As your baby grows older, there come up many changes. And to cope with these changes, you as parents have to put stop on some of the habits that might not be good for the baby anymore. One such habit that needs to be changed is Bottle Feeding. When feeding baby, most parents switch to bottles   in order to substitute or limit breast feeding.

However, babies get so addicted to the bottle that drifting them away from this habit seems no less than a herculean task. But it's very important that the baby learns to drink his liquids from a cup rather than bottle; especially when he is more than a year old. Well, as feeding baby without a bottle appears to be a stressful jobs for parents, here we have got for you some important that would help in feeding baby with the bottle kept at bay. Have a look: 

When Should You Stop Bottle Feeding? 

As soon as your child turns 1, you must start making efforts to keep him or her away from the bottle. As this needs to be done gradually, it would be better to start off at an early stage. Delaying will only make it worse. Some babies accept the change very easily, while a few happen to be very fussy.  

In general, babies after 10-12 months of age, hold their heads up and are able to drink from a cup. This is something the younger babies won't be able to do. It's suggested that feeding baby without bottle must only be initiated after 1 year. 

Why it needs to be Stopped? 

Feeding baby with a bottle certainly doesn't sound like a practical thought. As the baby grows, this habit will have to be put to an end. However, other than the obvious reasons which we know, there are some other reasons too that state bottle feeding needs to be stopped on time. The reasons are: 

Obesity Risk: Though both breast milk and the formula milk are rich in nutrients, but health experts state that carrying on drinking from the bottle is likely to pose certain health risks for the baby, particularly increasing the risk of obesity in the later life.

Dental Problems: As per the global dental association, sucking on the milk bottle, especially while during sleeping, is known to lead to tooth decay. Milk has certain sugars, which get coated on your baby’s teeth and decay them at an early age. 

Tips to Stop Bottle Feeding Baby

If your baby has turned one, it's time to introduce the changes in regards to his bottle sucking habit. Here check out some useful tips that would help you abstain your baby from bottle:

• Try and introduce this change gradually. Doing it all of a sudden can make the baby fussy and he might act difficult. 

• Make the baby drink liquids from a cup at frequent intervals. For instance if he drinks 3 bottles of milk a day, reduce the number to 2 bottles and the remaining can be given in cups at frequent interval.

• Pick some attractive and colorful cups as this will catch the baby's attention thereby making him or her drink from the cup.

• When feeding baby in a cup, you must watch out for his mood. If he is in a jolly mood, he might not mind trying out a new way of drinking milk. But if he is gloomy, it would be better to hand him the bottle.

• Try and introduce the cup during the night just before sleeping. Usually, this is the time of the day when your toddler sucks on to the bottle for comfort. If you can make him come out of this comfort, he will adopt this habit of drinking in cup without much delay.

• Last, but certainly not the least, don't force this new habit on the baby. It will take time but constant efforts would surely help you put a stop on bottle feeding.

Feeding baby sans the bottle is no easy task. All it needs is a great deal of patience and perseverance from the parents.