My daughter is almost a year old… not to mention almost adopted, so say goodbye to WIC and $170 worth of free formula per month! It couldn’t happen at a better time, as kiddo is about to say goodbye to formula forever, and start getting her calories from food and drink like a normal person. *Sniff sniff* How is it possible that my baby isn’t going to need her “ba ba” anymore???
I’ve been struggling, like many moms today, with the idea of giving her cow’s milk. She does great with dairy, I’m not concerned about that. It’s just that we don’t drink milk in my family, unless it’s on cereal, and even that is skim and really has very little “milky” taste. I don’t like the hormones and chemicals in mass-produced milk, and I think it tastes gross, like a body fluid. I don’t see a whole lot of nutritional value, other than fat, in almond or coconut milk, however. Soy is obviously a no for her. So I guess I’m going to go with organic whole milk, and just give it to her in a sippy cup with snacks.
We are already naturally moving away from the bottle. Gone are the days where she would lie contentedly in my arms and suck away. Gone are the days where she lies next to me and drinks from a bottle. Now she puts the bottle in and out of her mouth, gets up, runs around, takes a few drinks, runs around, etc. She can do this with a sippy cup, too, so I guess it’s bye-bye bottles right now, before she changes her mind and gets attached to them. Even middle of the night feedings, the ones that used to soothe her back to sleep quickly, are now replaced by her pacifier.
She’s ready to give up the bottle, and start using a sippy. She’s ready… but I’m NOT!!! No more bottle equals no more baby, and even though this baby has been running around on her own two feet, eating solids, and drinking from sippy and regular cups since 9 months old, the bottle is a symbol of babyhood. Relinquishing it means I no longer have a baby! Also going the way of the bottle is the cruising table, which bores her now, and the changing table. She gets changed on the floor or changing table pad, or sometimes even standing up. I have this horrible feeling that she’ll be climbing out of her crib soon and it’ll be toddler bed time!
She is also ready to start sleeping in her own room, I think. When she starts getting tired, for both bedtime and nap times, she lies down in her crib now and goes right to sleep. No need for a bottle or any other coddling. She knows the drill. What’s keeping me from moving the crib into her room? I’m not ready! I don’t want to be that far away from her! And yet, I know that if she’s going to sleep in a toddler bed soon she should start getting used to her own room.
Aaahhh, this is all happening so fast.
Mother of All Things 
My daughter is lactose intolerant so we transitioned straight to almond and coconut milk and my pediatrician and I are both happy with the nutrient value. My daughter has always been small so I was concerned about getting enough healthy fat into her. I mix in some canned, whole coconut milk, which has tons of great fats. I actually freeze it into ice cube trays and plop it into drinks and smoothies.
Seeing your baby stop being a baby is so hard! But I will say, when they start talking and becoming a little “person” it is so remarkable! You get to see WHO they are and it’s amazing. Mine is 3 now, and despite the tantrums, it’s my favorite age so far. Watching her personality develop before my eyes, gets me misty. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s one thing to love your child, but even better to *like* them!
My youngest started asking to sit on the toilet a good 6-12 months before I would’ve seriously tried to talk her into it. It was wonderful… she trianed herself in record time… but I was horrified. So not ready to let go of the last vestiges of babyhood!!
Guess we should be delighted that our girls are leading the way, but it’s just not that simple for mama, is it?
We have two weeks to one, so I feel ya! I won’t be doing milk or sippy cups. There are enough calcium rich foods and milk is linked to obesity. I will get a straw cup for out and about and a regular cup for meal times.
I’ve given Evie almond and coconut milk with success. Like you, I’m wary of cow’s milk. I drank it lots as a kid, but I hate all of the hormones and other crap in there….hopefully you will find a milk alternative that works for you both!
Can’t believe how active she is…and almost 1!