Daughter won't eat real food anymore, only takes bottle.

My daughter is now 2 and 1/2 and at 2 I tried to break her of the bottle. I eased into it, got her to take the rubber tip sippy cup so it still felt like a bottle, not hard plastic, got her use to it. Stopped the bottle completely until bedtime, then got her use to it. Meanwhile, she was eating 3 or 4 meals a day, taking her juice and water in a sippy cup. As soon as I decided to stop the bottle altogether, she screamed herself to sleep and the next day I tried giving her breakfast and she wouldn't take it, tried the sippy cup wouldn't take it, went to lunch and dinner and wouldn't eat. I just kept thinking to myself alright she's upset and wants her bottle, maybe this will just be a rough day and tomorrow she'll come around. This went on for 3 and 1/2 days! At that point I gave her the bottle. She wouldn't eat anything and she wouldn't drink anything out of her sippy cup. I didn't know what to think, so we had a doctor's appointment that third day and he told me she has to have fluids at least, a child won't starve themselves, she will eat if she's hungry blah blah blah. So I gave her the bottle back and started back over with food and the sippy cup and she has yet to take to either. She will only take her bottle. We're back to milk, mashed food, cereal and a crushed up daily vitamin.

I've tried twice since to break her cold turkey and we get to the third day and then the fourth day the second time and she just wouldn't eat or drink anything. I'm not willing to kill her to break her of the bottle. The only suggestions I've gotten from my doctor is to make it a game with her, show her how yummy food is, if you need to let her watch a show she likes while she eats to make it enjoyable.

My mind is just blown, she use to shovel food in and wasn't a very picky at all and overnight she just stopped. I really thought it would just be a battle of wills to get her off the bottle. I could use any help anybody has to offer.

[Renee Radenberg]

I am not sure your measurements are correct because it has your daughter's weight over the 95th percentile and her height below the 5th percentile? Suggest not taking away the bottle from her at all and getting her back to eating food/drinking from the sippy cup during the day and the bottle at night. Suggest leave her alone until she is about 3 years old and then try again. Maybe try reading to her at night or doing a different approach when you try again. At 3 she will be older and maybe be recessive.