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Health Tip: Giving Up Baby's Bottle

(HealthDay News) -- By your baby's first birthday, you should start making the transition from bottles to cups.

The Nemours Foundation offers this advice:

  • Slowly cut out a bottle at a time (one per week), starting with mealtimes and offering a cup of milk in place of the bottle.

  • Cut out the morning bottle first, and eventually drop the afternoon and night-time bottles.

  • Eliminate the bedtime bottle last.

  • Offer a bedtime snack with a cup of milk in place of the bottle.

  • Keep the rest of the bedtime routine (bath, books, cuddles, etc.) the same.

  • Praise your child for drinking from a cup like a big kid.