This is one of what I am sure will be a string of issues we face as parents over the years where I just don't know what to do. There are so many angles and I just don't know the right solution is and what will work. Where is the line between a phase and a lifetime bad habit? Only in retrospect. I feel like there must be a perfect plan out there somewhere and that good mother would know what it was, but I have no clue. I feel like I am out here trying and doing my best, but I am not confident that my best is good enough. I want to know that things will turn out ok. That he will grow up to be a healthy boy despite his current refusal of milk. But I don't really believe that in my heart. A piece of me suspects that not getting adequate calcium and fat is a big deal- especially for a kid in the 5th percentile for weight.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
worry
The transition from bottle to sippy-cup is not going well. When we decided to make the switch (about 3 weeks ago when we switched from formula to whole milk) we decided to go cold-turkey since Jonathan knew how to drink from a sippy-cup but had thus far refused to drink any milk from one. My hope was that if we only offered milk in a cup and not in a bottle, he would have to give in and start drinking milk from a cup. Jonathan took on the challenge and is still refusing milk from a cup. He takes one look at a cup and if it appears opaque, he will have nothing to do with it. We've tried warm, cold, room temperature, diluted with water, formula, mixed with OJ, in a non-transparent cup. Nothing. After three days of him drinking nothing, we started offering cups of water between meals. After a week of him drinking virtually no milk, we went back to morning and bed time bottles. But for the rest of the day he refuses milk in a cup and will only drink water. I am nervous that he is not getting enough milk. Nervous that if we switch back to bottles he won't be able to give them up later. Nervous that he will sense my anxiety over this issue and will become more entrenched against my goals.
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You are a good mother and Jonathan is going to be fine. Worrying about him is fine, too though:) I would try giving it to him in a cup with no lid, so he can drink like a grownup. He will make a HUGE mess but it is cute to watch. Or maybe you've already tried that? Sounds like you're tried a lot:)
ReplyDeleteI too like the idea of giving him milk in a regular cup. It may not take all that long for him to master it, even though it may be messy at first. But if he won't give up the bottle, remember - peer pressure will undoubtedly get to him by the time he goes to school...! It is hard to give up on the idea that there is one really right decision on all those little (and big!) things that you are anticipating - but you are a great mom and you are always thinking and always looking out for your child's best. As they say, the best is good enough.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else, but can also attest that people call their pediatricians about issues just such as this one... all the time... and often in the middle of the night. She/He will be able to tell you about how important the fat/calcium/stubbornness issues are. And they won't think you're incompetent because they answer questions like that aaaallllll the time. It's probably a sign of a good parent that you're thinking about these things.
ReplyDeleteAs for the lidless cup, my mom swears up and down I was drinking out of a normal glass by that age, so apparently it's possible.
The lidless cup is a possibility. He like to drink water from my glass if I am drinking and that works fine while I am holding the cup. If he were holding the cup, I think it would be a very messy endeavor. A messy endeavor of the sort that they will not allow at preschool.... so trying that in any sort of sustained way will have to wait for a few weeks until school is out. I think it will be hard for me to watch the sort of train-wreck of messiness that will ensue without stepping in too much. Maybe we can dine al fresco for a few weeks!
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