10 Month Old Does Not Hold His Own Bottle

My son never did hold his own bottle. I guess he just liked having one of us feed him. He now insists on feeding himself everything (even messy oatmeal) and drinks just fine from a cup. I don't mind that we had to give him all of his bottles. It doesn't last very long. Enjoy him being a baby.

you just have to make him do it. Lucky for me, my sitter trained my son. If you have a bouncy seat that he'll stay in, they work great. Strap him in and hand him the bottle. He'll drop it repeatedly, but keep giving it back to him and he'll get the idea. After less than a week of my sitter working with my son, he was holding his bottle on his own. H was about 4 months old at the time. Good luck!

In my opinion yes he is old enough to hold it and the only way to teach him is to make him do it. I am not trying to sound mean, but if he will not hold it you set it down beside him, he will pick it up!

Hi, B.,

So...your son is 10 months old...he's probably moving himself around pretty good by now...playing with toys, scooting, trying finger foods...

Which means that he knows how to pick things up....and he probably even knows that, in order to get something out of his bottle, he has to pick up it, put it in his mouth, and tip it up.

So, when he's crying and hungry and wants that bottle...sit him in is crib or playpen and give it to him. Then leave his line of vision.

I'll bet it won't take him too long to figure out what to do if you aren't there to hold it for him....

I just want to say that the special time feeding the baby will be a joy and wonderful memory forever. Especially since you are working so hard and only have that one day with the two of you.

Feeding time can be a time to relax for half an hour. Stare into that beautiful face and talk to your baby. Hayden needs that bonding time with his mommy, especially since isn't, as you said, "enough".

It is important to alternate positions for the balance of development with the baby. Here's a quote from a website about bottle feeding

http://www.robynsnest.com/bottlefeeding.htm

- "Alternate Sides - As with breast-feeding, alternate hold positions from side to side. This will help your baby's eyes and neck to develop more equally. Try alternating halfway through the bottle after burping your baby. By doing this from the very start, your baby has a better chance of not choosing a preferred side."

I would check with whomever takes care of him during the day that they also alternate sides during each feeding.

This is such a special time. Enjoy it.

I would not worry if I were you. My daughter is almost 13 months. We are weaning her off formula so she still gets a bottle 3-4 times a day. She will NOT hold her own either. She drinks from sippy cups and regular cups even, by herself. She is even starting to use forks and spoons to feed herself. I chalked it up to a combo of being lazy and liking the cuddle time with me.

Hi B.,

You are not alone here. Both of my daughters (ages 4 and 6) did exactly the same thing. They really didn't care to hold their bottles which made it so easy to get rid of the bottles and transition them to sippy cups. When they turned 12 mo and the doctor said they could come off formula onto whole milk, I threw away the bottles and started them on sippy cups and cups with straws. Feel lucky, because at times, it can be very difficult to get rid of the bottle. Good luck.

I have always heard that it can be harder to wean if babies get used to controlling the bottle themselves. Making the distinction that the sippy is something that THEY can control and the bottle is something that YOU control may make a difference in weaning. My son was never interested in holding his bottle either, but I never encouraged it. I cherished the intimacy of holding him and feeding him his bottles .... I still miss that special time with him!

Some kids advance early so maybe this is his way of telling you it is time for a "Tommy-Tippy" cup. The best way to find out is to try it. If not he will most likely drink when he is thirsty. Don't worry Mom cause they all do their own thing and drive us crazy and this I have discovered does not quit. Enjoy what he is up to now cause it will change. Just keep your sense of humor and get lots of pictures!

Do not worry! My little girl just turned one and she never held her own bottle, however she holds her sippy cup just fine. The same as other moms have said, I enjoyed that time to be with her and feed her. Now she's not drinking from a bottle anymore and it's kind of sad. Just remember every child is different, don't compare!

Hi B.,

My Daughter's Pediatrician switched her to a sippy cup right around that age, because she was getting to the point where just breast milk wasn't enough so, I gave he some baby juice in a sippy cup, start out with the ones with handles on both sides, then switch to no handles and progress up from there, they usually say right on the package what age group they are for. Don't put breast milk or formula in the sippy cup though as the sippy cup is also an aid in weening, at least that is what my Daughter's Pediatrician said and I have seen other Mom's on here say the same thing. Good Luck!

M.

Enjoy holding his bottle while you can! Cherish the time now b/c before you know it he will be grown and not want you to hold and cuddle him.

B., my son would NEVER hold the bottle. He was breastfed and when I went back to work, I had to express my breast milk and feed him with the bottle. He never liked it but that is what we had to do. He never would hold the bottle, so about the time he was Hayden's age, I noticed that he would drink from a straw when we were out at a resturant. So I bought 'sippy cups' that have a straw instead of having to tip the cup up and he only drinks from those cups now. He loves being a big boy and I am sooo glad that I never had to break him of the bottle. When I saw that other babies his age were holding their bottles and he wasn't and the fact that he could drink from a straw, that is when we stopped using bottles and went to the sippy cup with a straw. I hope this helps because I couldn't figure out why Conner wouldn't hold his bottle either. Good luck!

10 months is a great time to start to transition to a sippy cup. Our doctor wanted us to start the transition at that time since our girls were already sitting up and feeding themselves. So don't worry about the bottle at all and just go for the sippy. Good Luck and God Bless.

I have a similar problem. My daughter is the same age and holds her own bottle, but doesn't understand she needs to tilt it higher when it starts to run out. The same problem exists with the sippy cup. She can drink out of a regular cup when I hold it for her, but she won't pick up the sippy cup. I set it in front of her and she leans over and puts her mouth on the spout and tries to suck. So I tried one with a straw, but she doesn't suck on that, she chews on it. :) She finally started to pick up the first one, but I have to fill it to the top because she won't tilt it up high enough to drink it when it's halfway down. I figure she'll eventually figure it out, but with the bottle, she sucks in so much air that I usually give in and finish feeding her because she gets gassy and an upset stomach and doesn't understand the cause and effect. I just keep giving them to her and hoping that she'll figure it out. Good luck!

DON'T let him hold his own bottle. It is harder for him to give it up! I nursed my three boys until 12-14 months, but they were given juice and water in a bottle, and they were never allowed to hold the bottle on their own. That is a bonding time for someone to hold them and feed them, especially for dad!..who never got to give them their milk. It is only for about 5-10 minutes to hold the bottle for them; why would you want them to hold their own bottle, especially so close to the time they should be weened from the bottle. You can start giving him sippy cups with juice, but frankly I went straight to a regular cup, without the lid. This may be old style, since my boys are now in their late twenties, but they are well-adjusted boys, that never had any trouble with feeding themselves or drinking from a cup early, or weening to the cup...so my advice is DON't teach them to hold a bottle, ween them to a cup by age one year, which is right around the corner for you!

I think he should be holding it by now.

I understand your dilemma. My daughter didn’t start holding her own bottle until after her 1st birthday. My nephew is about 3 months older than my daughter and he was holding his at about 6 months! I worried about it for awhile & then just decided to wait it out. My kiddo is now 14 months old & will only “selectively” hold her bottle. Basically, I think it’s just their own choice. Besides, why hold it when Mom will do it for you? I really wouldn’t worry about it. One day he will probably just grab on to it and never let go! I wish you the best of luck!

My son never held his own bottle. He does hold his own sippy though. I think that because he didn't hold his bottle it was easier to transition to the sippy. He wasn't so attached. Don't worry!

For what it's worth (and it's just one opinion) ... I wouldn't encourage self-feeding with the bottle. Self-feeding is for tippy cups. As long as your baby is on a bottle I would encourge you to cuddle him and hold the bottle for him. He's pretty close to being done with the bottle anyway. If you have the time, why not take advantage of his desire for the closeness?

Hi B.!
My son dealt with the bottle the same way! But I actually cherished those moments that I could still hold him, rock him and feed him his bottle. By 10 months, I had started with a sippy cup with handles during the day which was easier to acclimate to once I put the bottles away forever (at 13 months).
I know that it takes time out of your day to give Hayden a bottle, but in two more months he will be moving on. Don't miss out on that special bonding time now.

Without seeing him it's hard to know. If he really does not have the strength to hold the bottle I'd be very worried and if he were mine I would be getting to a doctor for evaluation.

BUT.. My guess is he really just likes you doing for him. There are some states that do not allow daycare providers to do anything but give the children their bottles period. I don't really agree that letting them hold their own is bad. But I understand the many risks involved with walking away from a baby eating and how many people will leave them for long periods. I guess I'm just saying it's probably not a bad thing so long as he really isn't delayed.

Is he doing all the other things like sitting up and pulling up now? If not, you will want to get some books on aproximate times for all these milestones and decide if he needs seen.

Suzi

I thought it was odd that my daughter didn't hold it either, but it made it SOOOO easy to ween her from it because she never got attached to it...

Hi B.!

Our daughter, who is now 7, did not hold her bottle either until it was almost time to give it up! She did not like to use her hands very much, except for feeding herself little snacks! She never crawled either, she scooted around the floor. We never worried much about it and let her do her thing. She eventually outgrew it, although it is hard to think that will happen! :)
Amy M.

my daughter and granddaughter both refused to hold bottle and had no problems later. they could hold it but did not want to. it won't be to much longer for the bottle or for the infant stage so enjoy.

B., my suggestion is not to push it. Just encourage him every time you feed him. He may just not be strong enough quite yet to hold it the entire time. I'm a mother of 4, and they were all different. Two wanted to do everything on their own right away, one needed a little encouragement, and one still desires my help with everything. Just hang in there. Believe it or not, there will be one day when he is grown and you'll wish you were holding him & feeding him his bottle again. Cherish every second.

Whatever you keep doing for them - why should they have to do themselves?

I would NOT be worried.

My son is 14 months old now. When he was that age, he also did not hold his own bottle while drinking but would hold it and play with it. He was close to a year old before he held it himself. It was about the time I started introducing sippy cups. I'm sure he will do it in his own time.

One thing we did was find these handles that you could put on the bottle that makes it easier for them to hold it. My guess is that he enjoys the time he has with someone while he drinks from his bottle, he's almost old enough to go to a sippy cup so enjoy this time with him, they grow up too fast.