Sunday, June 19, 2011

Oh my... no more bottle or binky?

Dun Dun Dunn!!! The end is near... and by that I mean for Emily's binky and bottle of course... ;)
I didn't want Emily to even have a binky while I was pregnant. However, my daughters endless need to suck as a newborn and my clueless-ness as a first time mother definitely won out. Everything I read while I was pregnant said that "a baby is hungry when they try and eat their fingers." Well, I took this literally and nursed her every time she sucked on her hands. I didn't even realize that she could just be wanting to suck on something until my RN pointed out that there is no way that she wanted to nurse every thirty minutes. So, we popped a pacifier in her mouth and she's been hooked ever since.
I want to have Emily off of the binky when she turns one... I just don't know how doable that is. She doesn't really use it that much during the day unless it's nap time or bedtime.
Anyway, I heard something the other day that I never even thought of. Apparently if you remove the binky and bottle when the farmers almanac says to then the transition should be pretty smooth...
According to the farmers almanac these dates are the best days to wean whether it be from a bottle, pacifier or anything else:

June: 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd
July: 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th
August:
8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th

We shall see ... maybe I can wean her from the pacifier on her birthday...?
I am a little more hesitant about the bottle though.. I tried putting formula in her sippy cup the other day and the flow was too fast for her.. so I don't know when she will be able to drink exclusively from her cups.

It makes me sad though to even think about this step.. I know she's turning one and with that comes a lot of changes, it just makes her seem less like a baby and more like a toddler to nix the bottle and the sippy cup too. :(

Don't get me wrong.. I am so excited to see her grow up and experience new things with her... I just seriously think that the baby stage should be a lot longer than a year... So many changes in such a short amount of time; sometimes I forget how small she was or what she really looked like 11 months ago.




Time sure does fly...

Anyway, that's all I got for now. Forgive my my scatterbrained thoughts... And for my fellow mommy friends, how do you plan on weaning your little ones? Or how did you wean successfully?


3 comments:

  1. I think every child weans differently. While breaking the pacifier early can be good it really doesn't cause any issue until 2 years old becuase thats when there hard palate because to harden and the constant use of a paci can cause it to form around the paci... so look as it this way if it takes you a year to wean her from it it'll be ok. As far as the bottle i would try a couple different type of sippy cups and just keep trying... she'll eventually adjust to the flow and get it all figured out... its a learning experience for her just as much as it is you! She is adorable though!!

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  2. Binky issue...
    in 2 weeks we are planning on designating the binky to only the crib. And then from there we'll see how it goes. I'm thinking I may nix it at naps for like a month, and then slowly progress into night time. It also helps if you find some other sort of comfort item like a special blankie or bear to cuddle with instead of a binky. I've also heard of people that cut just tiny bits of the binky off each week until it just becomes too much work to suck on it and they decide not to use it anymore.
    And practice will make perfect with the sippy. Is it spill proof? If so she'll eventually learn how to suck it so that she gets the flow how she likes it. Just offer it to her with water or something everytime you feed her now so she gets lots of practice. Also is it a hard spout or soft spout? A soft spout would be easier to control the flow on.

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  3. Just a question...it seems like you don't really want to do both of these things so why are you? I know it's recommended to be off of the bottle by 1 so for that I would also suggest trying out different sippys. I've found soft spouts to be the best. At walmart in Del City there is a big bin of different kinds for $2 each so you could try out a few. As Kandice said, practice makes perfect. I would suggest putting water in it and just let her take it around during the day.
    On the binky, my almost 2 year old still uses one to sleep but I plan on weaning soon because I don't think he's really attached anymore I just keep giving it out of habit. Also DO NOT cut up the binky if it is silicone (basically anything besides that brownish rubber). It makes sharp edges that can irritate the mouth.

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