I'm feeling very defeated today. Mostly defeated as a mom. I can't seem to get my son to be acceptant of new things. Unfortunately he's inherited my father and brother's anxiety of "going new places" or "trying new things."
He's refusing to drink from a sippy cup at 14 months of age. I've tried repeatedly to get him to give it a shot, but he's hooked on his bottle. Advice from some very bitter bitchy moms on babycenter.com chat room say "just don't give him a choice." (What an increase to my feelings of failure as a mom..... that whole chat room experience to seek advice was a nightmare. I was told repeatedly of how he should have been off a bottle 2 months ago and how I'm babying him and that makes me a horrible mom. I mean - what??)
He has never held his own bottle. Well, I take that back - he has ONCE. But he insists that we hold it for him while he drinks. I never fought this because I LOVE sitting down with him at feeding time and snuggling and giving him his bottle. But I've never put his hands on it when he was younger to get him to hold it on his own - I didn't know that I needed to encourage this. So now I have a nightmare on my hands. He will drink from a sippy cup (kind of) but I have to hold it for him. I've tried to put his hands on it while its in his mouth, and done the whole "You're a big boy!" and clap and make big deals - but he gets irrate everytime we work on it. And if I leave him in his chair to play with the bottle and experiment on his own, its not 5 seconds before the bottle is on the floor, or he's turned it upside down and presses the rubber spout all over his tray to make the milk come out everywhere.
RAAAAR! I tried today to just take it away, but my nerves are shot from a bad day with him yesterday. I think I'll wait until my husband can be home with me so we can both enforce the rules. I hope I can count on him to help me..... Lately that's been questionable too. He has so much other stuff to do. This defeat has me feeling so alone in this stupid town. Why can I do this on my own? So many other moms can do it. I think I'll self destruct.
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Sixteen Inches
- Head vs Heart
- There are approximately 16 inches between my head and my heart. This distance equals miles of difference between the two. Thus, my struggle....
2 comments:
O.k...first of all, let me ease your mind a little and make you look like a champion for even attempting to transition the little one to a sippy cup. My cousin has 6 year old twins. She gave them a bottle twice a night until the ripe old age of THREE!!! Contrary to what those chat moms told you, they don't have buck teeth, their teeth didn't rot out, and they are perfectly normal children. I suppose you will do anything after not sleeping for over a year. It was her solution at the time. Not saying it was the best solution for that long, but they are 6 now, attending kindergarten, and actually drink from real cups now. Wow. He will figure the sippy cup thing out on his own time. Every child is different. At least you're introducing it to him. Don't worry and quit beating yourself up for wanting to baby your baby. When he wants that bottle / sippy cup bad enough, he'll do it. It may take a few days of battling with him, but it will happen. It's just like when you're trying to get them to sleep through the night. There comes a time when you just have to let them cry and figure out they are o.k. and to just go back to sleep. Most moms I've talked to say it's hard, but that's how they learn. Anyway...how do you like getting advice from someone who isn't even a mom? Ha! I suppose I've helped raise enough of my friend's kids, that I have at least been exposed to a lot of different challenging situations. I don't personally know, but I can share what I've seen. I don't see how moms do it anyway. I had my Goddaughter and another one of my friend's little girls over this weekend. We had a blast. We went out to a farm to pet the horses, we went ice skating and watched a movie. It was so fun, but by the time I dropped them off after church on Sunday, I couldn't get them out of the car fast enough. I know it's different when they are you're own, but still. Kids are a TON of work whether they are yours or not! Don't let those hoochies tell you any different. Anyone who says it's as simple as not giving him a choice, or whatever, is lying. They must have selective memory or be sleep deprived. You are an amazing mom!!! Little one will master the sippy cup and it will be on to a new challenge. Take a breath and just remember..you are bigger and you will win! Ha! It may not be today, but he'll figure it out. I'll pray for you to have peace in your heart today!
First and foremost, THANK YOU for your encouraging words, ALWAYS. It means SO much that you take the time to read my blog and comment about it! It is VERY much appreciated!
Secondly...while I can't relate to being a mother...yet...I understand your feeling of defeat. In those moments where defeat overwhelms me, I have to think to myself, 'why is this happening at this moment in time'? Sure, defeat comes in MANY forms, but why at certain moments in our lives? Maybe it's to teach us something; maybe it's to understand something about ourselves we couldn't have learned unless we went through the 'defeat'; or maybe it's just the way life pans out sometimes...I don't' know...I do know though... ANY person who is willing to TRY...is NOT a failure, and by all means, should be applauded! So, in this moment of defeat and uncertainty with your little one...applaud yourself...because maybe...you're a LOT stronger than you think! And maybe...that was the lesson in this moment... :-) Be blessed and hang in there friend! ~Emily
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