Bottle Weaning

I hear many moms asking for advice on when and how to wean their child from the bottle or breast. Ages for this range from 9 months all the way up to 6 years, but more typically age one to 18 months. I knew one mom that said her child still used his bottle at night at 7 years old. This shocked me and had us questioning our doctor’s recommendation that the bottle be switched to sippy cup BY age 12 months.

We made it by 14 months with our now-4 year old, and only felt a little bit like indulgent parents!

All kidding aside, there is a wealth of information out there about when to wean from a bottle. Here is the medical info – WebMD: Bottle to Cup. This helpful article also provides suggestions on how to make the switch. We had success with doing it slowly, first during the day starting around 11 months. Our little one continued to have a bottle at night for a few more months, when we changed to a sippy and got rid of those bottles. Was it the best way? I had no idea! I just knew we tried to follow our doctor’s recommendation, while at the same time meeting the needs of our child.

There was another bit of information we found to share, that describes baby bottle tooth decay. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends switching your breastfed or bottle fed child to a cup before age two, and as early (before 2) as possible. However you choose to do it, remember this is one in many positive changes in your child’s life as they grow!

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