He won't drink milk now I stopped the bottles

[calm]

So my twins are more than 2 and a half year old, way too old for bottles so the guidelines say. I introduced a cup with a straw, and one of my twins instantly took to it and drank his milk with it. The other twin however, tried it, and after realizing that no bottle was going to come, refused it. This twin in particular is a self-soother, and his bottle was a big comfort to him. Now, he is not crying or refusing to go bed because he doesn't have it. He had an adequate and balanced supper, and some water with it. He is a big boy and very far from undernourished, and I am starting to see he gets calcium elsewhere as its been now 2 days without any milk. Tonight I tried to tempt him with 5 different cups. Am I trying too hard? He is very stubborn and very prone to tantrums lately. It really upsets me to see him not having his milk, but I know I can't give in. Is there anything more I could be doing? Is there any possibility he will never want to drink milk again? Any ideas or experience would be much appreciated X

 

[oneof14]

My daughter is the same why. She will not drink milk alone unless its from a bottle. She is 31/2 and has not had a bottle since 2 1/2. I give her milk with Cereal, yogurt and cheese. I also give her vitamins daily. As long as your supplementing with other calcium, you are fine. Obviously if it concerns you that much, speak with your pediatrician and see what they day. I do think its quite common.

 

[Zephram]

He doesn't really need to drink milk at 2.5, so I would try to relax about it if I were you. He can get all his calcium needs through his diet by that age, I think they need a minimum of 3 servings a day. So if he's eating cheese and yoghurt and leafy greens or has milk in cooking or on breakfast cereal or in porridge, then he's fine without drinking a cup of milk. Sardines are also a good source of calcium.

 

[george83]

My son hasn't drunk milk for a long time as he just doesn't like it so I wouldn't panic over that side of it. With regards to the bottles ive always been bad at letting mine have them for far to long and therefore not wanting to drink out of a cup. Ds2 was probably the worst for this so I told him that he was going to stop having bottles, took him to choose his own juice cup and then when the day came I just stopped him having bottles and only gave him the cup he chose. I tried to make sure we had no plans for a couple of days as I knew he'd be a nightmare but he did eventually just accept it. I think it's just being consistent and it should work

 

[MindUtopia]

I would just give it time and try not to overthink it. If he sees his brother using the cup and he sees other kids doing the same, he'll eventually try. Mine was much younger, but it took her about 3 months to be fine with the cup (during that time, she did still have a bedtime bottle, since she was only about 12 months). But then one day after much resistance and upset all those months, she just took it and drank it like it was no big deal. I personally preferred straw cups for milk and she was always much happier to use those, but I'm sure it will come in time whatever you use. They don't need milk at that age anyway, as long as they have a varied diet with plenty of other dairy/calcium sources.

 

[laura109]

try not to worry too much as he will have bits with his cereal? aswel as cheese and yoghurts etc i am sure he will be just fine. my dd has gone through stages of not eating sandwiches and reusing meat and veg and gravy meals. but they will survive. just praise the other twin and when he sees his brother getting the attention he might come around to trying his big boy cup. i know its frustrating though, i managed to get dd of the bottle at 11 months which i was extremely shocked by. unfortunately she is nowhere near wanting to part with her dummy, she looks ridiculous with it in her mouth and i have no idea how to get it off her. toddlers are tricky! x

 

[calm]

Now neither twin will have milk One of them is crap at getting dairy in general, and he laughs in my face at the notion of eating green leaved veggies. To be honest I'm tempted to go back to the bottle, kids over here still have bottles when 3 or 4 even. I just want them to have their milk

 

[laura109]

U tried the nesquik milk powder to tempt them? It has added vitamins. I would try hd it out a little longer.

 

[calm]

U tried the nesquik milk powder to tempt them? It has added vitamins. I would try hd it out a little longer.

They were already having that in their bottle. I actually had a bit of a break through, they both drank a chocolate milk drink and liked it. Its not ideal but its a step in the right direction

 

[loeylo]

Personally I'd rather my daughter didn't drink milk at all rather than drinking chocolate milk!

My daughter was allergic to dairy up until recently. To get 100% of their rda of calcium, they only need three servings of dairy per day. A serving is pretty small! I have a sheet from the dietician outlining all the ways you can make up one serving. It's pretty easy to get enough dairy into them without bottles or even milk.

I was really worried about ensuring she got enough calcium as several family members have osteoporosis. We can't really give her more than 3 portions as she is still intolerant of too much dairy, so we supplement her diet with vitamin drops.

Gracie still has a bottle at bedtime however it is just one scoop of formula made up with 9oz of water, it's purely for a comfort as she goes to sleep.

 

[laura109]

Definitely thats great. Bit of chocolate milk wont hurt them. My dd has a banana nesquik a couple of times a week for a treat x

 

[calm]

Well its continued to improve. I found their normal toddler formula they had in their bottle in mini cartons with a straw, and after putting it in the fridge they both had it. One of them will sometimes have it in a cup with a big straw too. They are not having the amount of milk they would with their bottle, but I am giving them some more dairy in general. I think as time goes on and they learn to drink properly from cups I can offer milk in different ways in the future. No guarantee they might reject the mini version with the straw tomorrow but I'm taking it day by day (and not buying too much so not to be stuck with it). I put all the bottles in a bag, and it feels final now, I haven't thrown them away but I will next week.

 

[laura109]

Well its continued to improve. I found their normal toddler formula they had in their bottle in mini cartons with a straw, and after putting it in the fridge they both had it. One of them will sometimes have it in a cup with a big straw too. They are not having the amount of milk they would with their bottle, but I am giving them some more dairy in general. I think as time goes on and they learn to drink properly from cups I can offer milk in different ways in the future. No guarantee they might reject the mini version with the straw tomorrow but I'm taking it day by day (and not buying too much so not to be stuck with it). I put all the bottles in a bag, and it feels final now, I haven't thrown them away but I will next week.

Well done thats great. They absolutely will adapt. A cup with their fave tv show etc will maybee tempt them soon too. X

 

[calm]

Well its continued to improve. I found their normal toddler formula they had in their bottle in mini cartons with a straw, and after putting it in the fridge they both had it. One of them will sometimes have it in a cup with a big straw too. They are not having the amount of milk they would with their bottle, but I am giving them some more dairy in general. I think as time goes on and they learn to drink properly from cups I can offer milk in different ways in the future. No guarantee they might reject the mini version with the straw tomorrow but I'm taking it day by day (and not buying too much so not to be stuck with it). I put all the bottles in a bag, and it feels final now, I haven't thrown them away but I will next week.

Well done thats great. They absolutely will adapt. A cup with their fave tv show etc will maybee tempt them soon too. X

Yes, I'm sure in the future they will both be into normal cups. I'm just grateful that they are both having their normal milk again, I see now it was certainly a battle of wills, and I nearly gave in! Just one more step towards leaving babyhood behind, we still have a few steps left though!

 

[laura109]

Its emotional isnt it the end of bottles is the end of us feeding them in that way, obviously its nice to not have to sterilise etc but i do miss having my baby in my arms having a feed x

 

[SarahBear]

Milk isn't essential. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[calm]

Milk isn't essential. I wouldn't worry about it.

They are drinking it now and bottles are a thing of the past

 

[calm]

Its emotional isnt it the end of bottles is the end of us feeding them in that way, obviously its nice to not have to sterilise etc but i do miss having my baby in my arms having a feed x

Well, I have mixed feelings. I won't be having anymore babies, so its a bit sad when they leave baby things like bottles. But I was so sick of washing them (they were Dr Brown ones and such a fiddle to wash). And they used to hold the bottles themselves so it wasn't like I would hold them to feed them. To be honest bottle feeding was a nightmare when babies because they both wanted feeding at the same time! But yes, still sad! X

 

[petite ping]

I would have left them the bottles. DD1 didn't stop bottles until she was 3.5 and then it was her choice and she stopped wanting to drink so much milk.

DD2 was never very milk so she stopped earlier.

She and DD2 go back to bottles once in a while but I think it's more for fun than real need.

 

[calm]

I would have left them the bottles. DD1 didn't stop bottles until she was 3.5 and then it was her choice and she stopped wanting to drink so much milk.

DD2 was never very milk so she stopped earlier.

She and DD2 go back to bottles once in a while but I think it's more for fun than real need.

I'm glad I dropped the bottles, they now drink their milk without them and its a lot less hassle (I had dr browns and they were a devil to clean). Now they start preschool they really frown on them using bottles because how it affects the roof of the mouth.