In this case, we would recommend you speak with your doctor regarding this question, as standard practices can vary when a medical related issue is involved.

We wish you all the best with your baby.

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BabyTipsOnline Team

My one suggestion is that she’s using it as a comfort (since she’ll drink it watered down) so there has to be some other thing to replace that comfort. How is her routine? Can there be something else incorporated into it to help her ease off the bottle and onto something else like a blanket or lullaby?

I might get a beating from some parents for saying this, but sometimes it’s OK to let your child cry when they can’t have what they want. The key is to be as calm and soothing about it as you can be. At times like those with my own children, I just kept reassuring them that everything was OK and they could still have their drinks and cuddles. It will just be a different apparatus they’re drinking out of and a bit tastier beverage. They soon realize that if you stay consistent and you’ll soon be forgetting that phase even happened.

I would definitely try giving your daughter a regular cup. I’d make a big deal out of it each time and drink out of a cup yourself too. If you make it a fun experience she’ll be more open to continuing to use it. There are lots of different plastic cups that are easy for little hands to hold so it might be a matter of finding the perfect cup. A lot of times that’s all that is needed. If the sippy cup frustrates her, it could be because it’s not comfortable for her to hold or drink from. The spout could also be too tough to drink out of so one with a different type or size of spout might also help. She is also still very young so I wouldn’t push it too hard or it may prolong the weaning process. Keep encouraging her with a plastic cup and she’ll get the hang of it soon. Let me know how everything goes!

My son was just like your daughter. He wanted his bottle but it would take him about thirty seconds to fall asleep once I gave it to him so he was just using it as a comfort thing. This is actually a good thing because you can replace it with something else. Instead of giving him his bottle at nap or bed time, we would do the same things we always did for his routine (rock in a chair with a blanket while listening to a lullaby CD), give him his bottle, but then I’d take it away as soon as he stopped drinking. I’d set it down, then he’d get all worked up, so I’d give it to him again until he stopped drinking. We did this enough times until he realized that he couldn’t use the bottle to sleep, just to drink. Once that was established, it was much easier to replace the bottle with a cup. I hope this helps!