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Thursday, June 5, 2008

Sippy Cup Update

My friend Carrie is "super mom". She works full time, has two amazing daughters, a husband, a house, and two big dogs. Somehow she manages to keep it all running smoothly. She'd say it is not at all "smooth" - it just looks that way, but from my point of view she is a master at multi-tasking. Carrie's daughters are smart, articulate, polite, cute as can be, and show appropriate independence for their age. All the things I want Grace to be. So, I turn to Carrie a lot for her advice on how to handle all the "firsts" Grace and I are encountering together. When I told Carrie that I wanted to move Grace from her bottle to the sippy cup she was all for it. And, Carrie's theory is that it takes three days to change a habit. I don't know about that - Grace certainly has a mind of her own and lets me know when she is not happy about something - so my theory is that changing to the sippy cup is going to take us longer than three days.

Today is Day 3, and it is going pretty well. I bought 4 different kinds of cups the first day, not knowing which one she would like. But we seem to have settled on one. It has two handles that she can hold herself, only holds 7 ounces so it doesn't get too heavy, and has a soft top that is similar to the nipple on her baby bottle. This weekend I will probably buy one (the green, yellow, and white one on the right) to keep at the sitter's house so we can both use it consistently.
So, the update....How is it going really after 2+ days? Not bad. Oh, we have had our moments. Crying for 45 minutes or more when I know she wants her bottle and I can't understand why she won't just try putting her mouth on the sippy cup. It has exact same formula inside it. What is it about the cup that turns her off? How can she protest so violently without even trying? And, then just as quickly as the tantrum started, it ends. And Grace is all smiles and holding the cup with one hand and drinking like the mixture inside is the best thing she has ever tasted. It makes no sense. Each of the three days I have seen the slightest improvement. So I think we are heading in the right direction. I tell Grace she is a "big girl" when she uses the cup, but I know she doesn't understand what that means. And I am glad...I am not ready for her to really be a big girl yet.

2 comments:

Phyllis said...

Every day is a challenge. Sometimes I think Mommies are the best at challenges. We get trained very well,LOL

Ruthanne said...

Andrew should probably be on a sippy cup instead of a bottle, but I feel like I missed the first 8 months and want to enjoy him being a baby. This is the only chance I get. lol He's so messy with the sippy cup--I'm definitely going to work on that this summer--right after I find a cup that he can't crack open when he drops it on the floor. (we've already lost a few that way.)