from bottle weaning to milk

Ready to cut back on bottles? Or maybe trying to increase interest in milk for your toddler? I’ve got you.

There are SO many ways to wean your baby from the bottle. Each child is unique in the way this works best. Here are two methods when your child is ready after 12 months. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends weaning at 12 months and at least by 18 months. I recommend weaning between 12-15 months.

COLD TURKEY- Just how it sounds. Package up the bottles and completely move to cups. Say “bye” to bottles and 100% of milk is through cups (or nursing). This is usually best closer to one vs older toddlers OR for little ones not all that attached to their bottle.

If you primarily nurse I recommend this option. Of course, we are assuming baby is a great solid eater and eating 3 meals a day of balanced foods. This is the method I used for all three of my littles.

GRADUAL WEAN- This is gradually weaning from the bottle over a period of time. This usually works better for older toddlers. Daytime bottles are typically the easiest to remove first as you can replace with a snack. Nighttime and AM bottles are the next. Quick tips:

-start with a daytime bottle and switch to a snack

-slowly reduce ounces during the day if you prefer to slowly wean the amount of ounces before taking a bottle away

-offer cheese, yogurts etc if you feel your child isn’t drinking enough milk (vitamin D and calcium rich foods) More on that later.

-use a new cup for milk and make it exciting for fun. If you have a older child let them pick!

-start a NEW bedtime routine or AM routine. Don’t sit in the same rocking chair right away when you used to give a bottle. Read a book on the floor, dance to music, wind down in a new spot for a couple weeks.

-remember, this is challenging but you can do it- have realistic expectations

-move dinner a little later so they can stretch all night without feeds

I recommend keeping milk to 16-22 ounces max per day. Want some favorite cup recommendations? Check these out.

Why is it important to wean from the bottle?

Cavities

This is because drinking the bottle right before bed or throughout the night means that milk is sitting on the teeth throughout the night. Sugars naturally occurring in milk can lead to tooth decay or cavities.

Potential Orthodontic Issues

Drinking from a bottle uses an “immature swallowing pattern” and while this is great for a baby, using this pattern into toddlerhood isn’t great for your child’s oral cavity. Your child’s oral muscles including jaw, teeth, and palate are all affected by the way that babies suck on bottles and extract liquid. Long term baby bottle use past 18 months can push out the teeth leading to a tongue thrust or misshape the palate.

Overconsumption of liquids

We want our children to be eating their calories rather than drinking (pending developmentally appropriate skills). For some kids, it is easier to drink 8 ounces quickly than eat a meal, which can lead to overuse of the bottle.

Picky Eating

If a child knows they will get a bottle soon after meals, the drive to eat solids can be lower. We also don’t want baby to come to the table already a little full from a bottle- it’s so hard to try new foods when not hungry!

How to help their interest in drinking milk?

First, I would start to add a little bit of whole milk to their bottle around 1 to get them used to the taste mixed in with their breastmilk/formula

-Try a different cup at the table so they don’t have the surprise of milk when they wanted water

-Try adding water to their milk cup and slowly adding more milk less water

-Try blending milk with some bananas and slowly reducing banana in the cup

-Offer throughout different times of the day not just when they are hangry

-Add ICE to their milk, serving it really cold can help bring interest

-Try the “juice box” milk for something different

What foods should you serve if your toddler absolutely won’t drink milk?

Think calcium and vitamin D rich foods!

-cheese

-tofu

-almond butter

-salmon

-eggs

-spinach

-yogurt

-oatmeal

-oranges

-tahini

-beans

Learn more here on my page!

Need individualized help weaning? Email info@eattalkgrow and let’s chat!!