It’s one of those issues that make me feel like a failure as a mother.  Baby Champuru is 13 months old and she still refuses to drink more than an ounce of liquid from a cup of any kind. We have six different kinds of cups: Nuby 2-handle cup with silicone spout, Nuby cup with flip-it straw top, Playtex Baby Einstein trainer cup, Dr. Brown’s training cup, Avent bottle trainer, and an open cup.  Depending on her mood, she will take a few sips of water, but will quickly start batting away the cup or if she gets her little hands on it, she will promptly hurl it off her highchair.

It reminds me of the travails that we endured when trying to find a bottle that she would accept.  We went through a few different types of bottles including Born Free, the Adiri Natural Nurser, and Avent before Baby Champuru finally relented and started drinking from the Born Free bottles.  She eventually came to accept the Avent bottles and then preferred them over Born Free.  Now I can’t get her to drink from anything else.  And I’ve been trying since she was eight months old.

On Monday, when Baby Champuru went in for her 12 month check-up, the doctor told us that she needed to stop using the bottle.  He was so matter-of-fact about it, like it was a such a simple thing to do.  Didn’t he realize that I started the process five months ago and still have not been successful at getting my obstinate determined child to drink from anything that did not come equipped with a nipple?

Then, there’s the matter of switching her from formula to whole milk.  When I asked him about whether I should gradually wean her from the formula by adding some milk to the formula at first, he said to switch her cold turkey.

So, that’s two major changes that I need to implement.  All of this in the midst of me starting my part-time job.  Not good timing.  Not at all.  So, now I’m wondering how I should go about this?  Get her off the bottle, then switch her to whole milk once she’s firmly established with the cup?  Or give her whole milk in the cup and stop using formula in the bottle in one fell swoop?  I’m just worried that since she is already opposed to using the cup that if I try to give her whole milk in the cup that it will cause even greater resistance to the cup.  On the other hand, the novelty of drinking something different might make using the cup more attractive?

Moms, I need your practical advice.  What did you do?  And how long did it take to implement?  She’s already 1 month behind the curve, as I should have switched her to whole milk and the cup by 12 months old.  Help!