or he will just cry himself to sleep.



only use the left over bottles at night and eventually get him off those as well. there is no special quick fix for getting a stubborn 2 year old off the bottle, to them it has become a habit and I'm sure you know that habits are hard to break :)

Answer 8

Is your son using a cup or sippy cup during the day?



If so this is his night time comfort. If you are worried about dental cavities be sure to clean his teeth several times during the day and let him have his comfort bottle at night. Do not make mountains out of mole hills. After all he is still very young. Do not compare him to your other children and do not tease or lie.



Try a change in bed time routine in a few months.. Longer before bed bath and a long story time or lullaby session.



The more you fight him now the worse it will become.

Answer 9

My son will be two in September and I was also having this problem. He has just been diagnosed as autistic and the therapist who works with him was very firm with me that I must take away the bottle. I tried the Avent sippy cups and a bunch of other sippy cups and he would just throw it. The therapist told me to get the sippy cup with the soft straw attached. I got a Baby Einstien cup at Toys R Us which did have the soft straw. I never thought he would take it, but amazingly the very first time I handed it to him, he just took it. Now he takes it with us in the stroller also. Good luck.

Answer 10

This is what we did with our eldest who had a similar problem.



We took the bottle and cut the teat when she wasn't looking. When she wanted it we did the "Oh no! it's broke" We'll have to get a new one tomorrow.



It took alot longer to get her to sleep that night, and the next few nights when we kept forgetting to buy a new one. After a few nights she stopped asking. This is from a child that wouldn't go to sleep without it.



Another thing someone did is take little one to a farm and donate it to the baby sheep/cow/goat as they need it desperately. Our local childrens farm does this all the time with bottles and dummies.



Good luck, it is hard. Parents whose baby didn't use a bottle for more than five minutes can be quite judgemental too.

Answer 11

Sunshine and Brittz are correct- he may be stubborn, but if he doesn't have any other option he'll have to take a sippie cup. He knows right now he DOES have an option- if he cries long and hard enough about it one of you will give in, so he holds out for the bottle-

Answer 12

just allow him the bottle with no more power struggles or comment. he will absolutely drop the habit when hes ready. my son still wanted a warmed milk bottle at age two and stuill needed the security of rocking before bed in my old rocking chair. i enjoyeed this quiet time with him and i would sing little songs to him as he took that nice warnm bottle. he already had given up the day bottles and was sippie cup drinking but he still needed the comfort of that one bottle. its no big deal unless you make it one trust me!



after several months of doing this, my son just one day laughed and threw the night time bottle across the room! he never took it again.





it was the same for his pacifier and his teddy bear he insisted must go everywhwere he went. its a security thing and at age 1 to 3 they are still babies . they grow up[ fast as it is so let him set his own timetable. maybe its your own need to stop giving him the bottle ? what is convenient to parents is not always in the best interest of our kids.





my son is 37 and he remembvers with fondness that quiet time of the last warm milk bvottle and his moms singing! i was am,azed he remembered it .





he is a fine independent man now and no separation issues as a result of bottle feeding into age two!

Answer 13

If you've told him more than once that you threw it out, etc and then gave it back to him, it's going to be REALLY hard to conquer this one. I had a hard time getting my son to give up the bottle. He's a milk lover so I finally ended up just giving him his bottle at night with WATER only. Trust me, he will drink when he's thirsty. Take them all and REALLY throw them away this time. It's going to be hard the first few days but you will make it through it. Try not to do it when you son has additional stress going for him, that will only make it worse.

Answer 14

i bought my son a bottle that is a cross between a cup and a bottle . from asda or tesco not sure which . took him 2 days to get used to it he kept throwing it on the floor. i persevered.



i gave him his milk before bedtime sitting on sofa afta his bath took a while to get the routine but am now weaning the amount down and sometimes he doesnt even have or remember about it finally :)

Answer 15

Have you tried asking if he would like to go shopping for a new cup let him chose and ask if he can give the bottles to the lady/man at the checkout in exchange for his big boy cup. Although it may seem cruel sometimes you have to be that bit tougher and dont give in to their crying, see if the shopping for the big boy cup is something he is ready for.

Answer 16

ok my sister was over had just turned 1 and loved her bottle so we had a cup with milk on the counter and I put a glob of mustard on her nipple and she made a face and never took a bottle again

Answer 17

This was in one of my parenting mags...They people from the mag said to just keep giving your child the sippy..they will take it sooner or later >.> some kids are hard to break away from the bottle

Answer 18

have you tried the sippee cups with the bottle nipples? after awhile you could swap cups then to a regular sippee cup. I would suggest to let him help you throw ALL the bottles away so he knows they are really gone...call them baby bottles and refer to his sippee cups as big kid cups. hope this helps, good luck.

Answer 19

Sippy cups. the nuby ones. work just as good. way to old to be on a bottle. He probably wont even be able to tell the difference either.

Answer 20

This really works. Get an Old Time Farmers Almanac or talk to an old timer that has one. Find out when the signs are right for weaning and take his bottle away then. I broke both my kids from their bottles and potty trained them using this method.

Answer 21

Get him to throw the bottle away yourself!!

obviously this will take time, tell him the bottle is yucky or whatever & after a while you can encourage him to bin it, then once its gone, its gone. tell him that HE threw it away because its disgusting

Answer 22

although i have no answer i can sympathies with you my son was nearly 4 by the time i managed 2 get him off his it nearly drove me nuts! in the end i threw all his bottles and persevered with the tantrums be patient thats your best bet!

Answer 23

Cold turkey...he's too old to still be on the bottle.Buy him some nice 'sippy cups' and be very matter-of-fact that he will now be using those,as the bottles are being given away to a baby who needs them:)

Answer 24

ur suppose to start usein a sippy cup at the age of 6months so by the time your kids a year old they will be off of the bottle

Answer 25

give him a plastic cup with milk in it and a straw and say you are a big boy now you can drink it like this now all the big kids are drinking it like this.

Answer 26

Whats the problem if he wants a bottle of milk at two,let him have one,who cares?Its not harming him.If you try and force the issue,because you have decided it should happen,then you could harm him.He's hardly going to want one when he's 10 years old sooo chill out.



Perhaps you could divert your parenting efforts into something more productive and important.



I think you have the problem ,not your child,I feel rather sorry

for him you big bully!

Answer 27

Do the Mexican way, put chile on the bottle! Works for some!