Hello, I have a 9 month old that refuses to hold his own bottle. I get super jealous of other moms walking around the store while their children, much younger than my own, kick back and feed themselves, leaving mom free to browse at her leisure. I have tried putting his hands on the bottle, but he only jerks them back. Usually while he drinks he is holding his hands in tight little fists or rhythmically smacks the bottle with one hand. He does hold his own sippy cup at the high chair (when he is not throwing it on the floor or offering it to the dog.) When given the bottle, he also works feverishly to drink--from the bottom--all the time. I never did the bottle prop, because like most newbie mommas I was afraid to do anything that the "experts" forbade. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the responses. You guys confirmed my thoughts that he might be able to go to a cup without ever holding his bottle. Now if I just get him to stop trying to drink from the bottom of his bottle and cup!
J.,
Neither one of my children ever held their bottles on their own-like another mom, I asked my pediatrician, and he told me that he prefers they never do as it is easier to transition them from bottle to sippy cup. My children were both off the bottle and on a sippy cup 100% of the time at 12 months. Good luck!!
C.
For whatever it's worth, when my first daughter was very young I asked our pediatrician when she should be able to hold her own bottle. Her response was "hopefully never" as she she feels that bottle time is bonding time....
He won't make you hold it forever, so just be patient. Keep giving him opportunities to practice holding it on his own and keep using the sippy cups. Chances are, he'll do it when *he* is ready, not when it is convenient for you. I'm sure that you've heard that every child is different and develops at their own pace - that statement holds true here as well.
Feeding time = bonding time, whether you do it at the breast or with the bottle. He's clearly trying to engage you, craves your attention and presence and responsiveness while eating (and good for him for being insistent about what he needs)!!! Indulge him, he's still a baby. And while you're feeling impatient about this, what about simply surrendering to this very short-lived need of his? Will you really regret holding him and his bottle while he feeds for another 3-6 months when you're looking at your 16 yr old who can't wait to get out of the house? Personally, keeping a long-term perspective like that really helps me let go of some of the impatience I might feel during these intense, early years. Don't know if that will help you at all, but just wanted to throw it out there in case. :) "And this, too, shall pass..."
Wow, it's kind of a tough one. I have an 8 month old and we are the same age.
It's hard b/c you have things you need to get done, yet you want your baby to learn to do things own their own. I don't know if this is considered a "major" milestone or not. If it isn't I wouldn't worry too much about it. Babies do things at different times sometimes. If you don't want to prop, they do have bottles with tubing, almost like a straw but more like a tube for the babies to suck the milk up. A lot of moms of twins use them.
Good luck.
My now 14 month old twins seldom hold their own bottle and believe me, there was a time this frustrated me immensely becuase feeding two at once was a task in itself (you couldn't do it seperatley becuase the one not feeding would cry and interrupt the one that was feeding). They have on only a few occassions taken the bottle and fed themselves so I knew they could do this it just wasn't their preference. And as others have already stated, this is a fabulous bonding time, and once it's over, you won't have that built in time anymore. We are currenlty weaning them from their night time bottle and I will miss that cuddle time I have with them when it is gone.
For whatever it's worth, keep on keepin' on...my son did the same thing and it became very clear to me that he wasn't as ready as I was, so rather than getting frustrated with him, we just made it a special bonding time.
Wishing you joyful memories...
D.
My son was the same. It's the start of their personality coming out. My four year old will still sometimes not eat unless someone offers to feed him! (A grandparents dream is a mothers worst nightmare lol) I did not worry about him not feeding himself. It wasn't that big of a deal...yes I wish I could have done other things but I loved the fact that I still had that time to bound with my son while other parents didn't. It remained one on one time with just the two of us. (That was also about the time he stopped breast feeding which made me so sad in a way!)
If you really want him to stop you could hand him the bottle, and when he gets hungery he will eat theroy, I just couldn't bring myself to do that!
Hi,
Have you thought about the bottles that have removable handles on them. For instance, the Avent cup has a removable handle that fits on the bottles. They also sell transition bottles. Which is basically the bottle with a handle. All their handles are removable so you can always use with or without. They also make bottles that he wouldn't need to hold. A hands free bottle. The bottle has a tube that has a nipple on the end. The bottle can just sit next to them and drink from the nipple/tube. These are also good for kids with reflux. Heres couple pics of the items, if they help. T.
http://www.babybungalow.com/avre9ozbotrk.html
http://www.babybungalow.com/avmatrtwpa9o.html
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=249420...
It sounds to me like he wants/needs your attention. My daughter very rarely held her own bottle. It was a chance for me to spend some quality time with her. I understand how it could be frustrating, but he'll do it when he's ready, emotionally and physically.
If he holds his own sippy cup I would just give him his milk in the sippy cup and give him bottles when you have time to hold them for him. This may actually make the switch from bottle to sippy a little easier for you.
