Here's how to know when your baby is ready to stop bottle feeding
There is no bond greater than that of a parent and their baby—except maybe for the bond between your baby and their best baby bottle. As any parent who has tried to pry a bottle out of grasping little fingers knows, the love affair between baby and bottle can be intense. And it’s no wonder—the suck reflex begin to develop around the 32nd week of pregnancy, and remains the strongest reflex for many months following birth. The sucking reflex is an essential innate instinct for survival in a baby, and the drive to suck is very powerful as can be witnessed from the moment of birth.
Babies also take great comfort in sucking, which is a soothing activity, and can be witnessed through ultrasound even before birth as babies suck their thumbs or fingers. It’s for this reason that babies quickly begin to bond with their favorite baby bottles and depend on them not just for nourishment, but for security and comfort.
So How do We Know When to Give the Bottle the Boot?
Every baby is different, so there is no one specific age to toss out the bottles. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends weaning from the bottle around 12 months and no later than 18 months. Most babies show signs of being ready to try moving to a sippy cup at six to nine months. It’s important to note, that even when transitioning to a sippy cup, breast milk or formula should remain your child’s main source of nutrition for a full 12 months, even when beginning to eat solid foods.
One sign that your baby might be ready to try something other than their bottle buddy is the ability to sit up unsupported, which typically happens between six and nine months of age. Once they can sit unsupported and hold their necks upright easily, your baby may be ready to be introduced to a new best friend—the sippy cup!
Another readiness sign may be your baby’s sudden interest in solid foods. You may notice your baby watching you eat with interest, or actively trying to remove food from your hands. Six months is also considered the ideal time to begin to introduce solid foods.
If your baby is already eating from a spoon, that is another sign that they are ready to try a sippy cup.
Why is it Important to Wean From the Best Baby Bottles After the First Year?
There are several reasons to break the bottle bond around one year of age. Prolonged bottle feeding can damage baby’s teeth and lead to tooth decay, sometimes known as “bottle mouth.” Babies who go to sleep with a bottle at night containing anything except water are especially at risk of tooth decay. Toddlers have the ability to carry a bottle around with them during play, and the prolonged exposure of milk or juice on the teeth can result in weakened enamel and cavities.
Studies have also found that prolonged bottle feeding may to several health issues including diabetes and obesity. In the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, it was found that 22 percent of babies were still using bottles at 24 months old and nearly 25 percent of them were found to be overweight by age five and a half, compared to 16 percent of children who stopped using a bottle before 24 months.
Prolonged use of the bottle into toddlerhood increases a child’s total daily calorie count by significant amounts. Studies also show that the excessive amounts of milk in a child’s diet puts them at risk of iron deficiencies, since much of their calorie intake is milk-based, leaving less room for other food choices. Excessive calcium intake can also inhibit iron absorption.
How to Make the Sippy Switch
When it’s time to retire your best baby baby bottles to the back of the cabinet, it’s best to begin to wean gradually in order to avoid stress, trauma, and drama on both baby and parents. Experts (and experienced parents) recommend introducing a sippy cup at about six months of age so baby has time to become familiar with it well before weaning. The nice thing is, a sippy cup is not as complicated to clean and sterilize as a baby bottle.
Offer babies a cup of clean water to play with in the bath, so they can experience drinking out of it, spilling it, and refilling without mess.
Be sure to avoid offering milk only in a bottle and water or juice in a cup. Otherwise your baby may refuse to drink milk from anything other than a bottle, making weaning more difficult.
If your baby is exclusively breastfed, you can skip the best baby bottles completely and begin to offer expressed breast milk, water, juice, or other milk options in a sippy cup at six months.
You can involve your toddler in the sippy switch by letting them choose the sippy cups they like from a store or online catalog, to get them excited about their new sippies.
While the switch from bottles to cups and sippy cups may involve some trial and error, and possibly a few tears, it can also go more smoothly than you might imagine. Either way, your baby won’t want the bottle forever, so don’t become overly concerned if your child’s attachment to their best baby bottle is hard to break.
Resources— MomLovesBest, TIME, Parents, Romper.com
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