Maybe at 18 months, I should be teaching him to drink from a cup only ... not sure what the appropriate age is, but I don't think he's at that place yet.
We also have trouble at bedtime with the cups / drinks. Luke gets milk at nap time / bedtime and we put it in the hard spout sippys / most-non-holey-soft spout sippy and he doesn't want to drink out of it. He prefers bottles. Which we have used when we have run out of sippy cups. Last night he was up between 1-3 am because he couldn't sleep / wanted a bottle, not a sippy.
Also ... what works for weaning him off of a drink in his crib at nap/bed time? I know he loves things in his mouth and sucking is soothing (no paci problems, as he didn't care much for those). We give him his drink and then he lays down and drinks and goes to sleep. I know the docs say that he shouldn't have anything as he will rot his teeth, but we haven't found a way to change without him being crazily upset. Suggestions? What has worked for you?
Good question. Following to see what others have to say! We have similar problems with R using the soft spouts (Nuby brand, I think) to squeeze water out of. We've been trying hard spouts, but the liquid doesn't come out as fast! And then there are some days were she wants to drink out of 3 or 4 different styles of cups (with handles, without handles, soft and hard spouts, etc.) I really don't know what we should be doing either! She's recently shown a ton of interest when I drink out of mugs, so I've started letting her drink some water out of my mug and also practicing with cups without lids (small dixie cup, plastic cups, paper cups). We've only done that a few times, and I definitely need to hold the cup, so she doesn't get too much (and I make her wear a bib so she doesn't get her clothes soaked), but she is getting better. Maybe we should be practicing in the bathtub! Oh, and she's also started waking up again (1 or 2 times) and won't settle down unless I nurse her. I can't believe she's hungry, but she was sleeping 10 hours through the night at the beginning of this month. She's almost 18 months, so maybe it's a developmental stage or regression??
ReplyDeleteWater only in the sippy when you put him to bed. If her truly just as the urge to suck for comfort, than water should so it. Nothing worse than taking your 3YO to the dentist to then have to have cavities filled. I know people when have had to do this, and it's awful on the kid and the parents (not to mention potentially the pocket book). I have three kids, and we took the bottle away cold turkey on their first birthday, Non of them were phased at all, the longer you wait, the harder it is. I think you just need to bite the bullet, decide how you are going to address the issue, and do it. Breaking my daughter of her pacifier was a little rough, but only for two days. It took a little longer for her to go to sleep, but then she was fine. At his age, he should not need milk during the night because he is hungry. Maybe you need to tell him water in the sippy is all he can get. He may be upset, but after a few times of being firm, he will get the picture. I didn't even start giving my kids regular non-sippy type cups until they were closer to three. There really is no need unless you enjoy a ton of laundry and enjoy cleaning up spills. I am really a firm believer that in most things that pertain to parenting, consistency is the key. Personally, I do not let the kids sleep in my bed. I take them back to their own bed if they get up at night. Sometimes i am left on the floor, or squeezed in a twin bed with them for comfort, but they don't expect to sleep with me. Some parents don't mind having their kids crawl into bed with them, so the kids have an expectation to sleep with mom and dad. Parenting is an adventure. Sometimes you have to figure things out along the way :)
ReplyDeleteSend him to grandma's or an aunt's house with out bottles.. For an overnight or 2. That happened to me this weekend.. & he did go to sleep.. My sister was shocked he went to bed without a bottle.. Sorry no other helpful suggestions. I know it's not easy. Water is a good suggestion if they absolutely have to have one.
ReplyDeleteWe have transitioned from traditional sippies to just Tupperware juice cups with lids. It comes out fast though so they won't be much help for bedtime. We went cold turkey at bedtime and he was just fine with it actually but he takes a paci so that's the difference. C also really likes straws. Have you tried the Nuk learner spouts? Those were C's favorite before we switched to the Tupperwares.
ReplyDeleteI never used a traditional "sippy" cup. We just went straight to the little cups with straws. Playtex makes them. The have short cups with handles and built in straws, or taller, handle-less cups with built in straws. The straws are some kind of flexible material because you can slide the top over to close the cup and the straw just bends over.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I want to say is my best advice is "trust your mom instinct and do what works for your child/family".
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I would recommend just doing water in sippy cups at bed time and nap time. Better for teeth and better for overall eating habits (he doesn't need the calories from milk to be a substitute for eating real meals...which it can turn into if it hasn't already).
As far as sippy cups go...use the ones he is willing to drink out of that don't make a huge mess (but this is less of an issue if it is just water in it).