Getting rid of the bottles was an easy one for me. Although we didn't do it early, I was more than happy to say adios to our collection of bottles, nipples, drying racks and the hefty formula cost the week before Sam and Anna's one year old birthday. We had a long struggle with bottle feeding due to reflux, and I was eager to put that as far behind us as possible.
The remaining signs of Sam and Anna's babyhood have been a little harder to let go. Anna still uses her pacifier ("Nuk") while sleeping at home, albeit not at daycare. I know it is time to drop that habit, but I'm not up for the bad sleep that we'll inevitably get for a while to make it happen. It's crazy to me that Sam's been done with any form of pacifiers for over a year but she just keeps hanging on. I vow to not have a 2 year old with a pacifier, so that means I've got about 2 months left to get that thing out of our house.
Then there are the cups. I guess Sam and Anna don't use sippy cups at daycare anymore, they are just drinking out of regular cups. At home, we still get some droppage of cups at times, so that's not something I really want to do full-time here yet. We still use our space-saver high chairs too, while at daycare Sam and Anna have been sitting on real chairs for the past 4 months. I like the containment factor honestly. I know that when they are strapped in, I can usually get them to eat a little bit more before letting them go play again.
I have no plans on using toddler beds if I can help it either- and Sam and Anna still sleep in their sleep sacks in their cribs to make it happen. I'd rather buy twin beds this summer and skip the toddler bed step, but am I holding Sam and Anna back by keeping them in cribs for so long without pillows, blankets, etc.? My daycare provider keeps sending me links to toddler beds on craigslist so I've gotten the impression that she wants us to make the switch, although she hasn't actually said so, because then it will be easier for her while they are with her at daycare. She did mention once considering taking them out of their pack and plays during nap to see how they do, but she hasn't yet.
And then there's the potty training issue. Apparently Sam requested to sit on the toilet at daycare this week saying he had to poop. He wasn't successful, but then Anna of course wanted to sit there as well. This was the first time my children have sat on the potty. I'm not ready to potty train. Maybe my kids are, but I'm not. The news that Amazon is ending their nice diaper deal tomorrow is a good motivating factor, but I just don't want to tackle that times two yet.
Am I holding them back from the toddlers they are ready to be? Is it just that I don't want them to grow up faster than I am ready for? I prefer to think that it's no big deal, and the pressure I feel to be doing these things are just a product of our society's need to make kids grow up to fast. What's the harm in waiting a little longer for these things, especially since they are experiencing some of them, some of the time, for practice?
It's not like I treat them like babies in other ways. I think my children have high expectations set for them in other areas. They help take off their clothes (and in Anna's case, put them on too), as well as put them in the laundry basket on their own or put their outside clothing away in the right place. They are expected to clean up, and they have a good handle on sharing even if they don't always want to. They do puzzles with multiple pieces, and know some things that sometimes kindergartners (5-6 year olds) in my classes start the year not knowing.
In short, I guess I feel like we're doing just fine, even if my almost 2 year olds still sleep in cribs with sleep sacks (one with a pacifier), after drinking from sippy cups in high chairs, with no idea that they can wear something other than diapers if they go in the toilet like big kids. After all, it's not like they still drink from a bottle.
Showing posts with label sippy cups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sippy cups. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday, March 28, 2011
Houston, We (May) Have a Problem
We started introducing whole milk a week after Sam and Anna's birthday. Truth be told, I was a little nervous to take this step because in Sam and Anna's short history, we've had too much trouble with what they drink and I didn't want history to repeat itself. We had also just weaned Sam and Anna's last reflux med dose the week before successfully and so I was worried that the whole milk would cause a big time reflux flare. I also wanted to talk to our pedi to see if she had any specific recommendations for approaching this because of the GERD background and Sam and Anna's past bottle refusal period. We gave Sam and Anna milk during their meals for three days, but held onto their morning and bedtime bottles of formula until our 1 year well child pedi appointment. Sam and Anna did great. No problems at all- they drank it like it was no big deal.
We didn't get any tips that I didn't already know from our pedi, so since the first few times of whole milk sippies went well, we went semi-cold turkey only 3 days after we first introduced it and dropped the last two bottles. We never mixed formula and whole milk as I know some people do... I was and am a little against offering whole milk in a bottle. (Not that I wouldn't try it if giving it straight at first wasn't working.) I think it is easier for a child to probably drop bottles/formula if the two are only associated together, and the option of whole milk in a bottle doesn't exist. I knew that Sam and Anna wouldn't have attachment issues from losing their bottles, and they seemed to like the milk enough to drink ounces of it at a time, so I thought we were good to go. Friday night we gave them a sippy of whole milk before bed as a "nightcap." I was so pleased that it seemed to be so easy to switch from formula to whole milk for them.
That night a few hours into bedtime, Sam vomited all over himself and his crib. The next day was a big change because he refused most of the whole milk we offered. We were pretty sure that the whole milk HAD triggered a reflux flare and laying down exasperated the problem. (He showed no other signs of possibly being sick.) He hardly drank anything that day and the next.
Two nights later (Sunday night), Anna vomited all over herself and her crib at about 2 am- so badly that she got a bath in the middle of the night, and this momma took a shower because of holding a vomited soaked baby before climbing back into bed (I got up 1 1/2 hours later at 5 am for work the next day). We were even more sure that whole milk was causing stomach issues for both babies, and decided that maybe holding onto a bedtime bottle of formula for a little bit might help their tummies adjust to whole milk.
But then I got sick in the middle of the night Monday night... and we realized that Sam and Anna probably had gotten the flu, not-so-conveniently timed to coicide with the transition to completely on whole milk. This was a good thing for the whole milk issue we thought we had, because it should have been only a temporary problem, but there have still been lingering effects.
Although there has been no more vomit soaked babies or cribs since last weekend, Sam no longer likes to drink whole milk at home. He will drink it at daycare, but not at home. We think he has an association with drinking it here and throwing up that is making him resistant to it now. We have tested several factors (cups, locations in our home, etc.) with the same result. When we went out to eat for dinner the other night, he happily drank it for us at the restaurant- milk from the same carton; same sippy cup. So the only constant is that he will not drink much at home. (We're talking like maybe 1-2 oz total in a day at home, even if he's home all day.)
We've upped his intake of other dairy foods like cheese and yogurt and are banking on the idea that over time as the flu incident is farther from his memory, he'll gradually forget about it and happily drink whole milk again at home. I'm also trying to remember that at this point, milk is not as important as it was, and is now only a complement to a meal rather than a meal itself. He will be fine if he only drinks a little, as long as he gets a lot of other dairy and calcium rich foods. He is a pretty good eater besides this.
Thankfully, so is Anna. And Anna seems to have no association with throwing up and drinking milk as she's been drinking whole milk great for us at home or at daycare. I'm so glad that for her at least, this truly has been an easy change.
We didn't get any tips that I didn't already know from our pedi, so since the first few times of whole milk sippies went well, we went semi-cold turkey only 3 days after we first introduced it and dropped the last two bottles. We never mixed formula and whole milk as I know some people do... I was and am a little against offering whole milk in a bottle. (Not that I wouldn't try it if giving it straight at first wasn't working.) I think it is easier for a child to probably drop bottles/formula if the two are only associated together, and the option of whole milk in a bottle doesn't exist. I knew that Sam and Anna wouldn't have attachment issues from losing their bottles, and they seemed to like the milk enough to drink ounces of it at a time, so I thought we were good to go. Friday night we gave them a sippy of whole milk before bed as a "nightcap." I was so pleased that it seemed to be so easy to switch from formula to whole milk for them.
That night a few hours into bedtime, Sam vomited all over himself and his crib. The next day was a big change because he refused most of the whole milk we offered. We were pretty sure that the whole milk HAD triggered a reflux flare and laying down exasperated the problem. (He showed no other signs of possibly being sick.) He hardly drank anything that day and the next.
Two nights later (Sunday night), Anna vomited all over herself and her crib at about 2 am- so badly that she got a bath in the middle of the night, and this momma took a shower because of holding a vomited soaked baby before climbing back into bed (I got up 1 1/2 hours later at 5 am for work the next day). We were even more sure that whole milk was causing stomach issues for both babies, and decided that maybe holding onto a bedtime bottle of formula for a little bit might help their tummies adjust to whole milk.
But then I got sick in the middle of the night Monday night... and we realized that Sam and Anna probably had gotten the flu, not-so-conveniently timed to coicide with the transition to completely on whole milk. This was a good thing for the whole milk issue we thought we had, because it should have been only a temporary problem, but there have still been lingering effects.
Although there has been no more vomit soaked babies or cribs since last weekend, Sam no longer likes to drink whole milk at home. He will drink it at daycare, but not at home. We think he has an association with drinking it here and throwing up that is making him resistant to it now. We have tested several factors (cups, locations in our home, etc.) with the same result. When we went out to eat for dinner the other night, he happily drank it for us at the restaurant- milk from the same carton; same sippy cup. So the only constant is that he will not drink much at home. (We're talking like maybe 1-2 oz total in a day at home, even if he's home all day.)
We've upped his intake of other dairy foods like cheese and yogurt and are banking on the idea that over time as the flu incident is farther from his memory, he'll gradually forget about it and happily drink whole milk again at home. I'm also trying to remember that at this point, milk is not as important as it was, and is now only a complement to a meal rather than a meal itself. He will be fine if he only drinks a little, as long as he gets a lot of other dairy and calcium rich foods. He is a pretty good eater besides this.
Thankfully, so is Anna. And Anna seems to have no association with throwing up and drinking milk as she's been drinking whole milk great for us at home or at daycare. I'm so glad that for her at least, this truly has been an easy change.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)