After seven years of taking and accessing diet recalls on toddlers I found
that when the mother stated that the child still took several milk bottles a
day there were usually several other bottles a day with other liquids in them.
This meant that the child had as much as 64 oz of liquid nourishment per day.
I don't know if any of you have tried to drink that much in a 24 hour period
but it sure cuts down on your appetite for "real" food.  Many mothers that I
talked to just did not realize that these liquid feeds would disturb a child's
normal appetite.  Unfortunately these children oftentimes would be difficult
to switch over to solid foods.  By this time they were going through the 2
year old picky phase and would only eat things that might not be good for
them.  French Fries, cookies, chips etc.  I also observed that many of these
children did not sit down to eat.  In fact the whole family ate "on the run."
Not only are bottles easier on the decorating scheme in the house than running
cups, junk food generally doesn't have to be eaten with silverware or cut up
with knives.  I usually ended up talking about changing the whole families
eating habits somewhat.  We always recommended no bottles after 14-16 months.
Nursing was not restricted, of course. I would oftentimes see Moms and kids at
the mall and observe the mother madly stuffing a bottle into her purse before
she thought I could observe the offending object in their kids mouth.  My
husband used to jokingly call me "The Enforcer."  Just a few observations for
what they are worth...

Linda Inglis, BS, IBCLC
Palm Harbor, Fl