Baby Milestones: Transitioning From Bottle to Cup
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Transitioning your baby from a bottle to a cup is an exciting milestone that can also feel challenging. As a registered dietitian specializing in infant and child feeding, I frequently hear from parents in my practice who are struggling with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation that we wean bottle-fed babies from the bottle between 12-15 months.
Transitioning babies from the bottle to a cup can be both emotional (your baby is growing up!) and scary when you worry if the shift will mess with hard-won sleep routines, upset your child, or lead to milk refusal.
In this post, we’ll explore why transitioning off the bottle at about 12 months of age is recommended and how to navigate the transition with your little one smoothly and without stress.
When to Stop Bottle Feeding?
According to the AAP, bottle-fed babies should wean from the bottle at 12 months of age, while the American Dental Association recommends weaning from the bottle between 12-15 months of age.
It is important to note that this is a transition. Some babies make the shift quickly, but for others, it can take a few weeks (or even months), especially if a child is particularly attached to the bottle.
As best you can, remain patient, comforting, and consistent. Bottle feeds can be a soothing part of the day and that nighttime bottle is often an integral part of bedtime routines, so it can feel bittersweet to begin the process of weaning your child.
However, the closer an infant is to 12 months of age when you start weaning, the easier it is on THEM. Toddlers become increasingly attached to bottles as they age, and the longer they bottle-feed, the harder it is for them to break the habit.
For babies who take longer to wean from the bottle, a good goal is to have them weaned by 18 months at the latest to avoid some of the pitfalls of prolonged bottle use.
When to Wean Baby Off Bottle at Night?
Weaning a baby off the bottle at night typically depends on their age, development, and feeding habits. Between 6-12 months of age, some babies may still require nighttime feedings for nutrition and may wake up naturally for a feed. Giving milk in a bottle during this time is developmentally appropriate.
By 12 months of age, most babies can sleep through the night without needing a feeding for nutritional purposes. A nighttime or evening bottle may be soothing, though, and some babies may be attached to their bottle feeding to help them fall asleep.
Between 9-12 months of age, try to move away from giving bottles as a way to help your baby get to sleep at bedtime and naptime; instead, offer a bottle 10-15 min before the sleep routine and always brush their teeth after milk to remove any milk residue. Offer comfort through other soothing methods such as gentle rocking, patting, or a pacifier.
As a pediatric registered dietitian, many parents in my private practice worry about their 2-year-old still using a bottle at night. If this is your child, don’t fret! Keep reading for tips on helping your child transition to a cup.
What are the effects of prolonged bottle feeding?
During the first year of life, bottles are essential for bottle-fed babies. However, the effects of bottle feeding too long can cause an increased risk for the following potential issues:
Dental caries: Otherwise known as cavities and frequently called “baby bottle tooth decay;” the sugars in milk, infant formula, and juice that cause decay can settle on a baby’s teeth more easily when babies are drinking from a bottle
Excessive milk consumption: Toddlers who drink from bottles are more likely to consume more than the recommended 16-20 fluid ounces per day of milk and less likely to eat solid foods; this can lead to nutritional imbalances, iron deficiency anemia, and issues with weight gain.
DID YOU KNOW? Cow’s milk is naturally low in iron. It’s also high in casein and calcium, which can inhibit the digestive tract from absorbing iron from other foods.
Problems with speech and language development: Recent research has shown possible associations between prolonged bottle use and issues with speech and language development; however, more research is needed in this area.
Are there psychological effects of bottle feeding for too long?
While occasional use of the bottle beyond infancy may not have lasting psychological effects, prolonged reliance on the bottle for comfort and nutrition can potentially impact a child’s emotional and social development.
If a child continues to rely heavily on the bottle for comfort and soothing beyond infancy, it may impede their development of self-soothing skills and independence. Children may become emotionally attached to the bottle as a source of security, which can make it harder for them to transition away from it.
If you have concerns, it is best to discuss them with your pediatrician or registered dietitian to understand the best approach to wean from the bottle based on your child’s developmental stage and needs.
14-month-old cutie enjoying her cup! Thank you her parents for sharing.
Sweet 6-month-old practicing open-cup skills!
When to Introduce a Cup to Your Baby
According to the AAP, most babies are developmentally ready to use an open cup starting early - at around six months of age (sometimes even earlier!)
However, it is important to pay attention to your baby’s signs of readiness. These signs include sitting in a high chair independently, holding things (relatively) steadily with the hands, and having the ability to bring objects to the mouth with hands.
Consider offering open regular cups during meals and snacks rather than allowing a child to sip on milk all day. This helps contain the mess as babies learn to sip - and it helps prevent the overconsumption of beverages. Saliva production also increases while eating and can help rinse milk particles from the mouth, which will help prevent cavities.
Weaning from the Bottle Schedule:
Start practicing with an open cup at ~6 months of age; offer 1-2 oz of water with meals
Once your baby is successfully taking sips from an open cup, start offering a straw cup* (without a valve)
As your baby is nearing 12 months of age, begin to offer one milk feeding per day in a cup; (the mid-day milk bottle feed is often easiest to drop first from an emotional standpoint)
Begin weaning from milk feeds at 12 months by establishing a solid food feeding schedule that includes 3 meals per day and 1-2 snacks
Expect some pushback if a child is particularly attached to the bottle; this is common and can be tough on parents, but I promise your baby will get through it; as long as you know your child is capable of drinking from a cup, remain patient, redirect when you can, and validate their feelings about the change in routine
Try to move away from giving bottles as a way to help your baby get to sleep at bedtime and naptime; instead, offer a bottle 10-15 min before the sleep routine and always brush their teeth after milk to remove any milk residue
As you transition your baby to cow’s milk, try to offer it at meal time or set times in your routine to help prevent sipping throughout the day, which is hard on teeth, and limit total daily cow’s milk to a maximum of ~16 fluid ounces
Choosing the Best Cup for Your Baby
The best cups for babies are open cups - preferably ones that are small enough for an infant's hands. Starting with an open cup teaches your baby how to take a small amount of water at a time and swallow efficiently, which encourages movements of the muscles in the mouth and jaw that support speech, swallowing, and chewing.
Be patient with your baby as this is a new skill that takes time to master and can be pretty messy. Offering a small amount of water in the open cup is a good way to allow babies to practice open-cup drinking without spilling milk or formula everywhere, but be sure to limit water to less than 8 ounces per day for babies under 12 months of age.
After a baby has shown some success taking sips from an open cup, straw cups (especially straw cups with handles) are a great next step. Look for straw cups with a thin, short straw and no valve.
Some babies learn to sip from a straw just by watching you or by placing their mouth on the straw and accidentally sucking. You can also siphon a small amount of water into the straw, trap it with your finger, and place it on your baby’s lips to show them what is inside.
One trick to help baby get the hang of the straw is to use the Talktools Honey Bear Drinking Cup*, a top training cup recommended by feeding and speech therapists that allows the parent to help control the amount of liquid that goes into a baby’s mouth when learning to drink from a straw.
Babies who approach their first birthday with some open and straw cup drinking skills in place tend to have an easier transition away from bottles, so it can help to get an early start. Modeling open-cup drinking at the table during family mealtimes is one of the best ways to encourage babies to drink from an open cup.
If you want more information about how to choose a cup, my favorite cup for baby recommendations, and tips for how to teach your baby to drink from a cup, check out my blog post on “The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Cup for Your Baby” and check out my Amazon store*. It includes many of my favorite cups, including the Munchkin click-lock weighted straw cup, Thinkbaby Straw Bottle, and the ezpz Tiny Cup*.
Why Should Babies Not Use Sippy Cups?
At a year of age, babies are developing a more mature swallow pattern that allows the tongue tip to elevate to the gum line. Prolonged bottle use and drinking from a hard-spouted sippy cup may delay the advancement to a mature swallow pattern, which may delay oral-motor skills.
Sippy cups with a valve (to prevent spills) are especially important to avoid because these types of cups encourage babies to continue using an immature suck pattern instead of learning how to sip.
Hard spout sippy cups are also associated with an increased risk of facial injuries, especially when children who are just learning to walk are taking sips while walking. Remind your child to always stay seated while drinking from a cup to prevent injury.
Which Milk Should My 12-Month-Old Drink?
After 12 months, infant formula is no longer needed for most babies, and it becomes time to transition to whole cow’s milk and water. There are so many ways to make this shift, cold turkey being the easiest and fastest.
Some babies tolerate the transition better when you slowly shift from breast milk or formula to cow’s milk by adding a small amount of milk (1-2 fluid ounces) to a bottle of breast milk or formula, gradually reducing the formula each day, and slowly adjusting the ratio over time until the bottle is 100% cow’s milk or high-quality plant milk alternative.
When using this slower method, make sure to mix your formula first before adding the cow’s milk to be sure you have the correct ratio of formula to water.
If you are breastfeeding and plan to continue beyond 12 months of age, please know that you do not have to offer cow’s milk just yet unless you want to. But do help your baby practice those open-cup drinking skills using water or expressed breast milk.
It is also important to note that the AAP does not recommend any juice before age 1. After age 1, the recommendation is no more than one serving of juice per day. If your child does not drink cow’s milk or you prefer that they drink a cow’s milk alternative, the best plant milk alternative is either unsweetened soy milk or unsweetened pea protein milk.
How to Stop Bottle Feeding a 2 or 3-year-old?
If your 2-year-old is still drinking milk from a bottle, it will be okay! Here are some tips on how to help encourage drinking milk from a cup and how to stop bottle feeding a 3-year-old or 2-year-old toddler.
First, start by only giving a bottle of milk at a specific time of day that is NOT right before or right after a nap or bedtime.
Next, try this tip from my friend and colleague, Melanie Potock, feeding therapist and SLP: offer two identical straw cups with meals (one containing cold water and one containing cold milk). Your child will accidentally sip milk from one of the cups while looking for the water cup and these sips will hopefully become intentional with time.
If your child has mastered drinking water from a straw or open cup, take heart that they can and should be able to stop drinking milk from a bottle. Continue to provide encouragement and positive reinforcement for transitioning away from the bottle.
What if water from an open cup makes my baby choke?
Make sure to fill the open cup almost to the top with water so your baby doesn’t have to tip the head back to take a sip - this will help reduce sputtering and coughing, and it will reduce the risk of choking as your baby drinks.
As babies get more practice, you can give less water in the cup. Another trick is to try thickening the liquid by adding a little bit of applesauce or blended banana, which slows the flow and allows your baby time to swallow.
Do I need to offer a cup if I am exclusively breastfeeding?
Yes, breastfeeding babies should still learn to drink from a cup - open-cup drinking is an important milestone for babies to master. But you do not need to wean from breastfeeding at the same time that a baby should wean from the bottle.
Breastfeeding can (and should) be continued beyond the first birthday if it is still working well for the mom and child.
Can I use a 360 cup for training?
Offering water, milk, or other beverages from these cups is not recommended because they do not promote proper tongue posture and movements, which will ultimately not support mature tongue thrust swallow patterns.
For more support or if you have questions that haven’t been answered, please leave a comment below or schedule a virtual consult. I have several more resources listed on my website including an affordable guide for choosing the right milk for your child and my online course on solving picky eating challenges as well.
Thanks for reading!
Check out this fab fellow drinking his milk with a straw
