Bottle Weaning: Your Comprehensive How-To Guide

Does the thought of bottle weaning your toddler make you want to crawl under the kitchen table and cry? If not, you’re doing well, and if so, you’re not alone.

Bottle weaning is particularly hard when your child is comforted by the bottle (especially at bed time). And it’s hard on mamas!

Bottle Weaning is a major step in the transition from babyhood to toddlerdom, and we know from experience how difficult it can be both physically and emotionally.

So what’s a tired mama to do? Let the kid go to bed with that precious bottle or fight it out? The good news is that with a few tips, you can be free of the fight over that damn bottle! We’re saying there won’t be a tear or two, but it can be much easier than you imagine.

Here’s what we’ve learned and want you to know about successfully bottle weaning your precious little one (who turns into a monster when you try to take their bottle away).

We’ve got everything you need to know, including:

Why bottle is weaning an issue
When you should bottle wean
Tips to make bottle weaning easier for everyone
Bottle substitutions to placate your child

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Table of Contents

Why Is Bottle Weaning an Issue?

If you’ve struggled with bottle weaning, you probably KNOW that it can be a huge issue for you and your child (and anyone else living in your household). But why?

Well, many children become attached to the comfort of the bottle. You likely held baby and sang or cooed at them while they drank, and they have positive feelings attached to it. Fret not, mama. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing! In fact, you’ve likely done something right if your baby is attached to their bottle.

But there comes a time (more on this next) when baby needs to be weaned from this attachment.

Pediatric experts note that there are several negative health issues that can spring from baby being bottle fed for too long, including:

Tooth decay
Improper dental development
Delayed appropriate feeding skills
Not consuming enough solids to meet nutrient requirements

When is the “Right” Time to Bottle Wean?

Obviously, each child is different, and what works for one baby might not work for another. But many pediatricians recommend trying a sippy cup around 6 months of age and weaning your child off the bottle around 12-18 months. (But to be honest, my son Jack was definitely 2 before we put ourselves through the sippy cup transition.)

Doctors also recommend switching from formula to cow’s milk around 12 months of age. For many families, it can be a natural transition to switch formula in a bottle to cow’s milk in a sippy cup.

If this sounds early to you, you can also go by milestones. For instance, your child is likely ready to be weaned when:

When they have the developmental skills to hold a sippy cup (usually around one year of age)
They can fully sit up by themselves
They show interest in solid foods
Have an established routine for mealtimes

When Is a Child “Too Old” for a Bottle?

Look, if you’re googling “when is a child too old for a bottle,” you’re either a judgemental family member, you have a judgmental family member, or you’re a mama who has a more than sneaking suspicion that it’s time for your kid to give it up.

We are ABSOLUTELY not here to judge you if your two-year-old is still clinging to the bottle. Mine was too! But if I could go back in time, I’d do it differently. Live and learn.

We’re simply here to provide the best information for you to make an informed decision about your child’s bottle weaning.

That said, as we mentioned earlier, there are some very real implications, including tooth decay, that can happen when your child is on the bottle too long. And experts say that the longer you wait to wean, the more attached your child will be (and the harder it will be to wean them). True story. Trust me.

So the main takeaway here is that, in an ideal world, you should start trying to wean around one year of age to help it go as smoothly as possible.

Tips to Make Bottle Weaning Easier for Everyone

Now that we’ve established when to bottle wean and its importance in terms of baby’s oral development, it’s time to try this out! Ready? Deep breaths. You’ve got this!

1. Make sure there are no extra stressors when you decide to wean

Here’s the deal: you don’t want to try to take away your 14-month-old’s bottle during a stressful time, like starting daycare or moving into a new home. Make sure that things are as peaceful as possible when you decide to try bottle weaning.

2. Don’t drop the bottle completely at first

You know how quitting anything cold turkey as an adult sucks?

Well, it’s the same for your child! Try dropping a bottle during the middle of the day when your child can have baby food or some solids instead. Likely, they won’t even think about the missing bottle.

Over time, you can continue to decrease the number of bottles your child receives. The evening bottle will be the hardest to drop, so save that one for last.

3. Start early and proceed gradually

Introduce the cup early.

We’re talking 3-6 months. Why? Well, your child won’t be drinking from it this early, but seeing the object and getting used to it is a good thing! You can let them play with it and hold it. (Didn’t do this and your baby is older? No worries. Just start now.)

Around age 8-10 months, doctors recommend substituting one bottle with a sippy cup per day. Again, this shouldn’t be a major meal time. Use the same cup at the same meal time every day.

Go week by week. After being consistent with the sippy cup substitution for one meal in the first week, try substituting the bottle a second time. Continue gradually and with care! You want to make sure that you are helping your little one sip from their new cup and that they get the hang of it. This will eliminate frustration for both of you!

4. Have empathy and offer comfort

Okay, look.

We know how frustrating it is to want to go to bed yourself when your one-year-old is throwing a holy hell fit over a bottle. Your first instinct is to probably hand them the bottle and close their nursery door, and we don’t blame you.

But try to think about it from your little person’s perspective: you’ve taken away something that brings them comfort and joy, and that, well, sucks for them.

Try offering objects to replace the bottle, such as a lovey, extra cuddles at nighttime, or an extra song or two as they fall asleep.

Reminding your baby that you are there for them despite the lack of the bottle is helpful for you both as you navigate this transition. And please do keep in mind that you’re BOTH transitioning here. It’s okay to feel like this is hard on baby AND yourself.

5. Offer praise and new cups!

So, empathy is great, but so is praise.

Your toddler is very receptive to your tone of voice, so make sure you let them know that you are proud of them when they take a sippy cup instead of a bottle.

Involve them in shopping for the new cup (or unwrapping it if you ordered it from Amazon). Get them excited about the new cup and show them how you drink from one.

For instance, grab both your coffee cup in the morning and their sippy cup. Make a big deal about both baby and mama drinking out of cups together. This will be a good bonding activity for you both and will give you a chance to praise your child for drinking out of their cup.

The Best Sippy Cup for Weaning from Bottle

When it comes to choosing the best sippy cup to help wean your baby, there are a TON of options out there. And honestly, your child will probably have a preference. So where should you start?

We asked our community of moms to give us their favorite sippy cups for bottle weaning, and they definitely delivered! In what follows, you’ll find our favorite mama-tested and baby-approved sippy cups for weaning from the bottle.