A probably silly transition question

[lovesherheels]

My DS is going to be going off bottles (and formula) in the near future after he turns one. So ... What do I do with him when he wakes up. Milk in a sippy? Food? His whole life we've just popped a bottle in his face when he wakes up.

Daycare feeds all the kids around 8:30, but he's usually up around 6:30. He never eats the 6oz of formula we make in the morning, so I don't think he's starving when he wakes up.

I know this is probably a really dumb FTM question ... But help? 😊

[icedcoffee]

We did a straw cup of milk first thing and at almost 3 my DS still won’t talk to anyone until he’s had his milk when he wakes up in the morning or after nap.

We eventually dropped all other times and now he just has milk at wake up and before nap. I kind of like it because he eats his meals better than he would if he was chugging milk at meals.

He’s not that hungry right when he wakes up so we don’t do breakfast at hone. I bring him to school and they have morning snack around 8:30.

[pugz]

My oldest wanted a sippy of milk first thing.

[humpforfree]

We always just did water cups. First thing we make them a water cup and then a bit later we eat breakfast. We’ve only ever offered milk cups at dinner.

[pandora89]

We gave DS a sippy cup of milk. He was exclusively bottle fed his entire life so I thought the transition would be awful but it wasnt bad at all!

[kdubs923]

We offered a sippy of milk upon waking, somewhere around 6:15-6:45.

Daycare served breakfast at 8:30-9 (depending on the room), which I felt was too late for them to wait to eat. I'd offer small first breakfast to hold them over - a cup of dry cheerios, a breakfast bar, rice cake w/pb, or mini-muffins. They would eat either before leaving the house, or at daycare when I dropped off around 7:20. Then they'd have second breakfast at school.

[hamster]

Milk in a cup.

[shauni27]

still, at age 2, we do a sippy of milk as soon as he wakes up. We have it ready to go in the fridge the night before and as soon as he gets up he has his milk. It buys us a little time to get him breakfast so we do not need to rush and feed him right away. I personally would give him a snack if breakfast is not being served until 8:30 at daycare (which I am SOOOOOOOOOO jealous about!)--something like a piece of fruit or a small yogurt, or even a pouch.

Also, prior to bottles being pulled completely, we had already introduced the sippy cup. He knew what it was and how it worked. He was PISSED the first day that we didn't give him a bottle and gave him his cup instead, but it literally lasted one day. For sure do it at one, it is much easier than waiting to do it later.

[pooh8402]

Cup of milk. My 4 year old still gets a cup of milk first thing in the morning.

And I agree that a cup should already be introduced by now, so start introducing a cup now (with water or formula, with meals or between, whatever), if you haven't already. My 7 month old is already learning the 360 cup.

[corgimom]

DD is 17 months and she sits in her chair while I pack our bags and eats a small snack with some water - usually a little breakfast bar, dry cheerios or similar.
She has yogurt, cereal and milk at school a short while later so we don't do milk first thing anymore.

We tried half a dozen different cups - sippy cups, straw cups, etc but now she only uses the 360 cup for water and milk.

[melsbels]

Sippy cup of milk!

My boys are almost 2.5 and they still get one in the mornings. They’re are up at 6:30 and out the door by 6:45 so we warm it up (yes we still warm it up lol) and have it ready for them when they come down the stairs to get dressed.

[loira]

We stuck with a morning and nighttime bottle until well over 2, though she stopped drinking formula at around 18 months. Probably not what the books say to do, but I loved the bonding.

[joy]

We phased out bottles. I don’t remember what order, but daytime ones were replaced by snack/milk. Morning one was replaced when she didn’t really drink it or when she seemed satisfied with breakfast only.

The nighttime one lived on as whole milk then 2%. It was in a bottle until 18 months or so and then a sippy. We still do milk (now 2%) in a sippy at 3. I have no plans to stop because it’s part of bedtime.

[kellikans]

He gets a straw cup of milk when he wakes up on the days I stay home. When he goes to daycare, he starts at 7am and they give him breakfast and milk a little after he gets there, so nothing at home. Then he gets another before bed. We don't really give him milk during the day. He gets water or kid apple juice.

[lovesherheels]

See, I knew you guys would be able to tell me what to do. Thank you all SO MUCH for this. I constantly feel like I have no clue what I'm doing, so this was helpful.

Oh, and he's really good with his sippy cups already so hopefully it won't be THAT brutal to move away from bottles totally. Hopefully. Maybe. Fingers crossed, lol.

pandora89 -- My DS has been bottle fed his whole life, too. (Also formula fed his whole life.) I'm so glad to hear that it wasn't super terrible for you! I'll hope for the same, haha.

[seaturtle]

Thanks for asking. DS is 11 months so I'm sure I would have been posting this question soon!

[expectantsteelerfan]

I can't even remember what we did with ds. But I have sharp memories of dd when she was 1 to 2 waking up from her nap and needing a sippy of milk and to veg out on the couch with no one talking to her (and watching a show if she got her way) for a good 10-15 minutes after she woke up or else she would FLIP OUT. I also remember the few times I was dumb enough to plan something that would require us to rush out the door after nap and how disastrous they were.

But yeah, we did a sippy of milk instead of formula in the AM, after nap, and after dinner. The evening one was dropped first, then the morning one, and dd held on to that sippy of milk after nap for a LONG time.