We went down to just two bottles a day with no problem a few months ago and the babies took to the sippy cups just fine. With sippy cups they tend to drink an ounce or so and throw the cup at my head so we kept the morning bottle and evening bottle to ensure they got their vitamin D. This morning after watching them drink a few ounces of their milk and proceed to drip it out (once again) onto the floor that I try desperately to keep clean, I told them "THAT'S IT. THEY'RE GONE! NO MORE BOTTLES!" I quickly got to work giving all of the bottles one last wash and ready to find new homes. While washing the what felt like millions of bottles, nipples, and rings, I thought to myself am I sure I want to do this? this is a BIG part of "babyhood" I'm about to give up out of mainly frustration. THEY are ready for this but am I??? I have to admit, as silly as it sounds, I fought back a few tears as I packed them away not knowing if I'll ever use bottles again. Just as I was starting to feel sad about a small chapter that was ending in our lives a friend texted me "Just remember the fact that you can do this is because they are here :)" Instantly I smiled and knew she was exactly right... thanks for keepin' me in line, Amy ;)
Along with the bottles I realized our faithful crock pot could retire as well. This thing has been running on warm literally 24 hours a day 7 days a week (besides our trip to Kentucky this summer) since the babies came home. Thanks ole crock pot for being there for us! May you Rest In Peace... in the kitchen cabinet, that is!
I feel pretty good about this decision and think it will go over just fine.... Korbin's Monkey (passy) is our next issue, which I'm sure will be a COMPLETELY different experience :/ If any of you moms have dealt with ditchin' the beloved passy, feel free to offer advice!
good luck with all the sippies, heather!! i know what you mean about the "sadness" of putting the bottles away, but yeah, at least we got to do it, right?
ReplyDeleteabout the paci: it's freightening to take it away from a baby that loves it and probably keeps him/her quiet and happy. patrick was never a paci guy, but eric, his twin brother, was...he loved it. he's have it in the car, in the stroller and during sleep. at 18 months is when i decided to take it away. honestly, heather, i just did it cold turkey. took it away...he cried for 20 minutes the first night (not horrible cry, though) and that was kinda it. he was not looking for it during the day as much as i thought he would, either. just make sure that you take ALL of the pacis away because if korbin will see one stuck in the corner of the room, let' say, he'll want it, right? good luck, girl, you can do it..and so can the little dude...
I second the cold turkey method. I know it seems pretty mean but that's what I have done with all 3 kids. They cried for a day or two but after was great. I wanted to give them the binkie more than they wanted it. :)
ReplyDeleteWe are breaking all of the kiddos in my class from binkies but we still allow them to have them during nap! I would suggest taking it away during the day at first and then gradually taking it away during naps and bed time! However, I am not a mommy just a one year old teacher!!
ReplyDeletewow, she sounds so very wise. :)
ReplyDeleteI would start taking away the paci for naps during the day. If it takes a while for him to adjust, it will be easier for you to deal with, rather than at night when you might be exhausted.
My little ones will be two in december and we just had operation bye bye paci 2010 this past week in our house. it was a huge success and wasn't as bad as i thought it would be (i just posted about it last night, so head on over to my blog and read about how it went down). like you, i had tears as i packed them away...letting go of the last "baby" item (besides potty training is sooooo hard)!
ReplyDeleteThis is a big milestone in their lives as well as yours. I hope it goes smoothly but I'm sure there will be times you will want to give in. You are so good at doing what is best for them so I'm sure you will do just fine. Yes, Amy is so right, you have truly been blessed! By the way, remember you had a different crock pot at the beginning, I think it quit working.
ReplyDeleteThanks all! I do plan on weaning him from the paci (naps and bedtime only) we will see how it goes! Mom, yes we had a different (smaller) crock pot at the very beginning for our nicu bottles, it would hold regulars ;)
ReplyDeleteIt was bittersweet for me when I gave their bottles away last month but they have made the transistion smoothly. As for the pacis we took them away during the day 2 months ago with hardly a fuss at all and now I need to get rid of nap/bedtime ones but I have been so hesitant because I treasure those sleeping moments! LOL! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey girl! We got rid of them last week. My twins are about the same age of your dudes! We cut them and said they were broken and had them throw them away. It went great, well MUCH better than I thought! Cold turkey was what worked for us! Madelyn even found one the other day and didn't want it! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteWhen we took my little brother off his beloved pacifier, we cut the tips off the binkeys and he realized they werent so great anymore. It really seemed to help!! Good LUCK!!!
as a mom of grown up boys I say don't sweat the small stuff. I think they should be allowed to have there binkis at nap and bed time for as long as they want. They will loose interest in them when they are ready.i know of no one who took there binki with them on their honeymoon;)
ReplyDeleteKeely weaned herself from her binkies, b/c she chewed holes in them and I made her throw them away one by one until they were gone. She resorted to sucking her thumb a month later, from seeing her cousin do it all the time when my sister kept them both. Brynleigh only had her binky at nap and bedtime for a long time, and I decided it was time to get rid of it. We did the cold turkey route and she cried the first two nights and that was it. A few days later she started sucking her index finger. LOL So the binkies went bye bye, but now I've got a thumb and finger sucker. Oh well at least I don't have to keep up with the binkies anymore!!
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