Sayonara Bottles!

Over the weekend we finally finally weaned Jude off bottles.  We have been putting it off and putting it off even though at our 12 month check up our pediatrician was pretty clear that it needed to happen very soon.  And as we have our 15 month check up next week, it was time.  Before weaning off bottles Jude was drinking on average two a day, one 4-6 ounce bottle (of organic whole milk) first thing in the morning and one 4-6 ounce bottle before bed.  But we were on weekends when he was home with us all day probably giving him one more bottle at some point during the day.  There is just something about having a bottle that calms him down in a way few things do.  So that combined with the fact that we didn’t really understand why he couldn’t/shouldn’t have bottles anymore kept us from fulling weaning.  I did some research online and based on how Jude chugs the bottles down in one sitting and isn’t drinking on them all day, it didn’t seem like too big of a deal.  The main problem with kids having bottles long term seems to be the rotted teeth they get from the constant sugar on their teeth from drinking milk all day long.  And from what I read, sippy cups arn’t any better for this, it’s whats in the bottle/sippy cup that is the problem.  Plus they need to learn to drink from cups, which Jude totally does all day long, just mostly he drinks water out of them.  But the problem that we did have that is a factor is that toddlers who still drink bottles end up drinking too much milk and then don’t eat as well.  And if you read this blog regularly at all you know that Jude isn’t a big eater.  So, bye bye bottles it was.

And it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be.  On Saturday morning instead of giving him a bottle I gave him a sippy cup of milk and turned on Sesame Street.  And he drank about half of the milk before he realized he had been tricked.  And even though he spent all weekend signing that he was wanting a bottle, we kept firm despite a few fits that if he wanted milk it was in a sippy cup only. So now, on Tuesday after a few days of this I think he is starting to get the message and while he doesn’t wake up and get a bottle and pretty much refuses the sippy cup of milk, he does get up and eat breakfast and has generally been a happy camper.  I worry that he isn’t drinking enough now in general and I worry that he isn’t getting as much milk as he needs (he has probably averaged about 6 ounces total a day between multiple sippy cups through the day), I know it will all even out.  Today so far he has been doing a great job drinking water out of his sippy cup and he loves yogurt, yogurt smoothies and cheese sticks, so surly he is getting enough dairy.  I’m so glad we have made this progress before his big appointment.  Sayonara bottles!
-Liz