Kicking the Sippy Habit

Dotty is a sippy cup addict...and not just any sippy cup...a particular kind of sippy cup...the kind that has a top very similar to a bottle. The Nuby "Transitional" Sippy Cup.

It all started when she was being weened from her actual baby bottle. Ruth Ann started that project while Tony and I were on a trip and we (of course) continued the weening process when we got back. However since I am a sucker (and enjoyed sleeping at least an hour or two hours at night) I bought every kind of sippy cup that was available until we found one Dotty would take.

The one Dotty liked was a sippy cup in which the top was VERY similar to a bottle top. At that point I didn't care. She was drinking and I was sleeping...at least a little.

Dotty is so addicted to that sippy cup though she couldn't sleep without it...and if she woke up at night she had to have it. (Dotty never took a pacifier but that sippy was even worse!)

So when Dotty turned 3 Tony and I decided to kick the sippy habit. (Somewhere along the way we forgot this particular sippy was supposed to be "transitional"...must have been in the fine print.)

I had the first night...and it was bad. Actually it started at school.

When I picked Dot up from school she wanted her sippy (because she usually got on then) but I told her we didn't have one...the screaming, crying, and wailing began. Twenty minutes later (during which I got pleading looks from both Dotty and Memaw) I got her in her car seat...without a sippy.

That night though when it was time for bed Dotty spent an hour and a half screaming, crying, wailing, thrashing around, and almost making herself sick. She told me she didn't like me, she wanted a new mommy, she wanted her daddy...some things I just can't repeat...but you get the idea.

Finally after watching Wow Wow Wubzy until midnight she crashed with just a few more tears at 12:20am. I woke her up at 7:30am...not a peep all night.

The following day she asked for the sippy a little but not as much as I expected. I took her to her daddy to spend the weekend with him. I threatened Tony to not give her a sippy (although I was about 90% sure he wouldn't but Dotty has a way of breaking her daddy down...the main reason I made Tony PROMISE not to give Dot a sippy was because I feared if we caved now she would be taking that cup with her to college) and so far I hear things are going well.

I am not the best mother and heaven knows I do not always do things right but here is a good piece of advice...

Ween your child of bottles, pacifiers, and bottle-like sippy cups early and make sure they sleep in their own bed and through the night early on too. You want to do the weening process as soon as possible preferable when they are just crying because that is bad enough. It is even worse when they can make full sentences and throw a guilt trip at you!