Reason for weaning from bottle at 1 yo?

What is the reasoning behind weaning off of bottles to sippy cups by one
year? Are there studies showing detrimental effects from continued use
of bottles?

It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to clean.

I'm in no hurry to wean my twins off of bottles. Nipples are easier to
clean than valves. They take their water in sippy cups and milk in bottles.

Does anyone know?

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

Truffles wrote:
What is the reasoning behind weaning off of bottles to sippy cups by one
year? Are there studies showing detrimental effects from continued use
of bottles?

IIRC it has to do with proper positioning of the teeth and the development
of the tongue. Both are important for speech development. Sippy cups require
a different drinking technique which helps the tongue to be more versatile.
But that's just what I've heard, perhaps someone with a more expert opinion
can enlighten us. As for the teeth: it is the same issue over and over,
whether a child sucks thumb, finger, pacifier or nipples: all can influence
the positioning of the front teeth. I don't think this is a bad thing,
dentists often think otherwise.

It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to clean.

Ah, the Playtex conspiracy

FWIW DS weaned himself of nipples. Just started to refuse them completely
a little while ago.

--
-- Ilse
mom to Olaf (07/15/2002)
TTC #2
"What's the use of brains if you are a girl?"
Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch woman to receive a PhD

I was told that it can be bad for their teeth if you put anything other than
water in the bottles. Im sure this can be true for sippy cups as well if
kids are sucking on them all day too. But I think the constant sucking of a
bottle is more likely than a constant sucking of a sippy...if that makes
sense. Also for ear problems, the sucking on a bottle is somewhat more
likely to open up the ear canals - I've heard, Im no expert on this at all.

My daughter was weaned at 11 mos because she refused to drink her formula.
We NEVER give anything but that (or breast milk) in bottles so the bottles
went too. My son was breast fed until 9 mos and he went to a bottle and
loved it but on his 1st b-day we threw them all out. He cried the first
night and that was it. His cousin however was nearly 3.5 before he was
weaned because they didnt try to wean until he was already 2 and you can't
reason too well with a 2 yr old. They did say if they had to do it again
they would not have waited.

Honestly, I dont think there is anything *wrong* with it but we didnt do it
and I would get rid of them by a year again if it was an issue again next
time simply because by 12 mos, they don't need them. And I would rather have
my kids drinking from a cup than a bottle when they are toddlers. Of course,
others would disagree and this is just my opinion. Good luck whatever you
decide!

Kari
mom to Kaylie (7) Noah (4) and #3 due Sept/Oct


"Truffles" wrote in message
...
What is the reasoning behind weaning off of bottles to sippy cups by one
year? Are there studies showing detrimental effects from continued use
of bottles?

It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to clean.

I'm in no hurry to wean my twins off of bottles. Nipples are easier to
clean than valves. They take their water in sippy cups and milk in
bottles.

Does anyone know?

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

Oh, I agree constant sucking of milk/juice (although mine don't drink
juice) all day can lead to rotten teeth. I guess because I don't use
the bottles that way I forgot that other people do. I just give them
their milk, they sit in their chairs and drink it.

I don't see how the delivery method could possibly matter, if that's all you
do. It is lying around with milk/juice/other sugary stuff against the teeth
that can cause baby bottle mouth. It takes prolonged periods of sucking to
deform teeth and palates and so on.

It is of course also bad for the teeth to constantly be sipping any sugary
drink all day long. I guess the ban on bottles is really a ban on those habits,
which are supposed to be part of the whole bottle "thing." But they aren't
necessarily.

--Helen

"Truffles" wrote in message
...
What is the reasoning behind weaning off of bottles to sippy cups by one
year? Are there studies showing detrimental effects from continued use
of bottles?


I have heard they can be bad for the kids teeth in the long run.


It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to clean.


True but it's a step in the direction of using a cup. I used on just as a
way to get Hamish used to the idea, he uses a normal cup now.


I'm in no hurry to wean my twins off of bottles. Nipples are easier to
clean than valves. They take their water in sippy cups and milk in
bottles.

This is what we did. I think it was the best of both worlds. Hamish got used
to the cup and learned to use a cup properly but there was no rush to get
rid of the bottle. He gave the bottle up himself at about 18 months.

Judy













Does anyone know?

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to clean.


While there are lots of reasons given that have varying amounts of validity
(tooth decay, attachment issues, 'window of opportunity', etc.), my guess would
be that it's really just one of those things that has just always been done.
Back when baby feeding first began to become 'scientific' doctors typically
began recommending weaning (from the breast -- few babies were formula fed at
that point), between 9-12 months, because they'd found that babies nursed
longer than that often became anemic. (Keep in mind that there was no mixed
feeding. A bf baby got only breastmilk, so anemia would be likely by one year.)

Soon after this, formula feeding began to be common, and the 'wean 9-12 months'
rule was simply carried over to formula.
Plus, there was lots of concern about encouraging children to become mature and
independent as soon as possible, and getting babies off the bottle would aid
that.
(And, of course, once a baby switched from formula to cows milk, it made
practical sense to switch him to a cup, since the practice of preparing the
formula and sterlizing the bottles went hand in hand.)

Today, I think different doctors have different attitudes. (Just as with
breastfeeding.) Some will push to get baby off the bottle early. Others figure
that baby will wean when he's ready....


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

I weaned two of my children off of the bottle at a year and my oldest off of
the bottle at 15 months. The reason? Well mostly because that's what the
docs said and the baby books AND I wanted them off because if you wait until
a little later when they are toddlers, then it becomes much harder. None of
my kids minded having the bottle taken away at that point. They were
drinking out of sippy cups since six months. My oldest was the only one that
had a hard time and she was 15 months. So the next two, I got them off of it
sooner so I didn't want to miss my window of opportunity.
--
Sue
mom to three girls

Truffles wrote in message
...
What is the reasoning behind weaning off of bottles to sippy cups by one
year? Are there studies showing detrimental effects from continued use
of bottles?

It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to clean.

I'm in no hurry to wean my twins off of bottles. Nipples are easier to
clean than valves. They take their water in sippy cups and milk in
bottles.

Does anyone know?

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

Truffles wrote:
What is the reasoning behind weaning off of bottles to sippy cups by
one year? Are there studies showing detrimental effects from
continued use
of bottles?

It just seems to me one year is a little early to wean off a bottle.
Also, *IMO* a sippy cup is just a glorified bottle that's harder to
clean.

I'm in no hurry to wean my twins off of bottles. Nipples are easier to
clean than valves. They take their water in sippy cups and milk in
bottles.

Does anyone know?

I'm not sure why there's such a rush to get rid of bottles after 12 months.
My feeling was always that I would at least comfort breastfeed a toddler
into his third year if he wanted it. So it seemed natural to continue bottle
feeding that long for the same reasons. I was able to bf my eldest child
until he weaned himself at around 18 months but my daughter was bottlefed
from 3 - 4 months until 2ish. I think she gave it up when she dropped her
daytime nap and she was then ready to let it go. My youngest is almost 30
months and he has a bottle of cow's milk when going to bed and sometimes
when he's ill or upset.

I am reluctant to stop it just yet just because it is so successful as a
calming agent. Another reason is that he is one of those children who isn't
very interested in food and exists on fruit, yoghurt and vegemite toast.
However, he's starting to drop his daytime nap so I don't think his bottle
will last much longer. He can drink out of a normal cup and bottles are
always given from someone's arms and never left in his cot. None of my
children have had trouble with their teeth or speech, and, though none were
early talkers, the older two had no problems and speak well (13 and 11) and
the youngest is progressing normally.

I think you should do whatever you feel is good for your babies and what
makes your life easiest. Especially with twins!

BTW I've always found straw cups better than sippy cups. When they tip them
over you only get a small amount of spillage from whatever's in the straw at
the time and I found my children could suck on a straw far more effectively
and earlier than they could on a valved sippy cup.

Tai

It isn't necessary to wean off of bottles to sippy cups (with valves).
I have weaned two of my children and am in the process of weaning my 9
month old over to what I call "drippy cups." These cups just have a
smaller opening. I think they require a bit more fine motor control,
but that isn't a bad thing. From there, more conservative experts
suggest switching to an open cup at 18 months.

Karen

So if the child is breastfed, and still nursing at say 16 months, it makes
sense that while their mom is at work the baby will still want its milk from
a bottle, as the baby is not weaning.

Except that a nursing toddler is MUCH less likely to develop any emotional
attachment to a bottle, and his/her mother is more likely to have stopped
offering a bottle. The only bottle-toting toddlers I've ever known or heard of
are those who *did* wean from the breast early or were switched to formula
before 1 year. The ones who are still breastfeeding at 16 months generally
aren't using bottles, because Mom has stopped pumping!

That was certainly the case for mine, anyway -- we never put anything other
than breastmilk in the bottles (and ebm was provided only in bottles). I
stopped pumping when DS was barely 13 months old (after a long, gradual process
of reducing the amount of ebm he got during the day) and he never had another
bottle. Didn't upset him in the slightest, and he was *not* drinking cows'
milk at the time either.

He shares his nanny with a FF girl -- same age, still getting some bottles
(though I don't know if they're formula or cows' milk). Now every time he sees
a bottle he identifies it as belonging to or being like those belonging to his
friend.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2 yrs