Anybody got any good tips on potty training and weaning off the bottle ?

[jeno]

I have a 22 month old daughter who i can't get off bottles i am trying and trying but she is getting harder to please also i want to start potty training but am a little nervous how do you start thing's off ? many thanks

[anneasquith]

dont be nervous about it, you will get lots of helpful hints from the abers,

[jeno]

Thanks anneasquith you can look at the different baby websites on the net but sometimes they seem technical answers i am just looking for an easy approach lol

[sherrardk]

My biggest tip is don't start potty training until she is ready (just because you feel she should be potty trained now doesn't mean she is actually ready for it). My youngest children are 2 1/2 year old twins and there is no way that they are ready to start potty training and I am not concerned about it (apparently twins are 6 months behind other children). Good luck. x

[Brinjal]

Still young. She will have given up the bottle by the time she gets married so dont worry. Try to restrict her bottle to night and go with cup during day. Try bribes.

[Mobiliser]

jeno, all I can offer is, go with your gut feeling.

My Mum told me to put the baby on the potty, from the first time of it's nappy change, just hold it on there till it did a wee, then put it's nappy on! She said to do this / carry out this routine every time 'Baby' needed to be changed. Yes, I can honestly say that 'Baby' was well out off her nappies during the day by 10 months old and by the time she was 1 year old - none at night! Of course that meant that she was lifted and sat on the potty when we went to bed! No problem! Never did she, or the second one,ever wet the bed, and also, never did they ever get a dummy!

jeno, who knows who is right or who is wrong?!? Circumstances may not afford you to carry out the above routine. But all I will say is this. It is up to YOU to work out a routine suitable for both your kids and you - and more to the point for YOU to enforce it.

[Mobiliser]

Sorry love, I forgot to say, both kids were feeding themselves by the time they were 14 months old! But as I say, it is down to what time scale Mum can spend with them and carry this routine out!

Personally, I would not have wanted my kids to be still in nappies by the age of 2 years old! - A bit much in my book! But Hey! I am not making a judgement, just simply my own observation on it! Who knows the right or the wrong??

[ummmm]

jeno....I would suggest you do not listen to Mobiliser and go with what sherrardk says.

[daffy654]

I second what ummmm says! Forcing a baby of the age mobiliser recommends onto a potty is just wrong.

There are beakers for toddlers that have a soft spout, would your daughter get on better with one of those do you think?

[anneasquith]

jeno, all babies are different, ive never seen a child go to school with a nappy or using a bottle to feed.

[Coobeastie]

We started around 16months with our daughter and introduced the potty with nappies so she got the idea of sitting on it and associating 'potty' with having to go to the toilet. After each meal we'd also sit her on it without a nappy.

After a while we switched to her having no nappy on but dressed her in skirts or dresses. during the day.

We still use nappies at night and for car journeys. If we're out and about it depends on where we're going as to whether she wears nappies or not.

It can take time and you'll often have little accidents especially if they are preoccupied with something else. We're currently getting our daughter used to wearing knickers/trousers and having to pull them down to go as sometimes she forgets :)

With weaning not sure if you mean traditional bottles or just beakers. If the former it can be quite difficult if the transition is done at an older age. You might find it more easy to switch straight to an open cup or try a straw type beaker. Alternatively a beaker with a similar teat to your bottles might work.

Alll babies are different though you might find it easier to make one change to her routine first (weaning probably the easier of the two).

Hope it all goes well.

[tigwig]

I would just calmly and firmly take charge of the bottle situation and tell your daughter they are going in the bin as she's no longer a baby then take her to the shops and let her choose a new cup to have her milk in instead. She may or may not paddy over this but she will get over it!
In regards to the potty training I wouldn't worry at all, she is still very young and unless she is showing clear signs of being ready I wouldn't rush it and remember the later she is potty trained, technically speaking should be qucker and easier!
I definitely wouldn't do the 2 things at the same time. Good luck.

[ummmm]

Some people talk sh1te...pure sh!te...

Coobeastie...

[albaqwerty]

at 16 months?!!!!! wait until your child feels ready, they'll let you know :)

[PurpleParis]

This is going to be a controversial answer I'm afriad.....but it is the truth thats all I can say....a little too late for your 22 month old but maybe food for thought for the future....I put my babies on the potty from maybe four weeks old....everytime I fed them I took their nappy off and held them over the potty. Now obviously at such a young age they didn't realise what they were doing but when they wee'd, which invariably they did I would praise them. My daughter was out of nappies at twelve months, day and night and my son (and boys are harder to train) was out of nappies at twelve months in the day and 18 months at night. I did it because I didn't like the smelly nappy thing....it worked for me, thats all I can say! As for the bottles...who's the Mummy.....you have to be strong...it is amazing how much you let them make the rules, even at such a young age.....find a nice cup and make a big deal of it....take the bottles away....even if you give them to 'the fairies'.... Good Luck...

[boxtops]

I can personally remember clinging onto my bottle when my brother was born - possibly in an effort to be "baby too". My mother cleverly told me one day that she'd broken my bottle and there wasn't another one, the baby needed it, so I'd have to use a cup. No problems after that - I remember it still.

[jeno]

Thank you all for the very useful comments and ideas i think my daughter may want to try going to the toilet as she was quite keen when my 4 year old niece used the loo, I think i am going to try slowly next week see how it goes.
Regarding the bottle i think my daughter is using the teat more like a dummy and for comfort so i think i am going to have to be strong on this one , Believe me she as aobut 6 different kind of cups but she keeps going back to the good old bottle . What kind of makes it worse is that when we we attend nursery and the under 3's are sitting around the table for toast and juice/ milk one of the leaders tells the 1& half year old upwards that they shouldnt need the bottles anymore so i tend to get embarrassed when my daughter is using her bottle ( don't know why ) so i am gradually trying to push the bottle away .

[Coobeastie]

Very helpful ummmmm in what way was a talking sh!te?

[sherrardk]

Hi jeno - you can get family toilet seats which are brill - they are a normal seat with a baby-sized normal seat in the lid. Very easy to keep clean and your daughter will think she is just sitting on toilet. Go with what she is happy with - she's only little. I have five children and I find I don't really give a stuff what people think about how I do things now - as long as they are happy and thriving that's the main thing. The youngest (twins) are 2 1/2 and have a bottle of milk at bedtime and use a dummy (but not outside of the house). Good luck and trust your instincts. x

[Coobeastie]

Good point sherrardk on the not giving a stuff about how others think things should be done. We started at 16 months a lot later than 4 weeks or 10 months as some have mentioned but apparently I'm talking sh1te... shouldn't take to heart really.

[nohorn]

My son was very attached to his bottle. I knew it was time to give it up. We visited the grandparents out of state. I accidentally left a couple of bottles. In desperation, I told him, Geez we left your bottle at grandmas, you will have to use something else. Surprising, the logic worked and he adjusted just fine.