the meanie weanie
one would think that i’d be stoked to be weaning jackson from his bottles now that he is 13 months old… and i think i am. yes, yes, i am. wait! jackson just started enjoying his bottles. shit! that throws a wrench into everything.
given our history with breast, bottle, and everything in between, i think back now and remember counting down the months, weeks, days until jackson’s 1st birthday when i could “officially” say PEACE OUT to the bottle.
i envisioned myself throwing the bottles at a wall while screaming out in the most animalistic cry. i imagined myself emptying drawers of bottles, bottle systems, nipples, etc, into garbage bags and yelling “FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST!”
i have been so ready to get rid of jackson’s bottle for so long.
and now he has begun to enjoy them. seriously. how do i take that away?
paul and i discussed weaning and we’re currently reading different methods, etc… but ultimately it’ll come down to us making a decision in the hopes that we’re making the “right” decision for our child.
a few weeks ago, jackson was taking 4 bottles a day.
i never thought i’d be able to say that.
he’s now weaned down to 3 bottles a day… and my goal this week is to work my way down to 2 bottles a day by friday.
i don’t want to be the meanie weanie when it comes to this process. i am terrified to go “cold turkey” with this bottle thing, but some books suggest it.
for some reason, i feel like these books weren’t written for children like mine…
so if you have suggestions, please send them my way. at the moment, jackson is taking 3 bottles a day, each one with 8 ounces of whole milk.
shit, i never thought i’d be able to say that either.
the first bottle is given to him before he goes down for his morning nap at 9:30, the second bottle before his afternoon nap at 2, and the final bottle before he goes down for bed at 7 pm. so yes, there is an obvious relationship that has been made between nice, warm bottle and sleepy time.
he’s doing well with eating throughout the day, though i’m finding he is a definite snacker, like his mama. (i eat two lunches a day just to give you an idea… the first is at 10 am the second is usually after jackson goes down for his afternoon nap. i eat constantly. no lie.) and jackson pretty much eats when i eat and what i eat. so that’s good. really good. i’m proud of him.
but this bottle weaning stuff has my head spinning… i don’t want to traumatize my child anymore than he already has been in terms of feedings.
suggestions… advice… weaning stories… i welcome them all.
No Responses to “the meanie weanie”
|
|
Nipple Jewelry from Nipplecharms.com Non Piercing and fun! |
|
We-Vibe ~ The Couples Vibrator |
|
twice...
You’re doing great. Trust your instincts.
I subbed a sippy cup and still cuddled w/my 1st while she drank from it. My other two just went to the sippy cup without needing snuggles. You could also find a cup (sippy or straw) by taking him to the store with you and seeing which one he likes to look at and hold.
My best advice is to make it a low pressure situation.
So, just playing devils advocate here… are you weaning him from bottles because everyone expects it and ‘it’s time’ because he’s over a year? Or are you weaning him because you feel he’s truly ready to come off bottles onto something else?
The reason I ask is because, when your kid has feeding issues, all rules go out the window. V is two now and still gets formula from a bottle because it’s the only way she can keep it down. She only gets two bottles a day, and do we get ‘looks’ from strangers if she has one in public, sure. But it’s what’s best for her.
How is he with a cup? I think that with a kiddie that has had eating issues,especially as extreme as his, if he has ANY reservations about drinking out of a cup, I would move super super slow with it. It doesnt matter what he drinks it out of, as long as he is getting it.
Chase was done with bottles at 10 months and never looked back, so I don’t have much more advice about the actual weaning itself.
Hey lady! First off, I wanted to tell you that I saw a little boy that reminded me so much of your Jackson the other day–curls and all! Don’t cut them! They’re adorable! (p.s. I don’t think, even with his luscious curls, that he looks anything like a little girl…looks all boy to me!)
So, feeding. I’m new at this thing too, you know? I generally go by what the daycare and doctor tell me, as well as what I think Izzy is ready for. I am not even going to pretend to comprehend what you guys have been through food-wise or the feelings are all bundled up with this whole weaning thing because of it. But. I have found that my little one is much better at adjusting than I ever think she will be. I was worried about weaning from breast–she couldn’t care less. I was worried about weaning from the bottle–she just got better with the sippy. I still give her some milk in a sippy in the evening when she would have had a bottle.
So, I guess any advice I have would be this: just follow his lead and don’t be afraid to try things because of fear of how you think he’ll react. You’ll probably be surprised by how well he does.
Good luck, my lovely!
I don’t think there should be any rules when it comes to weaning.
When it came to getting rid of the bottle, Ethan (then 2) was excited to drink out a big boy cup (sippy) just like his older brother, but still wanted the security of a bottle when taking a nap and going to bed. He had been VERY colicky as a baby, and was only soothed by his bottle and rocking chair. He did great when I took the bottle away (I did it cold turkey, but I think the parents caved in at times), but would whine for it when he was tired and cranky. I’ve found that what he really wants is the comfort of *holding* the bottle, not the actual sucking. So, for him, it was pretty easy to give him a sippy of warm milk, which he took a few drinks of and then cradled it under his arm and fell asleep. You might want to note, however, that said child also just had 8…yes 8….cavities filled…probably b/c he falls asleep drinking his milk.
Ally, now 2, still has a bottle on occasion. I let her b/c she is nervous about not being the baby in the family anymore, with me bringing Chloe to work, and her mom being 4 months pregnant. She gets that she isn’t the little one anymore, and therefore clings to certain things like her binky and bottle. But again, these things are more for comfort….she usually just drinks part of the bottle, feels better, and then discards it. End of story.
Either way, I pretty much let the kids adjust to their own comfort levels, and it has seemed to work out just fine.
Good luck!
We slowly changed the milk to water… so, start with one bottle or all… just start cutting in water with the milk, more and more each day/week/whatever you feel comfortable with. Eventually, he’ll be onto water and you can start getting that into a sippy cup. If you want to go slow. We did – it helped, a lot.
You said breast. huh huh huh huh huh.
Trust your instincts. Seeing Jackson so healthy, strong and happy this past weekend confirms my belief that those mama-bear instincts of yours are dead-on.
hahaha… jason… i also said weanie. huh huh huh huh.
If it helps him settle down for the night, I’d keep it until he’s ready to give it up. I was amazed at what you guys have been through already. I think the fact that he likes his bottle now is more of a reason to keep it a while. That’s only my opinion though – I let both my babies keep it till about 18 months – I mean they’re so little still. I think it’s fine to wean him off the daytime ones if you do it slowly.
Again, do what YOU know and feel is right for your little guy, but I’m just putting in my two cents worth here. I am looking at it now at how we sometimes rush to have them move to the next step when they are only little for such a short time. (can you tell that I miss my kids being this little – ha ha!)
PS : Do NOT cut the curls! No – it’s the fashion anyway – look around. And he so does not look like a girl – just a beautiful boy with a beautiful head of gorgeous curls..!
My advice is to start slowly. Experiment with a couple different kinds of cups. Ava is drinking from a cup with a straw now. She is ok w/ the sippy cups, but actually does better with a straw.
Don’t push it, don’t be in a hurry. Let him set the pace. Trust me, it’ll happen when he’s ready.
For some reason my reader has been a big bitch and hasn’t shown me all of these other posts! Bastages! Unfortunately, I do not have any advice. You know your kid, though. Trust your instincts, you know what he needs and what works best for him.