The Dreaded Sippy Cup...

So I'm completely conflicted about the sippy cup! On one hand I feel that Katelyn is only 13 months old and I shouldn't be in such a hurry to make her give up drinking milk from a bottle, but then I feel like she's 13 months old and drinks juice from a sippy cup so why not milk?! For so many months I couldn't wait till Katelyn was ____ age so she would begin sitting up, crawling, cruising, walking, etc. But now that she's 1 I'm realizing how fast time has gone by and loosing the bottle is just one more reminder. As corny as that sounds.

Katelyn did such a great job weaning from nursing to formula, in fact she did it naturally with no issues in only a matter of weeks. It was the same way when she weaned from formula to whole milk. She loved drinking whole milk! The catch was.... from a bottle. I thought that by 13 months I could have her completely drinking her milk from a sippy cup by weaning her a little at a time. I tried a variety of sippy cups thinking that her refusal was because of the type of cup. Each time I would give in to her refusal and give her the bottle back thinking that it may take a month, but she would figure it out like a big girl. Well, Katelyn's 13 months and I'm realizing it has nothing to do with the "type" of sippy cup, it's the fact that she's loosing the comfort of a bottle. I'm also giving into the fact that cold turkey may in fact be the only way to get rid of the bottles.... unfortunately. I've been so hesitant to do this, but realized today that it's now or never. Well, maybe not never, but it could be months before it happens if I don't give her a loving shove in the right direction.

And so it begins... TODAY: Katelyn usually has a bottle around 4ish when she wakes up from her nap. She was a little confused when I handed her a sippy cup and it took her until she finished her dinner to finish the bottle, BUT she finished it.... and in the sippy cup. She didn't cry, or throw a tantrum and I didn't give up when it took a couple of hours and give her a bottle. Then came the bedtime bottle and the decision whether or not to try again. Sippy Cup was the final choice. This time I was met with aversion, frustration and a tantrum. She screamed and carried on for what seemed like a longer time then I'm sure it was, but I remained strong. I gave it to her 20 min. before bedtime in case this happened. I started to cheer and clap for her. She stopped crying and started laughing and clapping too. Then she picked up her sippy cup and began drinking her milk. YEAH! Not to say it wasn't a battle off and on before bed to have her finish, but at least I feel like we're on our way.

I'm sure many of you Mom's know exactly what I'm talking about. It's heart-breaking to watch your child struggle with change and loosing something they find so comforting. After all, aren't we like that too when our comforts are taken away from us. All in all I know this is going to have a happy ending, I just hope it doesn't take days to achieve. Lord, give me patience!