# My 2 year old still uses a bottle



## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

There. I said it.

He did JUST turn 2 and all...I tried one day to get him to drink milk out of a sippy cup and he LOST HIS MIND (He had no choice because the bottles were all dirty) He's starting to use it less and less often. But when he's teething sometimes it's all that I can get into him during the day.

Is it THAT horrible? He'll drink water and juice from cups. We never even transitioned to sippy cups because he wanted to just drink from a cup...except milk.


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## babygirlie (Jun 4, 2009)

mine still uses a bottle and no cups and rarely a sippy cup. Had no idea I was doing something wrong :/


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## lookatreestar (Apr 14, 2008)

i would say no worries. my almost 2 year old nurses on demand still (within reason) and he would probably refuse mommy milk in any form but from the tap. he drinks all other beverages from a regular cup


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## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *babygirlie*
> 
> mine still uses a bottle and no cups and rarely a sippy cup. Had no idea I was doing something wrong :/


I guess I need to stop looking online because everything says at this age NO BOTTLES (yes, one had it in all caps) And the reactions we get from people (hell, the reactions we got LAST YEAR from people was ridiculous)

And it's only milk from a bottle! Every other liquid he does from a cup. He even drinks from a water bottle (like, the disposable kind) like a pro!


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## nettlesoup (Feb 3, 2009)

I'm guilty as well. My daughter turned to in March and she's still on bottles for her milk. She does drink her water out of sippy cups though. I managed to get her afternoon milk in a sippy cup, but then she regressed and started refusing it. I really need to get her off the bottles, but I know it won't be taken well at all!


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## kindchen (Dec 8, 2008)

Hmm. My two-year-old AND my four-year-old still use bottles for milk. The guideline that they must stop by 12 months seems so arbitrary to me. I've taken the kids to the dentist, and their teeth are perfectly healthy. They get comfort from the bottles, and I don't see anything wrong with that.


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## lookatreestar (Apr 14, 2008)

oh and my niece still has a bottle at 3.5...


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## cocoanib (May 14, 2009)

I don't see the problem. I would'nt worry about which type of vessel he drinks from.

Besides the teeth thing, i wonder why people get so invested in what age a child stops using a bottle.


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## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cocoanib*
> 
> I don't see the problem. I would'nt worry about which type of vessel he drinks from.
> 
> Besides the teeth thing, i wonder why people get so invested in what age a child stops using a bottle.


From the reactions I've gotten I think it's just another "X happens at Y age" thing...like forward facing or wearing shoes.


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## Rlin (Apr 9, 2010)

Well, I wouldn't worry as he can obviously drink from a cup as well. The milk bottle is probably a comfort thing. I don't see the need to take this away, but if you want to wean him from a bottle maybe you could try a sippy with a soft spout? DS likes them still (he's almost 3 y old, still nursing and can drink from anything).


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## marispel (May 27, 2008)

My DS is almost 33 mo and he gets a bedtime bottle. He also gets a bottle on weekends before nap and if we're on a road trip he DEMANDs a bottle. LOL. I used to worrry about it, but it's a comfort thing. He's happy, I'm happy, he sleeps better....why take that away. I'm so thankful for it if he wakes in the night - it soothes him and I'm fine with that for now.

Now, he will drink milk from a sippy cup during the day - but the majority of his milk intake is from a bottle at bedtime.

You may want to offer him whole milk in a sippy cup during the day and start watering down the bottle during the day - see if that will help him transition?


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## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

Thanks everyone for your happy thoughts!!! It IS just a comfort thing. We use it like I would use nursing before. If he gets hurt, on long car trips, and to help him relax before naps. We've pretty much nixed it before bedtime. (Well, except right now because he's teething) We drink raw milk and when he's teething it's one of the few foods I can get into him...so I'm hesitant to take that away.


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## egmaranian (Aug 15, 2009)

Subbing. I just posted almost the same question in the Child Led Weaning forum. My DS turns two in a few weeks and it just kills me that he still drinks his milk from a bottle. I have been thinking that the "Bottle Fairy" would be showing up around the time he turns two and will take all the bottles away. I am expecting a new baby in August and I really don't want to be tandem nursing (yes, DS nurses in addition to the bottle) AND dealing with bottles for the toddler...

I think what I'm realizing from all the responses so far is maybe I just need to lighten up?!?


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Eh. I don't care. DD is almost 2 and still has a bottle twice a day when I am out of the house WFT. Mixture of bm and cow's milk. She doesn't have them when I am home however because she is still nursing. They are only given when I am away.

But I am finally going to stop pumping at work and when the stash is gone, I'll switch her away from bottles. I refuse to see them when I am home and if my supply crashes and she wants to drink milk during the day she can have a nurse, have a sippy, or stop drinking milk. I am happy to haver her nurse as long as possible but I am not, not okay with seeing her having a bottle in my presence. I am okay with any of the outcomes.


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## ~Amy~ (Jun 7, 2009)

Meh. My 3 year old nursed to sleep not 15 minutes ago. No judgment here, mama.


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## Peppermint Poppies (Jan 7, 2007)

My 4yo just weaned from bottles of the eve of his 4th birthday. It was undoubtedly parent-led weaning, but we'd been talking to him about it for about 6 months and whilst initial discussions were met with anger, he was quite accepting of it by the end, and the actual weaning was completely non-eventful. He drank his last evening bottle, and the next night said "I'm a big boy now, no more bottles" and that was that.


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## seansmom (Aug 12, 2011)

my son is also using the bottle still..although he does use sippy cups during the day..we recently had a newborn who is just about 4 mths old..the potty training and bottle are so hard to take away from him right now...he already feels someone taking his place...we do always reassure him his brother is here to share his life not take his place..its all so overwhelming that we are taking our time with these other changes...we have to do what works for us right now..I feel he is behind in that sense..but..in time we will take the time and be consistant with him and he will be potty trained and the bottle will be a thing of the past..any suggestions or advice..would love to hear from you


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## insidevoice (Feb 16, 2011)

I don't rush to take bottles away. My three year old just gave them up. My nearly 2 yo is SO NOT READY. They are only used for bedtime or occasional naps. Maybe I am just really bad at it, but my kids wean from breast to bottle and cling to the bottle for a while before they are ready to give it up completely. I suppose I could press the issue and go through a week or two of endless tantruming... but I don't see a reason. They will let go when they are ready.

Drinks throughout the day are offered in straw cups most of the time, but the Holy Grail that is the sleepytime bottle? It's not going away any time soon.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

My 2 year old uses a bottle with our nanny but nurses when I am around.I am transitioning her off them soon and if she stops drinking milk as a result I don't really care. I wft and I pumped until almost 2. I didn't see a reason to mess with the situation. But I refuse to have them around me, personally, and if she isn't drinking bm out of them then I don't see the point. My supply has probably dipped enough that I would allow her milk when I am home but not out of a bottle.

She uses an open cup for most drinking and occasionally a host of others. She prefers the open cup.


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## foxsmama (Apr 26, 2011)

When DS was 17 months old, he also refused to use a sippy cup for his milk. One afternoon he left his (last remaining) bottle out and the milk went sour. I pitched it in the trash and gave him a soft spout sippy cup. He wasn't happy for about a day, then he got used to the cup. We started out using a munchkin brand cup but switched to nuby soft spout.


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## Mammakie (Oct 16, 2012)

My boy turned two in September - and he still gets a milky before sleep, and two small milkies during the day - he loves it, its good for him and he drinks tea, juice and water from sippy cups, normal cups, sports bottles or even from plastic wine glasses - he still walks around with his 'doekie' (towel nappy) and when he has a fall or needs comfort he holds on to it - he stopped sucking on a dummy (pacifier) as soon as he started crawling (at about 8 months). I plan on reducing the daytime milkies in the near future to just one small bottle - but he eats very well and drinks a lot of water, so I cannot see any reason to stop giving him milk (I give him formula for toddlers) I think he will stop wanting it when he does not need it anymore - in the meantime he is a happy boy who loves a bottle at bedtime and naptime - it relaxes him.


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## Mama2Dane (Aug 24, 2007)

We stopped giving DS bottles at almost 2, but that was because he started chewing through the nipples. I'd like to be able to save the bottles for subsequent children, you know?







He stopped taking the pacifier on his own around ten months or so.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Just thought I would update: after I stopped pumping at two I directed our nanny to switch to sippies only, with a special cup she tolerated more than others. But then I figured out our nanny hadn't really understood or chosen to understood and that she was still having bottles. Really the bottles were the only way she would nap AND only if she was bounced on a excercise ball with an ergo

At that point it was around 2y6m and I really didn't care if she was drinking milk but I didn't think there was any reason why a two year old needed to have a bottle and bounce on a ball to sleep. And I was okay if she gave up her nap. So, all bottles were removed from the house and she had the option to have a sippy if she liked and a nap in her bed if she liked and if she wouldn't then that was okay. And that was pretty much the last nap she took and the last time she willingly drank milk. And it has been fine.


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## MsDolphin (Jan 5, 2010)

Just to share my two cents.

My DS also could drink from sippy cups, straws and even a regular cup - which he used for water, juice and fruit smoothies. Milk he would only take from a bottle, mostly at night before bed. I wanted him off the bottle at 24mon. We went on a 4 day trip a month before his 2nd birthday. I took bottles with us, but hid them. He nevered asked for a bottle when I gave him milk in a cup. He did great. I loved it!

However when we got home, he went straight to the cabinet we kept his bottles in, to look for them. I had moved them. It was a little heart-breaking to watch him look for the bottles, when I knew what he wanted. However he never cried or threw a tantrum. After a few days he stopped looking.

So, if you can do something to get out of your normal element - it might give you a good opportunity to wean him off the bottle. It worked out great for us, I dreaded trying to wean him off the bottle. Good luck, if you decide to give it a try.


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## desidoesit (Oct 9, 2012)

Well...my 2 1/2 year old son still wants a bottle. I am starting to feel really guilty. He drinks from cups at daycare, but when he sees me or his dad, he asks for a baba. I let it go on for too long because he was a preemie and also I was busy with his older sister who is 13 months older. She is way off the bottle, but she could talk early so I explained it to her and she saw what the other kids were doing. Son doesn't talk too much yet, and I keep trying other delivery devices but he won't drink milk out of anything but a bottle! Nice to read about other parents going through the same thing!


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