This has been a transitional (i.e. grumpy) week for Michael.
He is now almost 14 months old, so I thought that it was time for Michael to say goodbye to his bottles, since I would be home all this week and next week during Spring Break.
We didn't wean Elizabeth from the bottle until she was 18 months old. I think she was old enough to understand a little more at that age that we were putting her bottles away because she wasn't a baby anymore. She even helped me put all her bottles away so that we could give them to some other babies that needed them more than she did. (Well that's what I told her anyway.)
Michael is a little more, uh what's the word....stubborn than Eliz was. So I thought that if we waited any longer to wean him, we just might end up like Leah Remini and her daughter.
Michael has been using a sippy cup for months to drink water or juice, but not milk. So I decided I would help Michael kick his bottle habit....cold turkey.
(I thought out of sight, out of mind would probably be the better way to go here.)
On Tuesday morning, Michael woke up and it was milk-time but all his bottles had disappeared.
So I lovingly handed him a sippy cup with milk in it, and he acted like I had lost my mind. He took the cup from me, took a drink, then dropped it on the floor and continued to follow me around for a good portion of the morning.
There was one point where he even threw himself on the floor and was crying. I came very close to just taking a bottle out and just giving it to him because I felt horrible.
It's heartbreaking to know that your child is unhappy and you know just what will make them feel better. (But I also know that being consistent early on will prevent more unhappiness later, so I stuck it out.)
I think Tuesday was the hardest. Wednesday was not that bad because Michael was a little more accepting of his milk in a cup.
By this morning, Michael just took his cup, and although he wasn't exactly estatic about it, he drank it anyway. So it wasn't so bad after all.
He still uses a binky though. I thought we should lose one thing at a time...
Cute story. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I first brought Achilles home it was so hard for me to discipline him too. ( no, I don't mean hit him ;) )
He would scratch things and I just didn't have the heart to stop him or yell at him.
Well, that's all changed now. lol
Aww I feel for you. The baby I watch is 15 months and when she was weaned 2 months ago her mom had me do it LOL. I just warmed up the milk a bit and then put it in the sippy and she didnt seem to mind at all.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard when they are so heart-broken. I know I have got to do the same thing with my baby, but I want her to stay a baby a little longer!:-)
ReplyDeleteHave a great night!
Ok first I have to comment on the Leah Remini thing?! Four and still having a bottle?? And four and still needing diapers?? Are you kidding? Ok whew that was crazy. I am glad that the cold turkey for the bottles was relatively easy. You'll have to let me know about the binky thing. My 15 month old still has hers at night and I have no idea how to get rid of it
ReplyDeleteBaby steps! Chumby was very resistant to giving up her bottle too. It was her only "thing" no binkies or anything like that. She was a bottle baby! Our pediatrician said that the bottle isn't the bad thing...it was the milk from the bottle that could harm her teeth. So we just started giving her water instead of milk, and she eventually gave up the bottle on her own.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on sticking it out with Michael....that's never an easy thing!