Take a really good look at these pictures because future pictures of Rhett will be missing one critical item....have you guessed what it is yet? I'll give you a hint...it's in his mouth. Yep, you guessed it. We have terminated the existence of bottles in our house and it has been just as hard and horrible and exhausting as I thought it would be. Some would ask why I have put it off...Rhett will be 18 months in a couple of weeks...he's been drinking out of a cup for ages now...why bother with the bottle any longer? Simply because my darling little boy loves it more than anything else...well except maybe mom. And we have been cruel and heartless and taken it out of his life completely.
But let me back up and tell you how this all began... Back at the beginning of the summer when November seemed light years away I proclaimed to my family and closest friends that I was not going to let Rhett go to nursery with a bottle still attached to him. Sigh. I hate it when my words catch up to me. Seriously though it was just time. And the more I thought about it the more I realized that this was one of those moments that I was just going to have to suck it up and do it fast before I could talk myself out of it....like peeling off a band-aid really fast or trying out the new hairstyle before showing the picture to anyone who might talk you out of it. So Friday evening found me dropping the bottle nipples into the full garbage and almost experiencing a full-blown panic attack within the half hour. How stupid can you be...was my immediate thought when I clued into the fact that Cliff was going to be in Edmonton on Sunday and that I would be doing Sunday alone with a very cranky toddler all to myself. Friday night started out not too bad...a few tears but he seemed to accept that he was getting his milk in a cup and not his bottle and nodded off fairly quickly....then midnight rolled around and he screamed for 1/2 an hour and was up off and on for the rest of the night. Saturday night he slept till 3 but didn't go back to sleep until 5 and there were lots of tantrums before I finally just took him to bed with me because neither of us could handle it anymore. Oh...did I mention that I think he's cutting a tooth? Yep, not the brightest light in the box. Tonight's bedtime started off with him throwing a tantrum about sleeping in his bed...and mean old mom wouldn't give him his milk until he agreed to stay in bed. But he's asleep...and alive...and I'm just praying that we can both make it through the next couple of nights.
So this is what I know....changing habits and creating new ones is always hard...especially when someone else forces you to make the change. Rhett will eventually clue in to this new thing...Zane did and we both lived so there's hope for me and Rhett. My sweet wonderful little boy has the power to bring out the best in me and the worst in me....I'm hoping my best side wins tonight. And no matter what anyone else says cold turkey is the only way to go. I didn't with Zane and caved within the first 24 hours. I don't even think we would have made it till bedtime with Rhett.
2 comments:
Oh Kelly, this is my hardest step for any of my children, good luck!
Roman still has a bottle, milk 3 times a day. He loves it, but doesn't specifically ask for it. It's the only way he will really drink milk. And I figure he'll give it up before he goes to school so what do I care.
But good luck!
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