Pediatrician's Advice

At what point do you stop listening to the pediatrician's advice and go with your gut?

With Sydney, we pretty much did everything the pediatrician told us to. We started her on solids at 4 months, had her off the bottle by 15 months, had her speech evaluated at 16 months since she wasn't talking, etc. With Liam, however, I just don't think I want to follow all of her guidelines.

She wants him to be off bottles and the pacifier by 15 months. He's down to two bottles a day (early morning and before bed), but that is the only liquid he gets during the day. He refuses to drink his milk (and it's milk, not formula) from his sippy cup. He'll drink water or very watered down juice, but not milk. He will only drink that from a bottle. So what am I supposed to do about that? Let him get dehydrated just so I can follow a recommendation?

As for the pacifier, the boy is attached to it. He uses it to help him fall asleep both at naps and at bedtime. He falls asleep by himself, no rocking or back-patting needed. He just needs that pacifier. And once he's asleep, it falls out and he actually spends most of his sleeping time without it. So will it really mess up his teeth if he continues to use it past 15 months?

So what do you do? Do you follow your pediatrician's advice or go with your gut? And what do you think I should do? You'd think I would have the hang of this whole parenting thing the second time around, but apparently not!