Once again we are going to try to wean Kate off of the bottle. I am going to have a lot of help this time, her sitter Lori ~ PHEW! Lori prefers the sip cups with the hard spouts whereas I think Kate likes the soft ones. However, the young kids around Kate's age all use the hard sip cups so I am going to listen to the very experienced sitter! The plan is to slowly wean her off. Even the sitter said it is going to be a challenge with Kate. She did inform me very confidently that Kate would be off by mid-August ~ so we are very excited. Why this is such a big deal to us? I don't know? Chris and I don't want THAT kid who still walks around with a bottle at age 2. She usually takes anywhere from 4-5 bottles per day. Yesterday she only had three. The morning and before bedtime bottles are going to be the most difficult to cut. For Kate it is definitely the comfort and routine that she will miss. For us it is convenient to stick a bottle in her mouth to pacify her. This is always a conversation in our house and we are very intimated by this whole process. I have several friends (and a particular grandma) who tell me not to worry about. Some advice is "they will let go of the bottle in their own time"; "she is just a baby"; "what's the big deal"; "anywhere before prom"...but, Kate's pediatrician recommended at 12 months to completely stop. My sister-in-law said to do it cold turkey like she did with her kids. I just get so overwhelmed by this whole process and I am grateful that I am going to have help this time around ~ support is more like it!
Below is a picture of Kate sampling her new sip cups...
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
My mother told me to pick the very best one,
And that is Y-O-U"
She was so excited about these sip cups. I have actually never seen her so excited about a toy or book as she was with the sip cups. Perhaps she saw the kids at the sitter with these cups and she was happy she finally had her own (or three). She would not let me take them from her, she kept dropping them and trying to keep them all close to her and sampling all that was in them.
She sure looks proud of her new sippy cups. Maybe that's a start. I know how hard it is transitioning these things of comfort away from our children. Not that I have a TON of experience. We're in the process of weaning the pacifier. Like you, sometimes it's easier for us to give in let him have his "sass" out of comfort. Then there are times when I think it's harder for us parents then it is for them...they move on so quickly and are so resilient. Good luck!
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