You may or may not know that Roy and I both can be stubborn. We both like to think that we use our stubbornness for good, but you are probably better judges of that than we are! Hopefully we form a good opinion of someone/something and stubbornly stick to it or have a good idea and stubbornly stick to it until the task gets completed. Well, it appears that Abby may have received a double-dose of the stubborns from both parents. As stinking cute as she is (I am not even kidding when I tell you that her cuteness has not only literally stopped traffic, but also gotten us out of some otherwise awkward situations), Abby can be stubbornly stubborn. The majority of the time she is so adventurous and outgoing that you would think she was like that all the time. Not the case when it comes to whole milk. I started weaning her about a month ago and so we have been trying to have her drink whole milk. She takes one small sip of it, throws it to the ground, and looks at both of us as if we have tried to poison her. I'll list what we have tried to do to get her to drink whole milk. If you have any additional ideas, please pass them on because we are getting a little worried about her dairy consumption once she is completely done with nursing!
Here's what we've tried:
- various sippy cups and bottles (straws, soft lids, hard lids, and her old bottles)...rejection
- strawberry and chocolate milk (when she rejected the chocolate milk, I began to worry that she got Roy's dessert genes--he eats dessert, but only because I am and require a partner to join in)
- warm, cold, hot and milk
- milk with a meal and milk during the day
- milk while reading, rocking, or watching a movie
So we've done each method for a few days. There are some times that she takes one look at the cup I'm offering and then runs away from me even if she signed or asked for something to drink. She can be such a stinker!
Any suggestions on how to get Abby to drink her milk?
6 comments:
Is it the milk or the cup? Have you tried goat milk-Mere likes it, I don't know how much different it tastes. And she really doesn't have to have milk. She can get her calcium from yogurt, cheese, spinach, dark green veggies etc-16 oz a day really isn't much-so maybe she can just have other foods that have calcium. I wouldn't force it if it's just the milk, if it's the cup that's another issue...She does get cuter and cuter! She is so big!
I just had to laugh at this situation because not too long ago, I had this same conversation with Joe's sister-in-law. I'd agree with Belle when she said that calcium can be given in many forms. I just kept offering milk to Brooklyn several times a day so she would get use to a different taste. She usually only took one sip then would throw it down like you described. But now, she drinks a glass worth. One "tricky" way I got Brooklyn to drink/taste whole milk is to give her Chex cereal with milk. I used Chex because it holds the milk inside. She use to just take the Chex in her hand and swish the milk out of it I think to spite us but now she eats it well. Sorry this is long, I can email you more stories if you need.
Hey Michelle-I stalk your blog ;) (hope you don't mind!!!) Anyway-like the others said-there are other forms of calcium so as long as she is getting enough of the other forms, actually drinking milk isn't a necessity. BUT, I know quite a few kids who hated whole milk and loved 1 or 2% or even loved vanilla soy milk. I'd give those a whirl. If it's the cup issue-hmm.. you can try giving her a regular cup and have her drink from that. Carson was not much of a fan of milk once he was weaned. I'd offer it to him all day long and he would maybe have a total of an ounce. BUT.. he was happy to eat yogurt and cheese at every meal and snack if that is what I wanted, so I wasn't concerned. Now he'll drink 8+oz a day. Still on the low end for a kid, but a lot for him. I just kept offering it and one day he took to it. Good luck and keep us posted on her progress (or lack thereof)!
Start watering down the milk for her and then as she takes it, gradually put in less and less water. That's what I've done with all 4 of my kids and it has worked like a charm! Good Luck!
Hey, Michelle - While the calcium can be picked up in cheese, yogurt, etc., the vitamin D they put in milk helps the body process that calcium. So if she's not going to drink the milk, then try to get the vitamin D in other ways - eggs, fish, other foods. A big way is from the sun. Sunscreen isn't needed for short exposure to the sun - they're finding that kids whose thoughtful parents always used sunscreen are growing up with bone problems because they've lacked vitamin D to process the calcium. So 10 minutes a day of sun (no sunscreen) is actually good for you. As far as her drinking milk, the more you push, the more she'll push back. Maybe forget about it for awhile, but let her see you drink and enjoy it. Maybe she'll want to try it out of your cup, and then like it. Who knows? But the power struggle is only going to make it worse. Your other posters also have good ideas to try. Good luck! And keep those pictures coming! We love'em.
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