We started a couple weeks before his first birthday by cutting out his middle of the day bottle. The morning bottle came a few weeks later and finally his before bedtime bottle just after his first birthday. We did a similar progression with going from formula to whole milk. Bottles were still formula and sippy cups were whole milk. At first we did half and half milk and water adding a little more milk and a little less water gradually until it was just all whole milk all day long. He doesn't even really drink a sippy before bed and his bottle was a major relaxer before bedtime!


The transition was both harder and easier than I thought. It was harder for me because it meant my baby wasn't really a baby anymore. Other than the fact that he still wears diapers, drinking a bottle is the last real babyish thing he did. It was also easier because I had so many doom-and-gloom stories of how awful it was going to be. It wasn't a walk in the park but it wasn't that bad.


Some of my tips for bottle weaning are below.

….Gradual Changes
As I mentioned above both the switch from formula to whole milk and bottle to sippy cup were gradual over several weeks. We have been offering him a sippy cup for months now but only really utilizing the weeks leading up to his birthday and beyond.

….The right Sippy Cup
I can't stress enough how important this is. Landon used the same style of bottle for the last 12 months and was pretty attached to it. It was so important to find him a sippy cup that he would love just as much. It took some trial and error but we've found some really great ones. NUK sent us the Advance Developmental 1-Piece Sippy Cup as well as a few other products to review (coming soon) and it couldn't have been a better time. Not only does Landon love it (the soft spout makes the transition easier) but its also easy to clean because its just 1-piece, it's 100% spill proof (Landon tested) and BPA free. Landon also likes to point at all the cute dinosaurs in the design.

….Out of Sight Out of Mind
Very early on in the transition phase I realized that I needed to make all bottles vanish during non-bottle times. Otherwise Landon would lose his little mind if I tried giving him a sippy and he could see a bottle sitting out. However, if there were none out for him to see he didn't bat an eye when I handed him a sippy cup.

….Water Trick
We never actually did this but I've had several people tell me to wean the bedtime bottle by putting water in the bottle instead of milk. For Landon it was more of a relaxing before bed problem than the actual milk so I thought he might just go with it and we wouldn't have made any progress. Maybe not though, its worth a shot if you're struggling with weaning that last bottle.

….Be Enthusiastic
I basically preformed halftime routines for Landon to get pumped about his sippy cup. Lots of praise, excitement, and clapping. He would get all excited and I don't think he even knew why. Kiddos are kinda easy to manipulate if you have the right attitude.


I was given the Advance Development Sippy Cup by NUK free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions & tips are 100% my own. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make this blog possible. NUK social media links below.