There are far fewer foods on the Do Not Eat list now. Check it out! Scrambled eggs for breakfast!
I took her to her one year well child appointment a couple of days ago. On the list of things for 12 month old kids it said, "Did you know you can now give your child Vitamin D milk?"
Yep. I knew that. In fact, we made the transition just fine. The morning after her first birthday I heated up milk instead of formula and put it in her bottle. She sucked it right down like she didn't even know the difference. Phew! That was easy.
The next transition would be from bottle to sippy cup. Bottles are for babies, right Moana? Um, well, maybe... not so much. Enter, opinionated one year old who WANTS HER MILK IN A BOTTLE.
Don't get me wrong. The sippy cup is just fine. For water. Or juice. But I swear, if it's milk, IT BETTER BE IN A BOTTLE. Moana will scream like there's no tomorrow and swat that cup away if I try to give her milk in it.
I figured I'd give it some time... eventually she will get hungry enough and will drink the milk out of the sippy cup. Yeah, not so much. She'll just scream, thank you. Maybe I need to try a different sippy cup. So I've bought several versions. Guess which one of these is the only one acceptable for milk?
So now I'm kind of at a loss. For the last week I've been giving her a bottle in the morning but then sippy cup in the afternoon and evening. So essentially she's been drinking 8oz/milk per day, because those second two don't get touched. Ok, she does actually touch them as she swats them forcefully away. But she does not swallow an oz of milk out of them.
Last night I decided that's it. No more bottles. Bottles are for babies. I put them all away. This morning she woke up and I put her milk in that Born Free bottle. As soon as she gave me a sign that she was hungry, we settled onto the couch with cup in hand and instantly, the protesting commenced.
There was nothing I could do to get her to put that cup anywhere near her mouth. Eventually I stopped trying and she stopped protesting. But that didn't solve her hunger problem. So I fed her solid food breakfast early. Then more solid food a few hours later. Then nap. Then try again with the cup of milk. FORGET IT. Not gonna do it.
The thing is, her caloric intake has been drastically reduced by the limited milk she'll drink. And she's losing weight. Doc actually told me at her appointment that she was concerned that Moana is now down in the 23% for weight. That was a couple of days ago and she's thinner now than she was then. This morning I was getting her dressed and I could see her rib cage. So it's concerning. And I'm at a loss. Am I going to be that mom who has a two year old carting a baby bottle around because we never broke the habit? Or am I going to be that mom who has a skinny child because I'm hell bent on winning a battle to get rid of the bottle while my child stubbornly withers away? Is it really that big of a deal whether or not my daughter drinks milk out of a bottle or a sippy cup?
I'm really leaning toward giving in on this one, at least back to once a day with the bottle so she'll at least get 8oz of the stuff every day... It's been a week now and I really think that if I don't give in with the bottle, she will not drink another sip of milk. She's THAT stubborn. Moms out there have some advice for me on this one??
24 comments:
My daughter is not quite 16 mo and in the same boat. I worry a lot because she has milk allergies so she gets her calcium quoata from soy milk...she is a fantastic sippy cup drinker...but won't suck back the soy milk like she does from the bottle. Even more proof that babies are creatures of habit: I used Brown's bottles all her life and when I switched to a simmpler bottle, with ladybugs on it (but still a bottle) she treated it like a sippy cup and tossed it to the wayside.
You know, in my opinion, you pick your battles. I myself don't consider the bottle battle worth the hassle. Maybe just give her a month or two...as sometimes when there's pressure on something they get particularly stubborn. Also keep offering milk in the sippy cup anyways every now and then. My daughter doesn't use a soother, and she never sleeps with the bottle in her mouth.
Just my opinion...just like all babes are different all moms are different too.
love your blog BTW!
oh yeah...here is one a fried of mine did...kinda controversial..and i think the toddler was older like closer to 2: she added a lot of chocolate powder...not a ton but a bit. then she decreased that until it was unnoticable.
oh and to add xtra calories -- does your little one like yogurt (full fat of course) and avocados?
Have you tried a letting her drink from a cup or with a straw? H can't be bothered with sippies because he wants to drink like his big sister. It really surprises me what he's able to do at 11 mos.
I weaned Jackson at 15 months and he would have nothing to do with regular milk...so I had to rely on yogurt and milk to get in his calcium. He finally warmed up the the milk idea..just took a bit. You might have to give in like you say and just try in a bit...too much of a change at once. Plus, when they get older and understand more...things are just easier to explain and say hey, this is how it is going to be :-)
Good luck!!!
Since I breast fed until about 14 months we almost never used bottles. My son was drinking from a sippy cup since he was 9 months. However, I've seen kids past a year using bottles and didn't think anything of it. I'd say if nutrition is of paramount importance, let her have the bottle but keep introducing the sippy cup every so often. Sometimes it isn't worth the grief and aggravation (talk to me when I try to break the thumb sucking habit, I may be singing a different tune!).
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
I have absolutely no advice on the bottle/cup conundrum, but I just wanted to send you a quick note to say that I found your blog around the time of Kona, and have been enjoying it!
I had the same problem with my son. In fact, he loved the bottle so much that he'd suck on it empty if he found it around. He never used sippy cups, only regular cups pretty early on. My son ended up giving up the bottle at close to age 3...I know, very late. We were concerned about teeth issues, but his are perfect (we brushed a lot). I personally think that all kids give up the bottle, learn potty training, etc, etc. I don't like to push them. But it is always a personal decision, whatever works best for you.
We had trouble transitioning Zach as well. For us it was just the first thing in the morning bottle that he didn't want to let go. I think we were in a slightly different position because Zach is a bit of a fatty and the doctor said to only give him milk with his meals so he'd thin down a bit. He'd scream his head off if given the milk in a sippy first thing so I started giving him a sippy with water first thing (he's now moved on to demanding his water come from mom's water bottles). I'd just set it on the floor and he could drink from it as he wished. After about a week we started putting milk in it and he never complained.
And like someone else suggested, you might also want to try letting her drink milk from a straw, or if you have the patience and don't mind the clean up, you could let her drink it straight from the cup while you hold the cup.
For what it's worth I have never seen an adult using a bottle :)
When I was convinced Jack would never roll over my mom pointed out that very few adults are unable to roll over.
She will get it but maybe she just isn't ready yet. A lot has changed for her recently so maybe she just wants to hang on to something familiar. It's funny how now we want them to hit these milestones and "grow up" but in 12 years we will want them to slow down! Good luck.
I was going to suggest trying a cup, like others have pointed out. Maybe just the difference will be a help. FWIW, we never used sippy cups... I wonder if the feeling of the bottle nipple on her gums is something she finds soothing?
It's the sucking she finds soothing. Also, it is So much easier to suck down a bottle than struggle with a sippy cup. Maybe you should use formula in the sippy cup since it's more caloric? Because I nursed I didn't have the sippy cup dilemma, but I will say that I agree with Nitsirk (Kristen) that I've never seen an adult sucking on a bottle. :) She will give it up-- but maybe she's just really not ready yet?
No kids of my own yet...but everyone else around me in my fam has them! And from what I hear, you are not alone in this struggle.
I think a lot of people have already mentioned that a regular cup might do the trick with your help, or that it might be too much change too quck. My sister-in-law also used the Oveltine route. I am sure you could find a choco milk poweder with less sugar in it if you look - especially if your worried about calories.
Good luck!
Don't worry, Moana won't go to kindergarten with a bottle! If I was in your situation, I think I would continue using the bottle and then every so often try a cup to see if she is ready.
Elena just recently stopped using bottles and she is 21 months. After Elena turned 1, I would give her dilute juice during the day and then a bottle of milk before bed. I asked the pediatrician about her only getting about 8-10oz of milk a day and he said don't worry. But her weight was always fine, so we didn't have to worry about that.
Just recently we started to transition Elena from her evening bottle of milk to an evening cup of milk. So far, so good!
Just read someone else's comment about the straw and it reminded me that the straw is what it took for my babe to drink the milk. Worked like a charm and it's what we still use!
People always tell me that kids won't starve themselves. Eventually you will win this battle. This being said, if it makes you feel better Nathan is now in the 3rd percentile for weight (down from 4th) and the dr isn't worried about it.
sounds like a lot of changes all at once, just because she had a birthday. what's another month or two of a bottle? but i'd try the straw and regular cup first. i don't think she's old enough to be like, "ha! i win the bottle battle!"
Michelle, as a mother of children your age and a grandmother of a boy almost Moana's age, my advice is always to pick your battles carefully. Moana finds comfort in her bottle. It really isn't such a bad thing at one or even at three years. If it gives them comfort, it will help them to deal with growing up challenges that they face.
There will be plenty of times when you have to come down heavy on them. ;-) You have to decide how important this battle is to your family. Good luck. I remember shedding tears over such conundrums.
I was also beating myself up that my 16mo old was still using a bottle 2x a day. But then I visited my friend who is a pediatric psychiatrist. Her 2yo daughter was still using a bottle. I figured if my friend didn't think it was harmful to her daughter's long term development I probably shouldn't get too worked up about it.
whew... that's a tough one! I'm not there yet but Nick wants nothing to do w/ the sippy cup!
Ryan was like that with the milk in the bottle thing. Finally I just threw the bottle in a drawer and said, "oh well, when he's thirsty, he'll drink." It only took a day. Literally.
wow - lots of comments and advice!! i don't really have advice for this specific thing as i'm still nursing a 3 yo old, lol, so we haven't made that transition... but i FIRMLY believe that kids all do things when they are ready. and i really trust my kids to let me know when they are ready and i trust myself to hear what they are saying.
what is so magical about a year? i find those artificially created "milestones" to be so disturbing. as i am sure you have seen, babies don't all develop and do things at the same rate. they all walk and talk at different ages and "sleep through the night"(who invented that?) when they are ready. i have even heard(you should google it) if you are under 30lbs and a certain height, that you should still be in a rear facing seat...
so, my only advice would be to follow her lead...she'll let you know when she is ready!(and i really do think that you are trying to do this so you just need to tune out all of the background noise on what you "should" and "shouldn't do")
I see that you've temporarily resolved the issue, but I wanted to pass on some fantastic advice a friend of mine gave me when still pregnant.
FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS.
Meaning...do what you would do if you hadn't been reading any books. Let go of the worries. You'll just KNOW when Moana's ready to give up the bottle.
P.S. Like Angela's Zach, Remy likes to drink from Mommy's water bottles. Maybe Moana sees her milk bottles as like your water bottles and just wants to imitate you.
I agree with everyone else... However, have you seen those juice box like Horizon organic milks, with straws? Angeline loves those. They might be worth a try. (Though she refuses to take anything in a bottle, and always has, so I'm not sure if that's why.. but it is different from a sippy cup and might work)
I am still thinking about Moanna and the bottle. My 16 mo old drinks form the bottle (see first comment) and I tried the other day again if she would take the sippy cup...No problem except that she would only drink 3-4 oz! Given her milk allergies I have just decided that I will periodically do a trial like t his, but until she outgrows the milk allergy I am also going to stick with the bottle.
I just wanted to also tell you that if you ever see this sippy cup (believe me I have all the ones you have in that pic)try the nuby ones...they are really soft and easy to hold...i think they are sold at Walmart...
http://hubpages.com/hub/Nuby-Sippy-Cups-10-Oz---BPA-Free---Controversy-Solved
cheers!
Post a Comment