Advice on bottle weaning & food for fussy eater?

[myra]

My son is 19mo and his doc said he should come off bottles. (He gets them before nap and bedtime, but still goes in to his bed awake and puts himself to sleep). She said to switch to a sippy cup with milk and eventually stop drinks before bed. We tried the sippy cup today and it didn't work at all. He usually goes in very easily but he got so worked up to be put in bed without a bottle that we eventually went in and got him out...once he was calm we have him a bottle and he went in easy as ever. Any tips for bottle weaning that have worked for you?

Also, in a separate topic- any food suggestions? He would live off of fruit, vegetables, pasta and cereal if he could. He's stopped eating meat and eggs, which he used to love. So we're having a hard time finding protein (or variety) that he'll eat. Thanks!

 

[AngelofTroy]

Hello, Micah had trouble ditching the bottles too although he was younger. We had success with a straw cup at first, as it still gave him the sucking he was used to, and then moved much more easily to a sippy cup from there.

As for protein, you say he loves pasta, would he eat a bolognaise sauce? Or filled pasta like tortellini?

Does he eat cheese? Also pulses like lentils, beans and even peas are sources of protein.

 

[Kanichen34]

No advice on the bottles but for protein will he eat fish or shell fish?

 

[Equreuil]

Try a sippy with a soft silicone spout. Or I think I saw at some point the brand Nuby offers a bottle-to-sippy training thing that's like a cross between the two. I just did a slow transition with Malcolm. Started off each meal with his milk in the cup and once he started throwing it, I'd switch it to a bottle. It took like two weeks to accomplish.


Try minestrone soup with the broth drained off. It's got pasta, beans, some meat and veggies. I make my own, but in dire need, you could probably use canned. I also do this skillet thing with ground turkey, beans, bbq sauce and some mixed veg that my son adored with some baked sweet potato. The recipe is posted somewhere in my weight loss journal.

I'll also sneak stuff in on Malcolm by spreading some puree in grilled cheese, or mixing it into the sauce of Mac n Cheese.

 

[myra]

Thanks for the tips!

Angel- he does like bolognaise sauce on his pasta, so that's one way we get in some protein and he loves peas. On occasions he'll eat a few beans. I hadn't thought of tortellini but will have to give that a try. I imagine her like it. He eats some cheese but uncooked, it seems to upset his stomach (last remnants of dairy allergy).

Kanichen- it's been a couple months since we tried fish with him, so might be worth trying again. He sensitive to textures and didn't like shrimp at all.

Equreuil- guess I know what I'll be cooking up this weekend. I think he'd go for minestrone since it combines his favorite foods. I'll have a look for your other recipie- sounds promising for him too.

As for bottles versus sippy cups- he's been using a sippy at meals and snacks since he was a year. The bottles are just for before bed. So when we have him a sippy instead of a bottle during bedtime routine, he didn't relax like with a bottle since he doesn't associate it with sleep. Will just have to regroup and try again- maybe with a slower flow sippy cup so it's closer to a bottle

 

[Equreuil]

Equreuil- guess I know what I'll be cooking up this weekend. I think he'd go for minestrone since it combines his favorite foods. I'll have a look for your other recipie- sounds promising for him too.

As for bottles versus sippy cups- he's been using a sippy at meals and snacks since he was a year. The bottles are just for before bed. So when we have him a sippy instead of a bottle during bedtime routine, he didn't relax like with a bottle since he doesn't associate it with sleep. Will just have to regroup and try again- maybe with a slower flow sippy cup so it's closer to a bottle

That's kind of why I was thinking the bottle-to-sippy transitional thing. Since he doesn't associate a sippy with bedtime, try starting with something that's in between.