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cinderella crazy
03-27-2007, 03:20 PM
My older son was well over a year old before he would hold his own cup. I'm thinking that was probably because we never encouraged him to hold his bottle. I was hoping not to repeat this with our 8 month old. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can encourage her to hold her own bottle? She seems to want to hold it for short periods of time already.

Thanks!

Mickey'sGirl
03-27-2007, 03:35 PM
My oldest was holding his own at 5 months (he had to for daycare) -- whereas my youngest was about 8 months (he was stubborn!). I would prop the bottle with receiving blankets .. and once I started, I would not hold the bottle for them at all (except at bedtime :cloud9: ). There are now bottles with "holes" in the middle or handles on them -- perhaps your little one would hold one of these kinds better? Good luck!

PrincessEmmasMommy
03-27-2007, 06:16 PM
I would just say as your little one starts to grab for it, just start letting go. They will gradually get it.
Good Luck!
Jen

Jasper
03-27-2007, 06:21 PM
We usually had the best success by laying them down and using a blanket, pillow, or toy to prop the bottle. I know this isn't scientific, but it seemed like if the child was not in our arms they tended to grab at the bottle on thier own more often and earlier.

Of course, if you do prop up the bottle do not be lured into thinking everything is ok and walking out of the room. If the baby should get too much milk and you are not there to clear their throat they could sufficate. I realize this would be a rare thing but you don't want to take a chance.

BrerGnat
03-27-2007, 07:20 PM
I am going to suggest not letting your baby figure out how to hold a bottle. At some point, you will want her drinking out of a cup (sooner is better than later, as you know) and most sippy cups have handles, so they are easier to hold.

My oldest son (2 1/2 now) drank out of a bottle until he was a little over 2 and it was SO HARD to get him to drink out of a cup (well, milk...he would drink water out of a cup from a very early age). Anyway, once we tossed the bottle, he stopped drinking milk. :( So, now we have to load him up with calcium fortified OJ and lots of yogurt and cheese to make sure he gets all the calcium he needs.

But I digress...point is, I have a baby who just turned one. He LOVES to hold his sippy cup and drink from it, because I started him on that early. I began by putting formula in it and waiting until he was REALLY hungry, then I would offer him the cup. It wasn't long before he figured out how to drink from and hold the cup on his own. He mostly chews on the spouts now, and I have to still help him tip up the cup so he can drink from it when it's almost gone (he seems slow to realize that this is how it works ;) ). Anyway, we're almost ready to toss the bottles now with him too. They really are a bit awkward for babies to hold, and I really believe that once they figure out how to hold it and drink from it independently, they become MUCH more attached to it. That was my experience anyway.

cinderella crazy
03-28-2007, 12:20 PM
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! We are also trying to switch from a bottle to a cup. Our expereince with DS was that we never encouraged him to hold his bottle so he never held his cup either (very frustrating). But we didn't try switching him to a cup till he was almost one. So that's probably why he didn't want to hold his cup for a long time.

Anyway, since we're already trying to get her to drink from a cup, I suppose we should be encouraging her to hold the cup more than the bottle.

Now if I could just get my 3 1/2 year old son to use the potty.....:D

offwego
03-28-2007, 12:30 PM
Now if I could just get my 3 1/2 year old son to use the potty.....:D

A whole other thread there!

My DS's sitter siwtched him to a sippy cup at about 8 months or so. (I was still nursing him part time for other feedings). He only used a bottle for maybe 3 months...the sippy cup early strategy really seems key as my DN who was on bottles early still won't use a sippy except for water and he's two and half.

sleepingbooty
03-28-2007, 02:32 PM
I'll add that if you can't get your baby to hold the bottle, don't sweat it. Just enjoy your feeding times as a time to bond with each other. I never could get my second daughter, Lucy, to even take a bottle, much less hold it herself. She actually nursed until she was 18 months old. I never thought I'd nurse my kids anywhere near that long, but she was so stubborn (still is!). I tried everything to get her to take a bottle, then a cup, but she flat refused. Finally I just let it go (and stop stressing about what other people thought about it), and eventually she did decide to use a cup and stop nursing, but it had to be on her timetable.

DisneyDog
03-28-2007, 04:49 PM
When my DS was 8 months old, he just grabbed the bottle from me. We were out shopping, so I was thrilled that I didn't have to stop. He drank even more once he figured out how to hold it himself -- completely drained the thing. I think I did a little dance that day!

Sippy cups were a different issue. We went through tons of different makes and models before we found one that he liked. I tried all of these pricey ones, and in the end, the one he liked were the plastic disposable ones. That was great because if he lost one, I didn't care. We still use them, only now we use the kinds with the straws. Only, I don't use the straws they come with, I buy "bendy" straws that I can throw out. Makes life much easier.

alphamommy
04-01-2007, 02:37 PM
DD never would hold her own bottle. We have a picture of her sitting up in the floor with one of us holding the bottle in front of her (sort of like feeding a baby animal with a bottle). She would also lay on my legs and drink facing me, with both arms spread-eagle in the air. She started drinking from a straw at 11 months (much to my surprise), but it took a while for her to get the hang of sippy cups.

Now she's 7, reasonably well adjusted, and healthy. It didn't hurt her a bit!

Tammy

crazypoohbear
04-02-2007, 10:20 AM
I would suggest going right to the sippy cup, and filling it only 1/3 to 1/2 full, that way it's not too heavy for the baby to pick up while the baby is getting use to holding the cup.

Personally I am not a big fan of rolling the towel and propping the bottle up for the baby.

With my 1st DS I specifically told the person watching him to NOT do this as he had colic and he needed to be burped after every 2 or 3 ounces. One day when my Husband picked him up he was wearing her son's clothes. She told DH that the "bottle leaked" and soaked my son. I was furious because she had left him in his car seat and propped up the bottle with a blanket. ( the car seat was also soaked)

The next day I gave my notice at work, had my mother in law watch the baby for the next two weeks and never left my baby with that other person again!

MY feelings are this
1. I specifically asked NOT to do this.
2. She initially lied then admitted she propped up the bottle.
3. For the entire bottle to spill over my infant he could have choked to death on the bottle because she didn't notice.
4. He had really bad colic and was miserable with gas, being held and burped were necessary for him to be comfortable!

Granted, my son was an infant at the time but even with an eight month old, they still need to be held and fed.IMHO

If you try the sippy cup perhaps you could put the baby in one of those exersaucer type things that help them stand up and put the cup on the tray. Then the baby could try to grab hold and use the cup while he is not really hungry or thirsty and getting frustrated.

minnie-mouse
04-04-2007, 01:32 PM
I always laid my DD in her bouncy chair at that age and propped up the bottle on her blankie while she drank. I would keep putting her hands on it to show her what to do. She eventually got the hang of it. Try starting to use sippy cups with handles, she will find it easier to hold and more enjoyable. Plus, then she can move away from bottles to sippy cups.

magicofdisney
04-04-2007, 10:00 PM
She would also lay on my legs and drink facing me, with both arms spread-eagle in the air.
I picture this in my head and I can't help but laugh. It's so funny what little ones will/can get away with. :)

Tinkerfreak
04-06-2007, 04:01 PM
I would suggest going right to the sippy cup, and filling it only 1/3 to 1/2 full, that way it's not too heavy for the baby to pick up while the baby is getting use to holding the cup.

Personally I am not a big fan of rolling the towel and propping the bottle up for the baby.

With my 1st DS I specifically told the person watching him to NOT do this as he had colic and he needed to be burped after every 2 or 3 ounces. One day when my Husband picked him up he was wearing her son's clothes. She told DH that the "bottle leaked" and soaked my son. I was furious because she had left him in his car seat and propped up the bottle with a blanket. ( the car seat was also soaked)

The next day I gave my notice at work, had my mother in law watch the baby for the next two weeks and never left my baby with that other person again!

MY feelings are this
1. I specifically asked NOT to do this.
2. She initially lied then admitted she propped up the bottle.
3. For the entire bottle to spill over my infant he could have choked to death on the bottle because she didn't notice.
4. He had really bad colic and was miserable with gas, being held and burped were necessary for him to be comfortable!

Granted, my son was an infant at the time but even with an eight month old, they still need to be held and fed.IMHO

If you try the sippy cup perhaps you could put the baby in one of those exersaucer type things that help them stand up and put the cup on the tray. Then the baby could try to grab hold and use the cup while he is not really hungry or thirsty and getting frustrated.

I also never propped up the bottle. My doctor specifically told me never to lay them on the floor and prop the bottle up. I never let them hold the bottle and so they never felt like it was theirs so I had no problem switching them to a sippy cup at 8 months old because they did not feel like I was taking something of theirs away from them. I just put the formula in the cup instead of the bottle and they did just fine. After a while they started holding the cup on their own and we never had that issue of trying to wean them off of a bottle.
I also had the same problem with her daycare propping the bottle when I asked her not to. She kept getting ear infections and I really think it had alot to do with her laying down and drinking. I always held her upright and fed her the bottle. My pediatrician said that when they lay down and drink that fluid can build in their ear and cause ear infections.