The Hailey Herald

The Hailey Herald

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Will She Go to Kindergarten with her Bottle?

I've asked myself this question before.  We took Brayden's bottle away from him when he was 10 months old.  He decided that it was fun to bite on the nipple and spray milk all over everyone.  We automatically gave him a sippy cup.  Ian was breastfed until 13 months and went straight to a sippy cup...never gave it another thought.

Then came along Hailey.  The poor little girl fought so hard to learn to coordinate eating and breathing while in the NICU.  She struggled to eat while her heart was slowly giving out prior to her open heart surgery.  After her heart surgery, the tiny thing was so excited about being able to eat that the bottle slowly became a comfort item for her.  We started introducing sippy cups and straw cups.  Most speech therapists do not recommend using a sippy cup of any sort because it causes the tongue to thrust and can cause speech issues.  Our speech therapist recognizes that each child is different and while the straw will help with speech, we need to be realistic and let Hailey take the lead.

Well that is challenging when dealing with Hailey....she has her own opinion in the matter.  We started introducing cups when she was only 9 months old.  We have tried so, so many cups.  She does not like any of them.  She is quite vocal in her disapproval of them all.  The straw was exhausting.  Hailey uses it well with her developmental therapist, but screams and throws a fit for mom.  She is very, very close to mastering it, but you have to catch her in the right mood to work with it. 

Honestly, some days we do not have time nor do I have the energy to fight her to work with it.  Not to mention, should it really be a fight?  As soon as a new sippy cup is on the market, I've purchased it.  Nope...didn't work.  I've tried several different "open cup" concepts, too.  Hailey loves opening the cabinets and pulling out cups.  Every big cup she grabs goes straight to her mouth as if she is drinking out of it.

Here is a sampling of our sippy cup/straw cup graveyard....yes, there are more!


So, I am trying what I think is the last cup to try.  I purchased a Reflo cup for Hailey.  It came in the mail yesterday.  I figured today would be as good a time as ever to try it.  Hailey ate her lunch and I filled her cup.  I placed it on her tray and her eyes lit up.  Almost as if I could read her mind, "Oooohhhhhh, a big girl cup".  She picked it up and started drinking.  She drank about 4 oz. from the cup the very first time!


I don't think I'm going to make her give up her bottle cold turkey.  She puts up with her brothers' schedules every day and we push her on so many other things.  I think I can give her a little time to give it up.  I figure if she hasn't given it up by the beginning of summer, we will push her and maybe go cold turkey then.  We always have more time to tackle those big plans over the summer!








So, it looks like Miss Stubborn might not start preschool and kindergarten with her bottle ;-)

11 comments:

  1. Hey Michelle! Just wondering how this cup works...Breanna is great with a straw, but won't drink out of a open cup. I have tried so many alternatives recommended by my speech therapist, but no luck! Thanks for any input!! And Miss Hailey is adorable!!!

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    Replies
    1. Here's the link that explains it. http://www.reflo.net/ It basically controls the flow so she can't dump the entire cup on her. We've only tried it one day. I'm hoping it will work :-) I'm taking it to her speech therapist tomorrow to see what she thinks.

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  2. Looking good, Hailey! I think I might need to try this cup with Ellie :-)

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  3. Oh, maybe we'll try this one with Ben! I've been trying to just have Ben take a bottle in the morning and at night, and do straws the rest of the time ... but he just ends up not drinking very much during the day. And the straw cups get tossed all over the house. And his shirt gets wet because he can't quite control how much he's drinking with the straw.

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  4. Funny. Cora has that one and doesn't like it. We have a gazillion cups too. But don't forget she's not quite 2. She has time. I worried too, but in the last month Cora has finally started accepting her cups. She decided smoothies are worth it. Its the first time in her life she has taken 6 ounces in any other way besides nursing. Now imagine if you were worried she'd be taking your boobs to kindergarten. That's where we've been. I hope Miss H continues with the Reflo. Cora liked it at first, but never took more than a couple sips.

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    Replies
    1. I had to laugh out loud at the thought of you going to kindergarten with Cora!! I wish Hailey would take her other cups more, but right now the Reflo seems to be the only one. Wonder if it has something to do with her older brothers? I'm glad to know that Cora is finding something she likes! Hailey is furious with me when I put her milk in anything but a bottle. Aaaahhhh...what are we going to do with these girls? :-)

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  5. We LOVE reflo cups!! Just got the new improved insert in the mail today :) (The previous ones got stuck and there was no grip to pull it out...)

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    1. So glad I bought one with the new insert. Much better design! Now, if they would come up with a snap on lid, life would be perfect :-)

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