(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.