In 8 days my tiny wittle bebe bouncing babbling toddler will be turning one! With the impending first birthday I am flooded with emotion. There is the overwhelming joy, the fear that baby stage is slipping through my fingers and of course milestone mommy guilt. Having hit all of the crucial milestones us first time mom's feel an insurmountable amount of pressure to achieve, the one thing that we just have not been able to get a handle on (no pun intended) is the dreaded sippy cup. Just when I think we have made the transition from the bottle to the sippy and everything is running smoothly for the day I am quickly snapped back into the reality that we are just NOT there yet... these are the Sippy Cup Confessions.
It all started with a box. If you haven't heard of Citrus Lane, it's a really fantastic subscription service that sends out monthly boxes filled with goodies specified to your baby's age/gender (and even included stuff just for mom sometimes too). In Emerson's October 2012 box he received a set of sippy cups by Munchkin. Being that Emerson was 6.5 months old at the time, I decided we would try them, but if he didn't catch on right away or like the sippy cup that I wouldn't make it a big deal.
We began introducing whole foods via the baby led weaning technique and Emerson was really enjoying the experience of eating. He would pick up the sippy cup with great enthusiasm and attempt to drink. He got the concept right away, but he wasn't getting his milk. Suffice it to say, the sippy wasn't working for us so we shelved the whole idea. "We'll try it again in a few weeks" we agreed.
A few weeks turned into a couple of months. With the craziness of the holidays the idea of reintroducing the sippy escaped us. Next thing we knew Emerson was 9 months old and was still a bottle only baby. Should I be ashamed? Was I falling behind on my parenting duties? As a first time mom, I tend to do a LOT of over-thinking. I was feeling a tremendous amount of guilt every time I'd see the abandoned sippys in the kitchen cabinet, a haunting reminder that it was my job to teach him these things, that I was failing him. As luck would have it a girlfriend of mine, Tara (whose son is a few months younger than E) asked what sippy cup to start her little on and needless to say I was at a loss. Luckily Kait, a mom with an older baby boy chimed in and totally saved the day. She recommended the Nuby Stage 3 Bottles to start the transition. Had I jumped the gun trying to go straight from bottle to sippy? Perhaps, but this "in-between" bottle was about to make my life a whole lot easier. I know it seems so insignificant in hindsight, but I kid you not... I almost sent this girl flowers. I was so relieved. After a few clicks Amazon had these incredible bottles on my doorstep in two days. Let the battle of the bottle begin.
Emerson took to the Nuby like a champ. Juice, milk, the kid was on a roll. I would give him a bottle to get him down for his naps and to bed at night, but he was otherwise drinking solely from the sippy. I was convinced that our previous issues stemmed from the fact that we we're simple using the wrong type of spout on the sippy cup, not that I was incapable of helping my son to achieve this milestone. After a month my confidence was somewhat restored and I began the search for Emerson's second stage sippy.
Having learned my lesson about the hard plastic spouts, I was on a mission to find a softer silicone spout. Enter the NUK TrendLine Learner Cups. BPA free, orthodonti silicone spout, ergonomic handles aka the Rolls Royce in sippy cups. It was exactly what we needed.
Now I'd be lying if I told you we were done with bottles. The truth is, it's a comfort thing. It soothes Emerson before sleep, he completely breaks down if he is exhausted and we offer a sippy instead of a bottle (it's ugly people). I'm sure the more we continue to encourage the sippy with positive reinforcement he will grow to love it, but until then... I confess, I think we are exactly where we need to be. A work in progress. Bottoms up!
For more information on making the sippy cup switch, check out these articles:
We have not transitioned to sippy cups and Eve will be 10 months on the 30th! Do not feel bad, my mom always tells me "they all end up doing the same things just at different times" when it feels right, it feels right. I am going to attempt the sippy cup in a few weeks but she still loves her "baba" for now!
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