We’re back to the drawing board, plotting a new strategy for transitioning Baby Champuru from bottle to cup — and formula to whole milk.
Operation Cold Turkey was an utter failure. Baby Champuru’s Pediatrician recommended going cold turkey with the transition from bottle to cup — and also from formula to whole milk. I must have been on crack to think that it would work with Baby Champuru, my adorable, intelligent, funny, and very determined, strong-willed child. He said that she would eventually get thirsty enough to drink milk from a cup if we persisted long enough. Well, her will must be stronger than mine, because after three days and a terrible case of constipation due to lack of liquids, I relented and put her back on the bottle. I was amazed that she simply would not give in to the cup — even at the expense of staying regular.
Here’s what we tried:
- Offered her formula in a cup. Tried nearly every type of cup imaginable and she flatly refused. She would not even put the spout of the sippy cups in her mouth. She would drink small amounts of water from an open cup, but as soon as she saw the formula in the cup she would shake her head vigorously while saying, “no no no no no!”
- As per the doctor’s suggestion, we allowed her to drink water (only) in the bottle to help her drift off to sleep at naptime. Thankfully, she drank some water from the bottle — still not as much as she would drink if it was formula, but I was relieved that she actually got some hydration.
- Offered her whole milk in a cup. Again, adamantly refused.
- After three days of drinking very little liquids, a bad case of constipation resulted and I put her back on the bottle with her beloved formula. It took her a day before she started drinking normally again. Thankfully, she also acquired a liking to diluted prune juice (served in the bottle), which helped with the constipation.
- Once her constipation was resolved, I started mixing the formula with a small amount of whole milk (4 ounces of formula to 2 ounces of whole milk). She doesn’t seem bothered by it and will drink it willingly in a bottle.
I discovered that Baby Champuru will drink LOTS of water through a fast-flow disposable cup with straw. (Thanks, Kory, for the suggestion!) According to the packaging on the The First Years Take & Toss Straw Sippers
I’ve decided that we’re going to proceed at our own pace and not stress out about it. I’ll post more status updates about these two transitions in the upcoming days/weeks. I appreciate everyone’s feedback and insights. It is so helpful and encouraging. Keep the comments coming. Even if I can’t respond to all comments, I read and appreciate each and every one of them. Thank you!
I have an idea for you that has worked with all children in my home daycare. I use the Munchkin sippy cups with straws. It has a stopper in it so if she throws it down it wont leak, it also has a flip top so its perfect for the diaper bag and all pieces can go in the dishwasher.
To transition to whole milk for a few days do the following for each step.
4oz formula with 2oz milk (Do not warm this mixture)
3oz formula with 3oz milk
2oz formula with 4oz milk
1oz formula with 5oz milk
0oz formula with 6oz milk
This should takes anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to do this if your child isresisting. The children that have no problem can go cold turkey. Be blessed you were given a child who takes notice of new things. She is a thinker or is a stinker hehhe! =) Good Luck Mommy it will all work out.
-Mariah
Hey Donna,
Sorry, I cannot give you any advice…but I can tell you that I love the photo of your darling! She is so cute!
Aloha,
Mahealani
Hi.
I came across your blog several months ago really randomly and I’ve enjoyed reading about Champuru.
My daughter is a very strong willed 19 month old now, and although the sippy cup transition was fine, the formula to milk change took us at least 2 months to get used to. We tried every single idea people told us and NOTHING worked.
So finally I decided to give up on making her drink actual milk out of a sippy but started to incorporate milk into her foods every day. I started with blending fruit and 4 oz of milk and made it into a cold smoothie. My daughter drank every drop of it. The fruit covered the milk taste up. Also, I added 4-6oz of milk into her rice, pasta and anything else I could think of and she would gobble it all up.
That’s how my daughter got adjusted to the taste of milk, and then gradually 2 months down the line or so, I gave her normal milk again and she loves it and accepted it.
It’s an idea that worked for us. I hope you’ll find a good way for you too.
LOL!!!
My only recommendation for you would be to go get a copy of James Dobson’s book, “The Strong-Willed Child.” You are going to need it!
My wife raised my son on Breast milk for the first 7 months and then switched him over to “soy milk”. I was pretty against it because of some rumors I had heard and the cost compared to just regular milk.
He was drinking soy milk as his only option… but the second we switched him to just regular 2% we noticed he consumed more… so we kept him on that.
FWIW – there are “rumors” out there online that say raising your male babies on Soy Milk will change their hormones so that they have a higher chance of being gay later on life. I didn’t buy into the rumor… I simply didn’t like the cost… nor the taste of Soy Milk myself.
I tried to introduce the sippy cup to my first daughter starting at 6 months as recommended. She never really got the hang of it, even though I tried almost every day. Then one day, around her first birthday, she didn’t want the bottle anymore – at all. She wanted the cup!
So while this really isn’t advice, I found it’s better for us not to force the transition on her and let her do things on her own time. She has been right on target for everything, so we have no worries about her development.
However, I must heed my own advice with my new baby (they are 13 months apart.) She is 6 months old and has zero interest in food. No cereal, no veggies, no fruit. It’s like she doesn’t consider it food because it’s not in a bottle.
As for the transition to regular milk, our pediatrician recommended going cold turkey too, and it worked fine. Since it was about the same time as quitting the bottle, I guess it made sense for her. Our doctor said it was fine to add a liitle chocolate syrup to get her to drink it. Not sure how you feel about that, but we didn’t need it. She liked regular milk just fine.
Good luck!