June 2008 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
The sippy cup battle continues (a vent)
So it is day 4, we have bought and tried almost every brand of cup. And no success, DH decided that she is doing this on purpose and it's a habit she needs to break, so he made her drink her milk last night through tears and screaming, you can imagine how that turned out. Cold turkey wasn' t my idea but do we give in now. Is she really not ready or is this testing her independence?
Re: The sippy cup battle continues (a vent)
Stay strong momma, you're doing everything right.
Only you and your H can decide when enough is enough or when to stay strong. However, you both need to be on the same page on the decision, and from your posts it seems like your H is adament about getting her off it, and you are wavering. Trying to break a habit is hard to do as a parent, so you both need to agree on the strategy and the amount of time to go with it.
I was actually talking about this with Morrigan last week. I don't understand why breastfed babies can nurse until both baby and mother are ready to give it up, but bottle fed babies have to go to a cup as soon as their birthday comes around.
For Alex at least, it was a comfort thing. She didn't have a paci, a blanket, a lovie or any other comfort object. The bottle was her comfort object. I didn't feel right taking that one comfort thing away from her, so we modified it a bit and only let her have it at home. Then only one in the morning and one in the evening. Eventually she gave it up, but it was easier on all of us for us to push the sippy, but still give her the comfort of the bottle when it was just us. That's what worked for us. You need to find out what will work for your family.
I actually laughed at myself last week because I had been so worried about getting Collin off bottles but get mad when someone says its time for him to stop nursing. I realized the same thing- his bottles were comfort when I wasn't here. He was ready to be done, but I felt silly worrying about the whole thing.
I don't think I've said this here before, but Natalie still gets a bottle at bedtime. She simply won't go to sleep without it. And, I allow it to continue for similar reasons that Jill discussed. It is seemingly unfair for me to take my daughter's only comfort object when nursed toddlers are able to continue. She stopped using a paci almost immediately and has no special blanket or animal. I plan to start getting serious about taking the bottle when she turns two. I guess what I'm saying is that you have to do what's right for you, and it's not always what you're "supposed" to do. As long as it's not damaging to her, it's ok to make a different decision than the majority of parents. Hang in there, I went through the same exact thing and I know how it can feel.
I don't know Amy, it's so hard. I think she's "old" enough - but like the PP have said bottles have become habit and comfort. I am really starting to think that FF babies have a stronger attachment to bottles than other kids because they've had them for so long - you know? I am sure Elle associates it with really good feelings. Do you do the same process with the sippy (allow her to cuddle in your lap - if that's what you do during bottles?). It doesn't help with Jane, but thought I'd suggest as it's something I thought of (like maybe she thinks with a cup she can't sit and snuggle anymore or something....)
I think we caved on day 4 - looking back I wish we'd stuck it out a little longer. Good luck.
Based on what we went through (it was seriously TWO WEEKS of her refusing to drink ANYTHING out of a bottle OR a sippy), I would stick it out. But I am a bound and determined person--once I start down a road, I don't like to negate what I've done by giving in, you know? You've fought hard the last four days and stayed strong; for me, it would be hard to start back at square one.
Whether or not she is really ready, I don't know. I agree that it could be an attachment object for her, which is definitely hard to break, similar to a pacifier for some kids.
And I can tell by the way you said it that you don't agree with the approach your DH has taken, so I'll just come out and say that I don't think making a big deal over it and FORCING her to drink from a sippy is the way to go.
I know our situation was a little bit different because Nora had suddenly started refusing bottles altogether, but we were still desperate to get her to take a sippy (ANYTHING out of the sippy), since she was drinking so little every day. I called our pedi's office multiple times to talk to them about it, and they kept emphasizing that above all else, we needed to remain calm about it. She said that the bigger deal we made about it, the harder we were making it on Nora and ourselves. She said to offer the sippy--and if it was refused, to brush it off like no big deal.
I think I told you this on Facebook the other day, but she doesn't NEED to have milk. If you are giving her water and/or juice and she takes that fine in the sippy... I would consider that a victory and move on. When she is ready to accept milk in the sippy, she will. And in the meantime, she will get the calcium and other nutrients she needs through her food intake.
Good luck, mama. I know it's hard. Toddlers are complicated creatures.
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You guys are stronger/more determined than we are/were. We still can't get Mads to drink milk at home out of anything whatsoever. She was fine with it when it was in a bottle up until about 14 months, but then started refusing her bottles. So now we're done with bottles entirely, and she won't drink milk out of anything else
She chugs water out of her cup like its her job, but every time we try milk she gags and refuses it. We weren't ready to fight her on it, and didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so we decided to just let it go & keep offering it from time to time & see what she does.
Apparently they've had better luck at daycare and she'll take occasional sips there. I'm hoping that maybe it will cross over into her drinking it at home eventually. In the meantime, we're just careful to make sure that she gets plenty of yougurt, cheese, etc to help balance out her diet.
Sorry I'm not much help, but I can definitely empathize.
Neena Mae. 1/7/10
"A baby nursing at a mother's breast is an undeniable affirmation of our rootedness in nature." - David Suzuki
Pedi's beef with bottles has to do with tooth decay. The theory, I guess, is that milk lingers longer in the mouth from a bottle than a cup - - which I do not get. I do get not giving a bottle IN BED where milk can pool in their mout. But, when sitting up, how is milk in their mouth longer with a bottle than a sippy?
Anyway, my Pedi was basically like "I don't care as much - it's the Dentist's who freak out about it".
My thing is I just don't like the look of a older kid using a bottle. Jane looks older than she is and it's gotten to the point where I give her the bottle in the car or before we leave b/c I don't like her running around with it HANGING FROM HER TEETH
I kind of like the idea of maybe having it be OK at home and at daycare/in public using a sippy. Or, since she has other lovies, trying to go cold turkey again. *Shudder*
With Abby, we started with dropping the mid-day bottle and having daycare give her milk in a sippy cup. Then we changed over the morning bottle to a sippy cup, and then lastly around 15 months transitioned to the sippy for the night time bottle.
With the twins we have tried giving them sippys and the little buggers will drink water like crazy from them, but milk/formula... they want nothing to do with it!! I am going to do the same thing and have daycare transition them to the sippys during the day and then worry about morning and night.
Cut the Crap - Weight loss journey of a Few Fat Chicks