twitter
rss

Spring!!!

 Today is officially the 2nd day of Spring, although it may not feel an ounce like spring, we had some special visitors to remind us it's here! I wanted to do something this year Meet Mot could participate in without having to be too involved. I found a window bird house that suctions right on the window, for birds to nest in. I was skeptical at first and did some research on how to attract birds to it, contrary to popular belief you aren't supposed to put food around a bird house (it attracts other birds, and may start a war over the warm cozy spot!) So we just decided we would just wait. Well, we didn't have to wait long the 4th day it was up, and the 2nd day of Spring, 2 Eastern Bluebirds decided to pay us a visit and come tour their new home! Every morning for the last few days we have gotten up and checked for birds, this morning Mason dropped his book and ran to the window "biiidsss mama biddss!" We were so excited to see this cute little couple! I have to highly suggest that you look into getting one of these, they are low maintenance and you can use them on all age groups. I will list below activities you can do according to age. Here are some pictures of our new tenants! Enjoy, I will try to keep up with posting so you can follow progress and see the cute little babies!


 Mama Blue Bird!
 Mama and Daddy Blue Bird checking out their new pad!
 Our windows on our home are tinted, so the birds can't see us! Mason is able to get right up to it and watch them work! Today the mom is staying with the house while the daddy bird is out searching for nesting materials!
 We shredded paper and cut up ribbon and felt to supply them with pretty nesting materials
 The Mot helping with the ribbon!
 Don't laugh at our make shift string store... I wanted to keep it semi dry so hopefully this works! I'd love to see pretty colors in the nest!
Our pup bam bam watching the birds!
 
Ok so here are some ideas for activities you can do while you are watching the nest grow :)
 
Toddlers:
*Set up a chair/table by the nest if it won't be disturbed. Teach your toddler to be quiet around the birds, the babies need sleep. (This is a great way to introduce respect for nature, and living in harmony together.)
*Shred paper/ribbons and make a little area for the birds to grab string/materials for their nest. Hopefully they use it and you can also use this as a chance to teach colors! (good sensory activity to the shredding, you can also introduce scissors with this activity.)
*Counting- you can count the birds, (typically 2 to start ;-) and then count the eggs. When they are hatching you can also count them as they hatch!
*Observing & describing the birds, colors, noises, big/small, mama/daddy
 
School Age:
*Keep an observation diary of the birds progress, for younger elementary students you can keep a picture diary drawing once a week what they observe.
*Pine cone weaving, this will be great for school age children to help gather materials for their nest:
*Identifying the species, All Birds has a great site for identifying bird species and calls.
*Making binoculars to pretend they are bird watching! From modernparentsmessykids.com
*Predict a hatching date, keep track using a calender!
 
So many fun activities you can do! If you have another idea, send it in to www.facebook.com/montessorimeetmot! We'd love to share your pictures
 
As for purchase of the Birdhouses you can purchase them online at Etsy,
 
 
Happy Bird Watching!
 
 
___________________________________
 
 
Wanted to share an idea with you one of my friends makes her own wipes! I had no clue how easy, better for their skin, and cost saving this is! Here is a step by step tutorial she  made with pictures (for us more simple people!) Awesome and can't wait to try this! She uses Viva paper towels, sold at most grocery stores (they don't get soggy and rip, and they are soft!)
Step1: Cut the paper towel roll in half with a large kitchen knife.
 

Step 2:  Microwave  for 2 minutes and then whisk together 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp baby lotion and 1 tbsp baby shampoo together.

Step 3: Pour mixture over already cut paper towels in a large bowl.
 
Step 4: Remove cardboard center.

Step 5: Squeeze the sides, and roll it to absorb all of the liquid.

Step 6: Slide into container, and pull paper towel through center like wipes.
 
Step 7: and through the lid of your awesomely decorated and personalized wipe container (You can by these at the grocery store and just refill with your own wipes when done!)
 
You can follow Alana and Zoey on Pinterest for now, (Excited a blog is in this mama's near future can't wait she has wonderful diy ideas and awesome recipes for baby and adults!)
Follow Alana Penewell on Pinterest!
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 

0 comments |

Bean in the Oven!

Sheww, these past few Winter months have had us so busy we haven't had a chance to catch up with our blog and reader questions! I would like to happily and over excitedly announce that we are expecting a new bundle to join our family in September 2013!







 
My dear friend Amy, owner of Amy Fewell Photography, took these wonderful pictures to capture another special time in our lives! We can't wait til this belly gets a little bigger and we can take Maternity pictures!!!!
Mason keeps rubbing my belly asking "baby? baby? huh?" It's so cute, now he is walking around patting his belly saying "bayyyyybeeee!" Maybe he's a little confused ;-) We are still working on potty training, he is doing great! I haven't been forcing the issue especially not these past few weeks with new teeth coming in... however he seems to still show interest every time I go he attempts and sits on his potty, sometimes he goes sometimes he doesn't it's hit or miss!
 
I have been near death tired these past few weeks, and I've always said HATS OFF to all the mama's expecting who have toddlers, that is for sure! Mason is 100mph 12 hours of the day. Matt has diagnosed me with Narcolepsy. Mason thinks I can play and read with my eyes closed, and the couch, shamefully, has become my new best friend. I get a burst of energy in the morning (usually when we do all of our activities for the day) by evening I'm down for the count, luckily Meet Mot takes naps still and I am able to recharge for the next play session.
 
My thoughts are rambling, I can start talking to Matt about his day, and turn the conversation 360 degrees onto how mad it makes me the mail man comes at 4 in the evening. Borderline schizophrenia is mighty comparable to pregnancy brain ;-) Bear with me through these next 9 months as I'm sure you will be hearing about trending news/activities in the Montessori world, along with how I wish there was a pickle delivery service! I can't wait to share this new journey in our lives with you all!
 
<3

0 comments |

My name is not No No.



What is no? By definition, the two letter word no is defined as follows:
Adjective
Not any: "there is no excuse".
Exclamation
Used to give a negative response: "“Is anything wrong?” “No.”".
Adverb
Not at all; to no extent: "they were no more able to perform the task than I was".

By no means do I consider myself an Einstein in the literary department, which can easily be noted by my long run on sentences, misspeled words there and here, over, use, of commas, and "...", however... correct me if I'm wrong, the word "no" has absolutely no meaning whatsoever used alone. Am I right? No?

No is a negatively loaded word, almost always associated with a less than desired answer, =0 if we are talking numbers. No can really only be an answer when used alone. No? (I guess a question too in some cases.) But definitely not a sentence or command.

With all of that being said, I find myself laughing at how many times I have told Mason "No" for touching the Christmas tree, not laughing at him but laughing at myself... (there are those dag on dots...) He's not asking me a question, why am I saying no?

So I sat back for a couple of seconds and asked myself  how I was going to keep him from touching the tree, and save myself from the daily redecorating? Here is my thought process that leads up to my conclusion on how to effectively hinder your little one from unwanted behavior:

1. Ask yourself why they are doing it. Children are explorers, they are exploring 24/7. For example, what 18 month old wouldn't want to play with the shiny, light reflecting ornaments? What is this big tree doing in my living room? Are those balls like mine in the basket? What is the difference? The point here is that they aren't doing things just to upset you. They are doing it to simply help answer their own questions.

2. Negative responses to their actions is like giving children a remote control to you. "If I touch this ornament mommy gets mad and it's funny." Yelling, spanking, saying no are all ways of getting attention, and we all know children love attention in any way shape or form. If you spank or yell at your child, you are just redirecting the whole situation into a more involved one which totally defeats the purpose. Not to mention, yelling, and spanking are proven to cause psychological issues in the childs future. (Great article to read: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/09/health/09yell.html?_r=0)

3. Be a role model. Your children watch and hear everything you do. They aspire to be just like you when they get older. Make them good communicators, this will get them far in life.  I had a parent write in and ask me why she was getting notes home from school saying that her child was hitting. She was so embarrassed, she went on to defend that she had no idea where he was getting it from and he must be picking it up from his classmates (the poor classmates tend to get most of the blame in most cases of classroom issues due to parental denial, the teacher is second to blame.)

I asked her one question hoping she would have the "aha" moment in answering...

"How do you discipline?"

Like planned, she indeed responded with an "aha" mentality/ This is a direct quote from her write in and I have asked permission to quote anonymously:

"When he does something bad, I nicely ask him not to do it again. If he does it again I will put him in his room. In his room he usually freaks out and cries and throws things to the point where I have to go in to stop him. I normally have to yell over him to get his attention, there have been occasions where I have gotten so enthralled in my rage of being frustrated and angry where I have grabbed his arm and jerked him up to stop throwing a fit. wow. I just wrote that and at the end of my last sentence see and no longer need your advice, he is getting it from us at home. You are awesome and you didn't even have to answer me, thank you so much for helping me work through this, do you have any suggestions on how to discipline him for hitting at school?"  Once again, my fuel to the fire theory is proven.

Now you ask, what to do... (dag on dots...)

I will continue with my Christmas tree example. After sitting back for a few moments, I asked myself why he was doing it, obviously because the colorful balls were intriguing and fun. He wanted to play with them. He's never seen a tree in a house and boy what fun that is!  Next, I asked myself why I want him to stop? Honestly, I wanted him to stop for the sake of me decorating a tree 44 times a week! Mainly I wanted him to stop because I didn't want him playing with the ornaments, although they are plastic the hangers aren't good to play with, and I also don't want him to get the idea when we go to a friend's house that he can play with their "decorations."  Which then lead me to, how in the HELL heck am I going to explain decorations to an 18 month old?! Errmm, not getting anywhere fast, and I am down 15 balls and 4 hangers...

Then I myself had that very "aha" moment my mommy friend earlier had, that beautiful thing called REDIRECTION! wow, and what wonders it works. I don't say no, it is really hard to do, but this evening he has attempted to nab ornaments and I bit my tongue. Instead I asked him for the ornament and hung it back on the tree (he even put one back when I asked him to) as we were doing that I said "we have to leave the balls on the tree for Santa to look at." and then redirected him to playing with his blocks. WOW it was that simple this whole time?! Now don't get me wrong that is sugar coated somewhat, we did do this a good 5 times before he finally got bored with it, but the positive redirection on my end made it less tempting, and pointless in his eyes.

So try it, make it a goal not to say the word "no" unless you are answering a question or explaining a quantity.


 

0 comments |

Tis' the Sneezin

Are you quick to dial your pediatrician at 8 am when little one isn't feeling good? Here is a quick overview of what to ask/rule out before calling your doctor, however if you are unsure or feel that your child needs to be seen, by all means. Better safe than sorry.

Mason is 18 months old and has only "needed" antibotics 2 times. Once for an ear infection, and the second time he was prescribed antibiotics when the doctor we usually don't see couldn't find anything wrong, and prescribed them as a "just in case" treatment... I didn't give them. Antibiotics are essentially good for killing bad bacteria, but what many don't know, they kill good bacteria and also your body can become immune to them essentially making it harder to ward off the next illness. Many doctors today are using them as preventitive meds instead of only prescribing when a confirmed bacterial infection is in full bloom. With this being said, and having always taken the natural/homeopathic route when safe to do so, I want to share with you a list of things to run through before making the phone call to bring your child in:

- Fever
 
 
 
A temperature of 100.4F or higher is considered a fever. This is your bodies way of fighting an "invader" or infection. There are two types of infections, bacterial and viral. Most infections thrive at 98.6F, thus why your body raises the temperature to try to fight off the invader, aka "cooking it." So we can say a fever is actually a good thing, and one of the first steps to healing. If your child has a fever, over 103, he needs to be seen this is usually a sign of a bacterial infection which would call for prescription antibiotics to kill the bacteria and keep the cells from multiplying. However, if it is a low grade fever it is usually recommended to wait at least 2 days before coming in.  One of the most common mistakes with a fever is trying to keep the child warm. They are pitiful, achy and chilly wanting to cuddle and snuggle under warm blankets. The best thing to do is to remove all heat trapping clothing (typically down to diaper) and turn a ceiling fan on to help cool the body's temperature. Adding a cool cloth to the forehead is helpful too if they can tolerate it. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT  put your child in a tepid bath... that is just wrong and cruel, who wants to sit in a bathtub full of cold water?!
 
With viral infections, we like to treat the symptoms "the fever, the aches, the cough, the boogie nose, etc..."
 
At first sign of fever, give pedialyte (also used for diarrhea/vomiting.) Here is a recipe for home made pedialyte:
 
4 cups water 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 packet unsweetened Kool-Aid (optional) Mix all until dissolved. Keep refrigerated and use within a couple of days.
 
-Boogie Nose
 
 
 
A boogie nose is always yucky, most people assume that a boogie nose = need for Dr. appt/antibotics. There are two things to look for to determine whether you need medical attention or if it's viral/allergy related. Clear boogies are always good. That is just a "clean out" boogie meaning something irritated your nose (an allergen) and your body is simply getting rid of the allergen or making it hard for the allergen to enter your body by making it an undesirable environment.
 
Green or Yellow? Yellow is more concerning than green. Yellow and thick typically means some kind of bacterial infection is going on. Green is typically the ending of an infection or more commonly seen at the end of your everyday cold. Home remedies for a runny nose include using a humidifier at night time, benedryl, and also a netti pot.
 
-Cough
 
 
The cough is probably one of the most irritating symptoms, to both child and surrounding. Anytime you hear someone cough it is natural instinct to steer clear. Well I am here to tell you there are several different causes of a cough here are the most common types listed below:
 
A productive cough: A productive chest cough simply means that you are coughing up some sort of phlegm. You are productively getting rid of an irritant in your lungs. This is the type of cough that you can feel the contents of your lungs moving around after each cough. This type of cough you wouldn't want to use cough suppressants, instead you need to encourage coughing up and out the mucus... an expectorant (Mucinex)is recommended Consult with your doctor for correct dosage and amounts.  Consult a doctor a productive chest cough lasts beyond 7-10 days or you begin coughing up green phlegm. Or phlegm containing mucus.
 
A Non-productive cough/dry cough: You are coughing but you are not producing any phlegm. And it is therefore, unproductive. This cough is very dry sounding unlike the productive cough.
This type of cough is often experienced near the end of a cold when there is not longer any phlegm to be expelled. Or after exposure to certain respiratory irritants such as dust or dander aka Allergies or hayfever. Although any use of medication for coughs is discouraged, if it gets to the point where your child is becoming uncomfortable a suppressant such as (Delsym) is recommended. Consult with your doctor for correct doseage and amounts.

"Barking" Cough- The barking cough is exactly that. A loud, dry, hoarse, bark like cough. This type of cough is often referred to as croup ( a respiratory disease caused by a viral infection). However, croup is not always the case. A barking cough is often the cause of a swollen upper respiratory tract which may be the result of the common cold. And often seems to worsen at night. Monitor this type of cough for infections and swelling that will that may make breathing difficult. If it becomes difficult to breath seek medical attention. If it is due to irritation, a home remedy would be warm moist air humidifier, also drinking a warm cup of water will help loosen up the bronchioles.

Whooping Cough- Whooping cough is also known as Pertussis. A very contagious bacterial disease. It is caused whooping cough because it causes uncontrollable coughing fits which produce a "whoop" or gasping like sound usually in children and babies. This "whoop" noise is caused by the inhalation of air after coughing. These coughing fits can become so violent that the whooping cough sufferer may even vomit after coughing. Other symptoms include the sufferer feeling as if they are suffocating, feeling light headed, and fainting, followed by a period of feeling well and having no cough at all. See your doctor, antibiotics may be prescribed to lessen the risk of passing along to others as Pertussis itself is typically left untreated and a 6 week course of treating symptoms alone.

In summary, below is the following of when you should see your doctor:

  • Green, yellow, tan or bloody phlegm. This also often has a bad taste too it.
  • A fever over 38 degrees Celsius.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Persistent cough lasting more than a month.
  • If your coughing is decreasing your quality of life.
  • Wheezing.
  • Chest pain.
  • Experiencing weight loss.
  • Chills and/or night sweats.
  • If you have heart problems. 

    •  
    Ear Aches:
     
     
    The worst to detect at home. Ear infections are the most common infection in children, as their Eustachian tubes are more horizontally placed allowing a nice, warm spot for infection to move in without risk of drainage as our adult ears do.
     
    It is hard to determine whether or not your child has an ear infection, especially being the most common ages for getting them is in their less verbal days. Here is a quick list of some symptoms to look for in aiding your decision to take him/her in for a visit with the Doctor,
    • Tugging at the ear
    • Poor sleep
    • Fever
    • Irritability, restlessness
    • Ear drainage
    • Nasal discharge
    • Diminished appetite
    • Crying at night when lying down
    As always, when in doubt follow your gut. It is better safe than sorry. Just have a good confirmation that antibiotics are actually needed, and familiarize yourself with these few basics of human physiology!
     Whenever your little on is feeling under the weather load up on fruits high in antioxidants! Here is a wonderful chart, smoothies are great for when they don't want to eat anything! (Also up the protein in their diet during these down days by adding tofu, or yogurt to the smoothie!)

     
     
     

    0 comments |

    The Gift of Giving

    The holiday season has a smell about it, a good smell, the crisp air, the musky damp leaves, and the smell of wood burning! My favorite time of the year. I often hear children say that their favorite holidays are their own birthdays (of course this IS in fact a holiday :) and then Christmas. (along the lines of their favorite subjects in school: Lunch and recess...)

    Do we teach our children what the holidays are actually about aside from religion? Is it the fact that they are getting gifts, and alot of them? Or do they love the warmness and spirit surrounding them? The smiles on people's faces, the decorations, people helping people or the contagious sense of cheer?

    Encouraging your child to help others is a huge factor in raising a well balanced child. The nuturing and compassion that goes into helping others is rewared by simply seeing others do better. A child who learns this at a young age will later become a kind & giving citizen, who puts others before him/herself. "Charitable involvement has been shown to help raise self-esteem, develop social skills, foster an introduction to the greater world and encourage kids to appreciate their own lifestyle."



    Does my toddler understand Charity? YES!! Of course they do, a toddler's comprehension of this is simple, "I give, she smiles and says thank you." The phrase "Thank You" is a typically a praise in most households, a reward if you will. The reward for giving is the thanks and recognition given from the recieving party, however in the future the reward will change to being the feeling of "good" inside. This is self learned, and is most easily picked up by modeling their parents/caregivers.

    Keep in mind young children are concrete thinkers, giving should be followed from beginning to end. Making a food basket, taking it to a family in need or the shelter vs. dropping coins in a Salvation Army bucket at the local store. The money you drop in the bucket is just that "Money in a bucket" They don't see where it is going, or who it is helping no matter how in depth you explain. If you are donating items/monotary gifts, I suggest getting in touch with your local social services and going about it that route, also, a lot of churches have lists of families who are in need. The angel tree is a great idea, but this concept should be used in older children Middle School and Up. Elementary and below need interaction with the person they are giving to to see and understand the whole process. (Also donating to your local food bank is a wonderful way for children get involved in a huge way. They can even help stock the shelves with the food they donated!)

    It isn't always about giving items or monotary donations. It's about going out of your way to make someone's life better. We have an elderly neighbor who is ill, and lives alone. We make a point to go see her almost daily and check on her. She just lights up when she sees Mason, and talks about EVERYTHING! Giving your time is just as important as giving items! We plan on taking a trip to a local nursing home to share some goodies! This is also a great way to spread cheer!
     


    I see alot of children in stores throwing fits over toys that they can't have, or that their parents won't buy for them. Very rarely do I come across a child "shopping" for someone else "oh so and so would love this" That makes me smile from ear to ear. A selfless child IS a happy child.


    Wishing you all a very happy holiday season, and a wonderful new year! Merry Christmas! From our family to yours :)


    *A proof of our family picture* LOOK HOW BIG MEET MOT IS GETTING!!!!



    0 comments |

    VLOG!!!!

    I did it! I finally did it!! I am now starting to vlog, I love it because I actually feel like I'm talking with you all :) Here are the first 3 I've done, continue to follow or if you have requests please let me know.


    My Introduction/thank you video
     
    DIY Montessori Activities
     
    Montessori Education too Expensive?
     
    

    0 comments |

    Reader Question: 2 year old and 12 month old not drinking Milk.



    Reader Question: I have a question for your parents panel/other people on your page. I have tried every sippy cup/regular cup but Aiden won't drink milk out of anything other than a baby bottle (8oz medela bottle to be exact.) I gave them to my older sister because she just had a baby, so I don't have them anymore. Aiden won't take milk anymore, what should I do? Also, Abigail won't take milk either. I want them to have milk because I know it's good for them but they won't take it anymore? Help!



     
    Amy Fewell Amy Fewell Have you tried giving your 2yr old milk out of a cup? Or out of a cup with a straw? Of course, he can't carry it around the house, and will need to be watched with it. But my 3 yr old would carry a sippy around with him all day long if he could, and I just couldn't handle it with the leaky sippy cups etc. So we switched to a cup and straw early.
    10 months is still early, but she needs a sippy cup as well. Have you tried the soft spouted ones? They are good for transition. I would introduce it to your youngest and just keep trying it over and over again. I think eventually she'll catch on. They even make small cups with the soft spout.

    I wouldn't force milk. Maybe they just don't like it? There are other options in the process, such as yogurt, cheese, anything with dairy. My little one LOVES gogurt and regular yogurt. In fact, half of the time, that's ALL I can get him to eat. But it's good, because it's dairy and has the vitamins etc that he needs, whether he drinks milk or not.

     
    Rachael Meyers Snead Rachael Meyers Snead I would try soy milk or supplementing milk with other dairy products like cheese. There are many other ways to get the same nutrients. They may not want much milk if it's warm out or if they have been really congested lately with colds or sinus issues. With the sippy--I would just try different sippies until you find "the one". Different rubbery nipples on sippies can be almost like bottles and they may like that better. You could also try juice or tea or koolaid in the sippy just until they like the sippy, then switch to milk and see how they do after they're used to the sippy.

     
     Anastasia Rehbein From what I know cow's milk is very low on nutrients. I would make popsicles out of coconut milk or almond milk, they have much more nutrition. I would personally, avoid soy and rise milk. And I know that when I do all I can, then just relax and let it be, everything works out well:)

     
    Danielle Coleman Danielle Coleman If milk is important to you, maybe you could get 1 bottle back to use at mealtimes. My children's dentist recently explained how important it is to only give water between meals and milk/juice at meals. Perhaps try an open cup. Or maybe give a little in the bottle and if he wants more he has to get it from the straw cup? Habits take time to break, unfortunately, so if you are really done with bottles, just stick to it, it won't hurt him to go without milk for a couple of weeks. If you are worried about weight, try switching it up with a smoothie or shake:) Oh, and the 10-month-old...breast or formula fed? I would do whatever it takes to get some "milk" into that little one for a little longer:)

     
    Michael Hartley Michael Hartley Kids can get fussy for no particular reason. However, adults can outwit them, thanks to our broader experience. (It can't be our smarter brains, after all.) I met a couple whose 3-year old, to their distress, had decided to refuse all meat after visiting a farm. Fortunately, for them, the boy had not yet realised that sausages contained meat - a fact they carefully concealed from him. My own eldest son used to refuse to eat eggs - he hated them. However, omelette was fine. He stopped refusing eggs when he realised that omelette and eggs were basically the same thing. Go figure.

    So, sometimes the fussiness is just something the child has chosen, which they can break themselves with sufficient motivation. When my youngest was 2, he would only eat rice porridge - until we went on holiday, and we explained to him that if he wanted to come, he'd have to be flexible with what he ate, because there wouldn't be any rice porridge where we were going. On day one, my uncle served up lasagne, and he wolfed it down. From then on, he ate everything we ate with no complaints at all (for the next three years, at least!)

    I would suggest either
    * disguise the milk as something else or use other dairy products, or
    * bring back the bottle for now
    and then
    * wait for an opportunity that provides the child a motive to quit the bottle and move onto cups.

    I know that we are recommended to break the bottle habit early. We are also recommended to get them to drink milk. If we can't follow both recommendations (and who can possibly follow ALL the recommendations parents are given!), we optimise.

     
    Tamara Kidd Tamara Kidd Totally agree. I've got nothing to add as we moved to sip cups Then lidded cups with a hole for a straw WELL after breast feeding into the toddler stage. Bottles were used but for water. Disguise dairy into other foods. I once knew a dad who told his children that dried fruit was lollies. It was sweet and a sometimes food anyway. I did the same with my children but disclosed they were 'like' lollies but healthy and they prefered it given the choice. My fussy son has chocolate muffins with hidden vegetables to this day, but he now knows what's in them and asks for them. All the best.

     
     Danielle Coté I am actually going through a very similar thing with my son right now. He will be 1 in November and I'd really like for him to be bottle free by then. He still drinks breastmilk…I pump during the day so my mother-in-law can give it to him for breakfast and lunch and he would drink every drop from the bottle. At dinner I give him a sippy cup with water and he’ll drink most of it and then I nurse him before bed. In order to transition to the sippy cup we started putting the milk in the cup. Out of the 10 oz he usually has between breakfast and lunch he only drank 6 oz when we tried putting it in the sippy cup. I thought maybe he just didn’t really want the milk at that point but he’ll nurse with no problem. So I think we just need to be persistent with giving him the sippy cup with each meal. Is Abigail still using a bottle? Every child is different but I think 10 months old may be a little early to start with a sippy cup if she won’t drink milk any other way…she still needs her milk! With Aiden, as others have said, you can just give him other dairy products to supplement what he would be getting from milk. Have you tried Almond Milk or Coconut Milk? A lot of my friends are switching to those 2 instead of using cow’s milk. Good luck!

     
    Anastasia RehbeinAnastasia Rehbein Can I add something? I also would make sure kids are not allergic to diary products!

  •  
    •  Diane DiIenno O'KeefeFor the two year old, I think you should definitely consider if the child is developing lactose intolerance or an underlying allergy. Children often refuse something they should not have. By age 2, children have outgrown the natural ability to digest milk easily so it is important to consider that you may be expecting him to drink too much milk. Since the sucking is comforting many children drink way more milk from a bottle vs. a cup. The issue to consider is if they are sucking for comfort or for food. This is why most doctors recommend that bottles be stopped at age 1. Drinking from a bottle for longer often contributes to extra weight gain and a refusal to eat other healthy foods. For the 10 month old, there may also be some milk intolerance developing but I think you need to be more careful about the infant getting appropriate nutrition. Be careful about substitute milks since they do not contain the same levels of calcium and fats as regular cow's milk. Yogurt is a wonderful substitute and many children like it as a smoothie. I think I would try this first with a straw and cup. It might just do the trick!

    0 comments |
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)