seems as though many of the families i have been consulting with have loads of the same questions!  which is why i posted previously about the leaky diaper dilemma. the fact many of the same issues confront me it can help you rest assured that you aren't the only one out there with any questions, issues, or concerns regarding your little ones.  we all probably know that bottles are for babies, but somewhere along the line, life happens and we take a look around and either have toddlers with bottles or sometimes kids even older than this.  this issue too, can be solved and i will post later about tactics to get rid of bottles for toddlers.  when they are so attached and there seems no possible way to break them of this habit, i am telling you, there is!!  today i'm helping you stop the bottle addiction before full-on withdrawals occur! i will help you and your baby say 'bye-bye' bottles and 'hello' sippy cups!  the most beautiful thing about this process is it happens without tears and sadness for the comforting latex nipple??!!  the trick with kids is to make habits disappear before the habit has really formed.  that being said, by the time your little one is approaching their big 1st birthday you will have already been performing your magic!  if your little one is around 6-10 months, than you are reading this at the perfect time!  if you are beyond this point or already facing issues around getting rid of the bottle than read as well.  i have loads of tricks to help you fight the bottle battle without a fight!  don't hesitate to contact me on my discussion board or privately through my contact page.  okay back to the disappearing bottle deets:

• ultimate goal is to stop the bottle by age 1
• bottle is to be associated with formula/breast milk and sippy cup is for COLD MILK ONLY!
• to begin this process start around 6-7 months.  introduce a sippy cup with water.
• i find the "nuby" brand to be the best and easiest for them to grasp this concept, as it can be chewed on and in turn water comes out!
• help them by holding the cup and encourage it daily until they grasp the concept.
• getting them used to the sippy cup is half the bottle, oops, i mean battle!! :)
• around 11 - 11 1/2 months you will dig deeper into the process of the magical disappearing bottle
• get rid of one bottle at a time.  i suggest a morning or afternoon bottle first.
• give COLD MILK in a SIPPY for that feed where you took the bottle out.  you will have to encourage the milk.  give it at meal time and then keep it out during play time and keep putting it up to them to help them get better at drinking it. 
• once you can get a full sippy of milk in and 1 bottle out, move on to the next, leaving the nighttime bottle for last
• once you only have the bedtime bottle left you will get a bit more sneaky!
• i will use a 6 ounce bottle for my example, but start with whatever amount you usually give
• offer milk in a sippy at dinner and encourage as much as you can before bedtime
• for the bottle, give 5 ounces instead of 6 for 2 nights, then 4 oz for 2 nights, 3 oz for 2 nights, 2 oz for 2 nights, 1 oz for 2 nights and then 1 oz for 2 nights, than badda-bing-badda-boom the bottle disappears!
• usually they will turn their heads away from the bottle around the last few nights as they are so good at drinking the milk in the sippy, that they actually prefer the milk to the formula and won't be interested in the bottle!

you want your baby to be drinking around 3 full sippy cups of whole milk per day at the age of 1.  so be sure you are getting enough milk in them as you take bottles away.  if they are slower to take to the milk, than you will take the bottles away more slowly.  you know your little one best and can judge how they are doing better than anyone else!  don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or need more advice regarding this issue or others around this topic!  i am happy to help! good luck playing bottle magicians and remember bottles are for babies!!