When and how should I transition my baby from a bottle to a cup?

A lot of parents want to know when they should get rid of the bottle, and how they should transition from a bottle to a cup. And a good time for this to happen is around the end of your baby's first year, or right before their first birthday. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children between the ages of 1 and 2 drink 2 to 3 cups of whole milk each day, and so you can replace bottles with formula or breast milk with cups full of whole milk. And milk should be given at meal time, about a half cup or so, and it should total 2 to 3 cups per day. There's a few things you can do to make the transition go a little more smoothly.

Some parents find success by just quitting bottles cold turkey and going straight to cups, but some kids don't respond well to that, so you can cut out bottles one at a time. For example, let's say that your child is drinking 3 bottles each day. Start with the morning bottle, and instead of giving your baby a bottle when they wake up (if that was your normal routine), sit your baby in the high chair and give them a sippy cup full of milk with their meal. And they may feel like it's weird, and resist it at first, and if they ask for a bottle, you could offer it, but give them watered down milk instead so it doesn't taste very good. You can even encourage milk in a sippy cup by adding strawberry or chocolate flavoring so that they want that instead. That will help them to make the decision themselves that the cup is better than the bottle.

Try this for about a week, and after your child has cut out that morning bottle, then move to the next one, and then the next one. The last one is usually the hardest. In most cases, this is the bottle that parents have been giving their baby before bedtime. And bottles are not just a source of nourishment, they're also a source of comfort and a part of their routine. So it requires change in the routine, a little bit, in order to get rid of that nighttime bottle. Give your baby whole milk in a cup with dinner, and then continue on with your bedtime routine as you normally would, and then if your child starts asking for a bottle, it might just be because they want comfort. So see if you can distract them by holding them, snuggling them, sitting down and playing a quiet game, something that will help them get ready for bed instead of the bottle.

A couple of other tips that will make the transition easier - make sure that bottles are out of sight so that they don't see it and want it when they're not going to be offered one. Try using spill-proof cups, because they're probably used to walking around with their bottle, and you don't want them walking around the house with milk, so it's best to encourage it at mealtime when they're sitting, or give it in a spill-proof cup if it's for a snack, or you're out and about, or something. Children respond well to encouragement and praise, so when your child drinks from a cup, tell them how awesome it is and say that they're like you, because that's exactly who they want to be like. If you have any other questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at   / intermountainmoms  , and recommend us to your friends and family too.