Like all things parenting, just when you have something figured out, your baby changes and you’re onto the next thing. As your baby grows into a toddler, you’ll want to start thinking about dropping the bottle. There are plenty of reasons why you should and how to go about making the transition. Read along to find the best way for how to easily transition to the sippy cup.
Once Jackson hit his one year appointment, my pediatrician really started encouraging that we drop the bottle and the pacifier. Jackson was never a good sleeper and you can read more about my unorthodox sleep advice here. So when we finally had him sleeping all night, I was NOT ready to mess with it by taking away his pacifier and bottle.
Your pediatrician will encourage you drop the bottle before a year and at maximum before 18 months. Research shows that prolonged bottle use can aid in dentistry problems or early tooth decay. Also, the longer baby uses the bottle, the harder it will be to get rid of.
How to easily transition to the sippy cup
If you have been hanging around my blog for a while (thank you so much!), you know that I’m an advocate for mama knows best. Of course, I’m not a doctor and simply share what works for my family. But I take expert advice, mix it with my own mama intuition and muddle my way through every milestone and stepping stone of parenting. Then, I share with you!
I decided to go against my pediatrician’s advice and waited to transition to the sippy cup. We were finally sleeping, I liked our cozy bottle routine for bed and I didn’t think he was ready. Sleep for Jackson (and us) overruled dropping the bottle. Plus, I found comfort in ready that plenty of other moms let their kids have a bottle up to and past a year and half.
We transitioned to the sippy cup in just a few, easy weeks. There was no crying, no lost sleep and it was a piece of cake! Here is the method that worked for us and how to easily transition to the sippy cup.
| 1. Timing is everything |
Mama knows best. You will keel over trying to keep up with what your pediatrician says and what other moms are doing. Wait until you know that you and your baby are ready to make the transition to the sippy cup. You want to set yourselves up for success. Make sure you all are rested, healthy and ready to take on whatever the transition will have in store for you.
For us, we were having a baby in a few months and I didn’t want Jackson to mix up his and baby’s drinks. Jackson had already dropped the morning and nap time bottle. He was a year and a half, healthy, and we were all in a good spot to give the transition a try.
| 2. Start easy|
Make the transition one bottle at a time. Pick the easiest bottle of the day to drop. For me, I was the most nervous about interfering with sleep, so we started with the morning bottle. I simply made the switch. Instead of offering the bottle when Jackson got up, I gave him a cup of milk.
He wouldn’t really drink out of the cup for the first few days, but after I locked down some sippy cups that he liked, it was great! Don’t worry about your child not getting enough milk. He or she will make it up throughout the rest of the day with other food and drinks. If your child is really refusing the cup or upset by no bottle, experiment by offering other styles.
| 3. Weaning |
Continue weaning your child from the bottle with the next easiest transition time. That meant I was taking on the nap time bottle. I was SO nervous and expected the worst. I went into the nap with low expectations, followed our nap routine and gave a sippy cup instead of bottle. Jackson didn’t even notice! He made no acknowledgement of the switch.
I firmly believe that waiting until we were both ready made the transition so smooth. After a few days, I went ahead and took the nighttime bottle alway too and the same thing happened! It felt like a miracle and a huge parenting win!
That’s how to easily transition to the sippy cup. Wait until you and your child are ready and slowly wean them one bottle at a time. I also think it’s okay to decide after a few days that dropping the bottle isn’t working and to give it a go another time.
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