Bye Bye Bottles

Some parents find it very difficult to ween their infant off the bottle. One parent I spoke with said,

"We have been trying to ween him from the bottle, but  he just continues to cry". I shook my head with understanding  to let her know that I knew weening from the bottle isn't easy. If you are a parent and want to know how to make the transition from the bottle to a sippy cup, here are a few suggestions I shared with the mother who had been trying to ween her infant from the bottle. 

Start with placing milk in a sippy cup and offer the cup during every meal or snack. Do this for about one to two weeks depending on your infant. If your infant needs a bottle before going to bed, go ahead and offer the bottle, because you want to make weening from the bottle a smooth transition. (Note: Don't allow the infant to go to sleep in the crib,sucking a bottle, Studies show ear infections and cavities will develop if the infant is allowed sucking while sleeping.). Next, depending on the number of bottles your infant takes with him/her to the baby sitter or daycare, take one bottle with milk, one sippy cup with milk and a sippy cup with water. Again, offer the sippy cup with every meal or snack  This plan can work if you don't give into the crying. Eventually the infant will learn if he/she wants a drink of milk or water he/she will drink from a sippy cup. Once you notice the infant is drinking from the sippy cup and doesn't need the bottle anymore, then pat your self on the back and say, "Yay! Bye Bye Bottle".