# Is it wrong that my 22 month old boy still has milk in a bottle....



## porkypig

in the morning and the evening? The milk's not the issue, just the bottle as someone made a comment the other day that their little boy, who is 4 months younger than my son does not have a bottle anymore. thing is, my lo really enjoys it and he knows that when he has it in the evening its a signal that its bedtime. What do you think? shall i get rid of it?


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## tina_h75

Health visitors will tell you that you should get rid of the bottle by 12 months and introduce a sippy cup instead, but its whatever works for you. When my daughter was younger, I removed the bottle and gave her milk in a cup and she refused to drink it and hasn't drank much milk since. Had I known this would happen, I would have let her keep the bottle for a bit longer as I would have preferred to keep up her milk intake.


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## porkypig

why is this? is it something to do with their teeth or speech? i dont see how 2 mins on a bottle morning and night can affect this? he has drinks in between with a sippy cup or a cup with a straw in it. xx


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## xJG30

Tom still has his in a bottle...


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## EMYJC

Lucas has milk once in a morning (refuses at bed) and its in a bottle. Rest of the day its water in a sippy cup. I will let him carry on as long as needed as I like him getting his extra calcium even though he has lots of other dairy and I also get my morning cuddle. I am not overly worried, just so long as their teeth are cleaned.


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## porkypig

i personally dont see a problem with it and he so enjoys it, id feel horrible taking it off of him when i know he loves it. I wish people would just mind their own business sometimes and keep thier opinions to themselves; no ones right and noones wrong, as long as its right for you xxx grrrrrr!!!! x


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## OmarsMum

Not planning to take it away anytime soon. He's a bad eater & he goes for days without food. He will not dirnk milk from a cup. He drinks 2-3 milk feeds. He doesnt move around with a bottle all day or gets anything other than milk from a bottle. He doesnt feed to sleep at night & most nights he drinks his milk 1-2 hrs before he sleeps, so I'm not really worried about his teeth or bad habits xx


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## Kelz22

My LO still takes a bottle in the morning and before he goes to bed too.He wont take his milk form a sippy cup.He will drink juice from his sippy cup but not milk.All children are different.xxx


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## morri

My nephew is 16 months and still has his water from the bottle.


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## Claire788

My wee man still has 2/3 bottles a day, he will not drink milk from anything else! he'll happily drink from every sippy cup under the sun... unless theirs milk in it, and he spits it out!

I clean his teeth x2 a day, and simply cannot see the harm.. he's a baby for such a short time, I cant see the point in rushing him :)


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## RJsMum

My DS is 17 mos and still has his milk in a bottle. He was exclusively BF until 12 mos, then combi BF/solids/cow's milk/water from that point on. He has the breast first thing most mornings (unless I am working, in which case he will have a bottle), and again before bed. The only time he really gets a bottle is mid-day for his nap...and also sometimes to top up a night feed if he signs for "more milk." Otherwise, he has only water throughout the day in a sippy cup and we've been occasionally trying him with a regular cup as well.

I don't see a problem with it if it's not constantly hanging out of their mouth all day long. I think the medical professionals tend to encourage parents to move on because of that reason alone being a big factor in messing with teeth, etc. I think they may also be concerned that the older the child is, the more attached to the bottle they become and the harder it is to take it off them...similar to a dummy?

I would say if you haven't attempted to introduce a sippy, you can always try it along with using a bottle...so your LO doesn't think you're trying to take something from him or make a drastic change. Otherwise...22 mos isn't too old, in my opinion, but I would personally make an active effort to wean completely off a bottle starting by 24 mos (that is MY plan anyway...so it may not suit you and that's your choice).

ETA: My niece will be two next month and still has her bottles...3x/day.


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## farmerswifey

No need to rush in getting rid of a night time bottle - it defo more important that milk is taken in! My DD let me know when she was ready to have her milk in a cup. 
She had juice in a cup all day from an early age but a bottle of milk in the evening was part of her bedtime routine.
Then suddenly she asked for her sippy cup instead so I knew she was ready.

Do what you and your LO feel is right. It would be different if it was all day everyday but one wont do any harm! 

xxx


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## jenny_wren

emily still has her bottle

and she's gone 2 :thumbup:
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## Abz1982

We stopped bottles at about 1, and moved on to a soft spouted cup then a hard one. She was fine with this until at nursery there were some wee babies in, and she went bottle crazy - she would go mental if she saw one and couldnt have it. She does have her milk at night now in a soft spouted cup again.


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## Lyndz

Bella still has milk in a bottle 2/3 times per day and i'm in no rush to stop that, she'll grow out of it like she has done everything else in her own time, be that next month or when she's 4. She has other drinks from a sippy cup but milk she;ll only drink from a bottle.

I'd tell anyone who has an issue with your son having a bottle at his age to bollocks!!!!


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## bluehorse

Grace still has milk from a bottle morning and evening... she will not take milk from anything else and I tried introducing milk at a beaker at 7 months and persisted and persisted til fairly recently... she just will not have it! I figure it's better that she's getting the milk!


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## Seity

I don't see anything wrong with it. Gabriel has his milk in a bottle and I'm quite happy to keep it that way for now.


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## Alias

We've been moving to a cup for milk for the last while, but gradually. She still has 2 bottles of formula a day, one at nap time and one at night (although she doesn't fall asleep on either of them). She then has a cup of cows milk at breakfast and at snack time. We've purposely made her use a cup for the milk but kept formula in her bottle. We introduced it with breakfast first as she wasn't drinking a lot of formula anyway, and just kept giving it to her every day, after 3 or 4 she started drinking it.


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## Aunty E

Mog still has 2-3 bottles a day. She really likes them, and doesn't drink much from her sippy cup, so at least this way I know she's getting some liquid.


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## ellie27

I am sure milk is still important for them.

Anna still has a milk drink in a bottle at bedtime (6oz) and a 3oz afternoon bottle. I have tried it in a cup/beaker....but she will only take it out the bottle so am happy to continue with that as I think its important she still has it. She has 5oz in her cereal too but thats only really 14oz milk a day and she has yoghurt/cheese but still think its not as much as the recommended. :flower:


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## mumtosam

Sam still has milk from a bottle every morning, he refuses it from a sippy cup and I want him to have it as he doesn''t have much other dairy.


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## isil

I think the issue is when they're walking around with it in their mouths (affecting speech and teeth) for ages. My LO hasn't had one since about 14 months but he did that himself. He does still have a dummy for sleep, so that's similar I guess.


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## chele

Max has a bottle at bed and one on waking. In the day he has water from a sippy cup and milk from a strawed cup.
I'm happy for him to continue like this for as long as he wants


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## channy3232

It's funny you mention that because we just had Rocco to the ped today for his 2 yr checkup. She asked if he still used a bottle or pacifier. He doesn't use a bottle but he does use a pac at bedtime. She said it's making his teeth form to the shape of the pac and it could cause jaw problems if we don't get rid of it. I'm assuming because she asked about a bottle that it could do the same thing.


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## porkypig

see i dont think its affecting my lo's teeth, they are really straight, and he also has a pacifier/dummy and during the day too. whatever makes him happy as long as he's ok xx


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## Midnight_Fairy

Matthew had bottle till he was 3, I didnt think it was anyone elses business xxx


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## Xanthe

Totally agree with everyone else. My daughter was 2 and a half before she stopped having her morning and evening bottles. It was her comfort and her signal for morning and bed. I stopped it when she was able to fully comprehend that she was a big girl now and could have her milk out of a cup. Her teeth and speech are fine.

I fully intend to do the same with my son. My advice to the OP is to stuff everyone else and rely soley on your own instincts.


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## JMC82

I don't think it's wrong at all. My son still has a bottle in the morning and at night. x


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## sarah0108

H still has a night time bottle :)


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## ellie27

I see mentions on here about dummies and teeth......

Anna is 16 months. Her first tooth didnt come through til 10months. She has top 2 and bottom 3 now.

Anna has a dummy at night only.

She has a wide gap between her top 2 teeth - could this be because of the dummy?:flower:


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## sleeping bubs

Mckenzie still has bottles (formula) one in afternoon and one at night he won't drink it out of anything else but he has to have his formula to get calories into him but he does drink yogurt drinks with straws.


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## Kent Mummy

My LO still has her morning and night time bottle.

I don't think there is anything wrong with it. She doesn't drink milk any other part of day.

When she goes to nursery in Sept in mornings the morning one will be phased out - and the night time will go some time after I guess.


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## Sherileigh

My LO still drinks milk from his bottle, in the morning and a night. We brush his teeth and I don't really see a problem. At daycare he'll drink from a sippy cup and he has water out of sippy cup all the time.


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## letia659

I had my boys off the bottle by 1 yr but its all up to the parent I get comments all the time on how odd it is he doesn't take a bottle lol so Id think most have them til around 2 but Drs do recommend taking it away at 1 I wouldn't stress lo out over it though :shrug:


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## MotherBeth

It's so nice and comforting to read from all of these other people who are also not taking the bottle away! 

My doctor tells me every single time that the bottle has to go. I smile and nod and then go home and ignore her, letting my girl take her own sweet time giving up that one nighttime bottle. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one!


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## porkypig

ellie27 said:


> I see mentions on here about dummies and teeth......
> 
> Anna is 16 months. Her first tooth didnt come through til 10months. She has top 2 and bottom 3 now.
> 
> Anna has a dummy at night only.
> 
> She has a wide gap between her top 2 teeth - could this be because of the dummy?:flower:

i dont think a dummy would cause the gap, if theres any truth in this, maybe it might push the teeth forward but not create a gap. I think most kids have gaps between their first teeth, but they slowly close up as the molars come through and push them together. my lo has a tiny gap but i know it has closed a bit when i look at pics of him smiling from last year. if youre worried about it, maybe talk to a hv or a dentist, but i wouldnt really worry about it xx


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## bubbles123

I think it's all to do with the worry about tooth decay at the moment. I think that they think we all feed out babies coke in bottles and leave them to suck on them for hours! My LO still has milk in a bottle, refuses to take milk from anything else. I just make sure I clean his teeth straight afterwards and take the bottle away as soon as he finishes so he can't suck too long. He needs to take his milk to keep his fluid intake up so I've no pans to try to take it away anytime soon.


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## SwissMiss

OHHFFFF! I am NOT planning on taking away Lindsey's bottle til she doesn't want it. She also has one in the evening every day and some mornings too. She is perfectly capable of drinking from a normal glass during the day so I don't see the problem!? :shrug: Whatever works for you hon! 
xx


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## mamalove

My girls are 2 years 2 months and still use bottle,they wouldn't drink milk otherwise.
I think they'll start refusing the bottle when they're ready,i tried everything with my daughter (she's nearly 4 ) and she stopped using bottle when she was ready,she potty trained herself when she was ready,she let go of her comfort blanket in her own time and one day she just refused to have a dummy anymore ..all this happened before her 3rd birthday,with no stress and no rush.


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## Harveysmum369

Harvey still has 1 bottle a day,just before bed.xx


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## faun

Billy has his bed time bottle still he has it about half hour before he goes up for bed he loves it so much.


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## Windmills

Daisy doesn't have a bottle, I got rid of it at 11 months. She drinks fine out a cup, and I'm paranoid about her teeth :lol:


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## fantastica

Jacob still has a bottle at night, it used to stress me out that he still had it...but the more you talk to people the more you realise that not that many people actually drop it at 1 year. Jacob is veggie so we use it as well just to make sure he's getting what he needs. It's his comfort, and we enjoy snuggling up at bed time. The way I see it...the bottle for me is here because I couldn't bf, if I had been able to we would still be feeding, therefore it is just acting as a subsitute, and tbh, guidelines change a lot and they're not rigid, it's best to just do what is right for your baby and for you! X


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## dani_tinks

My son still has about three bottles a day. He drinks juice and water from his sippy. 
He'll drop it when he's ready, I don't see the harm x


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## Rebaby

Well Toby is 19 months and has one or two bottles per day, one before his afternoon nap and one before bed (but occasionally doesn't have the one before his nap as he might nap when we're out and about in the car/pram so not need it)

He brushes his teeth twice a day and gets comfort from the bottles so i don't feel the need to take them away any time soon. He was breastfed until 13 months and i figure if i hadn't stopped bf at that time he'd still be having a feed before his nap/bedtime from me so the bottle is no different really :shrug:

I figure he'll drop them when he's ready.


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## LittleBoo

Jack hasn't drank out a bottle since before he turned 1, went by gov. guidelines and assumed everyone else did too, though as it turns out everyone else seems to ignore that one.


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## moomin_troll

my son is 3 in spetember and still has a bottle for bed with water and mostly during the day(its a comfort thing for him past few months) and im not taking it off him as he enjoys it.

personaly i dont care what people think about him having it, its not effected his teeth or speech in anyway and even my HV wasnt bothered by it


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## heather91

My little girl still does at 27 months. Shes very independent and not babyish at all i've just never seen it as an issue!


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## mommy2lilmen

i would tell that person to just keep their opinions to their selves, nicely. I get that all the time. OH WHY THIS OH WHY THAT....grrrr then I start to look into my parenting and then get upset. Bryce gets 2 milk bottles a day, nap and bed. I should give him one in morning, one nap and one bed. Just cus I want that much milk in him. then rest in cup. 
Like others have said, do whats right for you. My brother was on a bottle till 4 years old. :) so dont worry to much. Your little one is loved cared for and is healthy.


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## fluffpuffin

Why take away a baby's / toddler's comfort at only 12 months? I'm so happy Isla enjoys her bottle now, she wouldn't take one when she was younger. It relaxes her before bedtime and as long as you clean their teeth I can't see a problem. As for it affecting teeth / speech - hardly, when they only drink from it a few minutes each day. A dummy is more likely to affect that.


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## heather91

About the speech thing, my daughter has a dummy and speaks fluently. It hasn't hindered her speech in anyway. Likewise I had a dummy til I was 5 and spoke fluently before I was 2. I wouldn't worry about it. X


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## Windmills

Daisy must be weird, it was a battle to get her to take anything out a bottle by the time she was 9 months :lol: 
PP, when I think of speech problems caused by dummies I think of speech impediments rather than delayed speech!


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## Gingerspice

Unless they have it in their mouths continually (either dummy or bottle) then I can't really see how it would effect their teeth. I suspect thumbs are more likely to as you can't take it way so the keep those in for more hours of the day/night.

My HV said the bottle ruling thing was basically them trying to encourage people not to hav bottles as many parents were leaving bottles in the cot with children overnight so they could suck on it whenever they liked meaning their teeth was exposed to food and so decay for extended lengths of period. If they have a feed and it gets taken away the decaying of teeth shouldn't be a problem as they can't keep 'feeding' the bacteria all night long. Dummys don't contain food so they shouldn't lead to decay (although *some* say might cause tooth positioning problems) 

Due to this we're not rushing to push the bottle out. She won't take milk from anything else and given how small she is for her age I don't want her to drop all milk intake yet


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## annawrigley

Glad I'm not the only one! Noah has 2 or 3 bottles a day, to go to sleep with (bedtime & naps). He will drink it from a cup but not as much as he would from a bottle. Does anyone know how much milk they should have at 15 months? He has around 14oz a day as usually has 2 bottles, is this too little? 

For those of you whose LOs drink from a cup before bed, do they lay down with it? Or sit and drink it and then go to bed? I can see him choking if he laid down with a cup :dohh:


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