At Olivia's 12-month appointment in May, we were reminded of the [perceived harsh] reality that we would need to begin weaning Olivia off her bottle entirely in the coming weeks. She had been drinking breast milk from birth and then I transitioned her to almond milk around 11 months with ease [I breastfed her as a newborn of course but only until about 3 months then moved to exclusive pumping...more on that later].
From about 8-12 months, she would get a 4-6 oz bottle before her afternoon nap and then 6-8 oz at bedtime. She was rarely up during the night for a feeding, but if she was, I would offer 3 oz and put her back down. I introduced a straw around 11 months [with her lollacup] and had no trouble with that. I gave her a lot of encouragement each time she used a straw and after a day or two, she was a pro. She also began using a sippy cup around the same time.
To start the transition off a bottle, about two weeks ago [12.5 months], I nixed her daytime bottle completely in favor of lunch. We had previously been offering a bottle before her nap and then lunch afterward, but I moved lunch to be pre-nap and she got a sippy cup with water [with lunch] & she didn't even notice the bottle wasn't part of the routine. Score.
Up until just a week ago, she was still getting a small bottle at bedtime and I knew in my heart of hearts I needed to get serious about weaning, being that she just reached 13 months. [I have absolutely nothing against breastfeeding or bottle feeding any length of time, but for us, I just knew it was time]. I spent a few days stressing out wondering how it would all go and last weekend, for bedtime I poured her a bottle with almond milk and she just simply refused it. Figuring it was a fluke, I tried again the next night. A second refusal. I spent the better part of the week offering a small sippy cup with milk before bed (2-4 oz) just incase she was thirsty, and even that, she showed little to no interest in.
And just like that, we ditched the bottle.
I had no idea she would just one day stop wanting it. I suppose in my head I expected it to be a lot different. I packed up all the bottles and put them into storage, and filled our drying rack with fun new spoons, her favorite sippy cups and a new bowl from Grandma. It was bittersweet to pack away the bottles for good, but also exciting knowing that the next time I pull them out....we will be expecting baby #2! Happy 4th of July!
I'd love to hear what your experience was with weaning & phasing out a bottle!
Was it similar to ours or completely different?
Was it similar to ours or completely different?
That's great! Although I was never able to get Hannah to take a bottle, quitting nursing at 14 months (I was newly pregnant, and feeling very done) was so stressful! But it went smoothly for us as well. I always like doing "eat, play, sleep" so she wasn't nursing to sleep, which helped eased the transition. She was pretty mad at me in the mornings for a few days, which absolutely broke my heart. But we got her almond (she allergic to cows milk) milk right away, and she loves it with breakfast! Yay Olivia! Welcome to the big girl's club ;)
ReplyDeleteIt was really easy to ditch the bottle with Paisley. The paci, however, is a whole other story. :(
ReplyDeleteWe drink Almond milk to and it is wonderful. Paisley and I both are lactose intolerant so regular cows milk is not an option.
Good job, Olivia B! :)