How Can I Get My 15 Month off Bottles????

You don't have to take the bottle away, plenty of kids have had bottles until age 2 or later. When you are ready to take it away, I suggest you go cold turkey. It's the going back and forth that makes it hard for your son. Just gather up all the bottles put them away, and use only the sippy cups. Your son might be frustrated at first, but trust me, he will be fine. Stay committed to your decision and be consistent. Because if you go back and forth, telling him no bottle, but a day later he gets a bottle, he'll be confused and frustrated. You decide when you are ready, and then make a decision and stick to it. Don't apologize to him, just be matter of fact about it. If he asks for a bottle consistently tell him, "no more bottles, we use cups now." Depending on the temperament of your son, it might be easier to take it away now than when he's older. My son went cold turkey from bottles to sippy cups around 14 months. I was pleasantly surpised with how well he adjusted--his day care started using sippys and the same day I took his bottles away. You never know, your son might surprise you too!
ps. Nuby makes a sippy cup with a clear "nipple" like spout, try that, it might help the transition.

Hi J.,
Any luck yet? I don't think you need to worry about dental problems as long as you don't allow your son to fall asleep with a bottle of milk -- the concern is that when the child falls asleep with a bottle, the milk lays in the mouth and on the teeth and rots them while they sleep. Just make sure to wipe off his teeth with a warm washcloth after he has milk in a bottle--or let him take a bottle of water to nap/bed. He's not really too big to still be wanting a bottle--if he wants it--give it to him, just don't let it become a "must have" to fall asleep with milk thing. Good luck.
p.s. Keep in mind that if he falls asleep with a bottle of milk, his teeth are not going to be damaged overnight! This is a condition from time-after-time exposure. He'll be fine!

I was always told to cut the hole in the nipple of the bottle larger. Your son won't like that it's coming out too quickly and won't want it anymore. I didn't have this problem with my son; however that's what many of my friends who are moms have told me. Best of luck! Oh, and next time, go with your gut, your mother only wants what's best however she, nor your pedi are always right. ;-)

D.

Put nothing but water in his bottle. That way he won't get bottle rot.

It sounds to me like you are ready. Your mom may not be, but he's your child! I have a friend who has a five year old who still has to have a sippy cup in his bed when he goes to sleep! We never let our kids have a bed bottle, but I was so frustrated with bottles leaking in my diaper bag, that I started giving my son bottles with newborn nipples. He knew he couldn't get anything out of them, and he could out of the big boy cup. Also, I didn't want to have to go through all this again with the sippy cup, so we went straight to straws. It's still a sucking motion, so maybe that made it easier. Dunno. I would offer my son his hard-to-drink-out-of bottle and in the meantime, lift a straw out of juice or something else sweet with my finger on the end so that it didn't drain out. Then, I just tapped the straw with my finger so that the juice trickled into his mouth and he knew that there was something good in there. It took him about a week to really get it down where we could hold the cup and he could just drink. Also, munchkin makes a "sippy cup" with a flip-in straw. Once he could drink out of a straw (he was honestly 15 months old) we switched him to those. They're insulated, dishwasher-safe, and the straw stays clean when it's flipped in.

Good luck!
~A.
the Pampered Chef
www.pamperedchef.biz/amandablack