Madison’s 14th Birthday
5 years ago
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
For The Love of Milk
Honestly you would think that out of 3 children I'd get at least one who likes milk. One, that's all I ask for, just one. Sure Stella and Jonah drink it now because they are told. I won't go so far as to say it's their favorite, but at least I know when it's given to them they'll drink it without complaint. Can't say the same with my sweet Ava girl though. It's funny to me how she sucks it down when it's warmed up in a bottle, but served cold in a cup, she wants nothing to do with the stuff. And yep, I've tried warming it up in a sippy cup. Apparently it's not the same, just ask Ava. This morning, from 10:40am to 12pm, was probably the worst morning ever. Ava sat in her high chair for that length of time with her milk cup just sitting in front of her. I thought for sure she was going to fall asleep in her chair from all the crying and carrying on. One drink, that was all I was asking. One drink from her little hands picking up the cup and bringing it to her mouth. It wasn't happening. I ended up putting her down for a nap with a notch going on her belt for winning the battle. I need help, or advice, or words of wisdom to help out in this matter. She's strong, that Ava, she's strong and today I just didn't have it in me. What do I do? The doctors say they need 24 oz, and well I think I may have gotten 1 oz forced down her throat that wasn't spit out...it was bad, the worst yet out of all 3 of them. So really, if you have advice or tricks on how to get them to drink it, or ideas on how to handle this situation with a strong willed child, please tell me. Pretty, pretty please.
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15 comments:
Stick with it, Sara...be consistent and she will finally learn who the mommy is. Isn't it funny how cute these sweet little girls are and yet how strong willed they can be?
I remember having a very similar high chair battle with Kaylee trying to get her to sign "more". Kaylee won that one too.
As for the milk thing specifically, my kids rejected milk for approximately the first 3 times I tried to give it to them, and since then it's been milk, milk, milk. We literally go through 4 gallons of milk every single week. That's right, 4. Yeesh.
I would say though, to just keep putting it in front of her, at snack time and meal time. I wouldn't say anything or make her drink it, but don't offer her anything else either. We've used that approach with food, and it has always worked. The other thing you might try is putting it in a "big girl" cup or using a straw and the novelty might make it seem like more fun.
If she goes a week or two without drinking her required ounces, it probably won't scar her for life. Just make sure she's eating string cheese or yogurt to get some calcium. Or ice cream. (Kidding)
Ok, that's my unprofessional advice. Good luck!
And since I forgot to reply to your last email, black background with white letters for the sign like you usually do would be awesome!
My kids didn't like milk either...and maybe it was because they never really had formula. I don't know. With Katrina, I ended up putting some apple juice in with it...gross I know...but it made it sweeter and she would drink it...gradually decreasing the amount of juice for about a week until I totally made it straight milk. Then at meal time that was her only choice for drink...water throughout the day, though.
Leyna was another story. I ended up putting a tiny bit of nesquick in it and she would drink it if I called it chocolate milk. Then I gradually decreased from less than one teaspoon to non over a 1-2 week period and then she drank it straight. I also gave them a lot of dairy: cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. so I was sure she was getting enough calcium. My doctor told me not to worry about it since I was pushing all of those other calcium foods. Ok, sorry this is so long. Good luck!
Kristy, so what if she doesn't drink any milk throughout the day? Do I need to worry about her being dehydrated. I give her a bottle in the morning still and before bed(I know, I'm a sucker...she's my last, bear with me). But should I stay away from water and just keep offering the milk? I can't remember what I did with Stella and Jonah. Stella loved cheese and yogurt so I didn't worry much, Jonah loved yogurt, Ava likes yogurt too. Oh the drama...thanks for your help!
Thanks Kim. I just put a little karo syrup (per my mom's suggestion) in the milk. We'll try that. She's a stinker and won't even bring the cup to her mouth. I don't understand, how different can cold milk taste to warm milk???
Sometimes a little chocolate milk does the trick...yum!!! :) But stick with it, I seriously do everything 'cold turkey', with Mia I had to do drastic stuff like that, even if she was starving...cause eventually she did eat or whatever it was. Battle of the wills!!!! You can do it! :)
Sorry no advice from me. We are not there yet. I love reading all the advice though. I could be there soon.
I didn't really think about dehydration -- I guess it depends on how long she holds out. A day or maybe two shouldn't be a problem as long as she's getting fruits and vegis, which have high water content. And as long as she's not sick and in need of lots of fluids. But if you're worried, give her sips of water throughout the day but stick to milk whenever she's in the high chair. Really, I've never ever known of a kid who can't be conquered on the picky thing in a matter of a couple of days. As soon as they see that there aren't any other choices, they come around pretty quickly.
Sorry Sara, I have no advice either. Jaxon loves milk in the sippy cup as long as it is heated up and we always do that before nap and bedtime. I know that the other sources of calcium are great too in the meantime. Are you giving her formula or milk in the bottle that she gets? Good luck!
Reese was really hard to get to a sippy cup, but she finally did it. And the only thing I can say is that I wasn't going to let her win....Don't get me wrong I failed a few times. The one thing I found that worked was those Nuby (sp?) cups?? the drink spout isn't hard so it is a good transition for them. I think they sell them at walmart. Also for 5 years I struggled with Reese with her eating and I realized one day that she was just being disobedient. So we fixed that with spanking and it worked. I know that a lot of people have a hard time with this because they don't want to cause eating disorders, butwe figure that once she starts obeying we can get into what she likes and doesn't like. Reese ate steak last night and that to me is amazing!!
One last thought is I think that she gets a lot of calcium in so many things that I don't think you have to worry about it to much. Talk to your doc and you may just be able to give her a tums or somthing. I think that the most important thing is that she obeys her mama. You are doing great girl. Hope my comment comes to you with the love and care that I feel.
not that I'm a mom yet, but my friend Kristen's kids would drink it if she put a BIT of chocolate syrup in it and called it chocolate milk - guzzled it in fact! Her doctor told her that little amount of sugar wouldn't affect them - she even gave it to them in their sippy cups for bedtime. I think someone else already suggested it, but I've seen it work too :)
OVALTINE!!!! I love that stuff...packed with vitamins also!
Hi Sara, you are so good at sticking with your guns and having Ava sit in her high-chair for so long. I'm too much of a push-over and would have put my Ava down and sat her in time-out. Ava never drank milk and still doesn't and she is almost 2. Her ped's never told me she has to drink it but that she should eat yogurt and plenty of cheese & take vitamin drops (which I never give her.)
Don't gasp but I give Ava half juice/water every day. She did nurse for 12 months so I know she got what she needed. I bet your mom has some good advice and just keep praying for God's wisdom, He will show you what to do. I'm still dealing with 1-2 midnight wakings & I still don't understand why?? Well, probably b/c I don't let her cry it out.
Hang in there,
Christina :-)
Hi Sara!
I didn't read the other comments, so this has probably already been suggested. But....my very strong, willed child was exactly the same. I gave her chocolate milk, which she guzzled (sp?) down right away and each day I lessened the amount of chocolate until it was just milk. This didn't work for little Samantha Mae, so Becky mixes her with juice, but that's just so darn gross to me I don't know if I could do that! lol.... good luck! And if you are worried about calicum, just make sure she's getting it somewhere else while your figuring out how to get her to like it! OH...and now that stubborn girl of mine loves milk, by the way!
I actually ditched milk and started giving Parker (our 2nd) rice milk from Trader Joe's. It has all the calcium, vit. D, iron and everything else they need. It's also vanilla flavored, so he LOVES it. He calls regular milk "yucky and sick". :)
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