Sunday, April 19, 2009

Sippy Cups, Baby DVDs & Pinesol

Miss J seems, for the most part, to be a normal baby except when it comes to eating. In that arena, it feels like she is sooo far behind. She still doesn't hold her own bottle. And she doesn't use a sippy cup. She will drink out of a normal cup if 1) you hold it and 2) if she thinks she's thirsty. The second criteria is the clincher. She rarely thinks she's thirsty, so it is a monumental event if you ever get her to drink from a cup. We have bought nearly every sippy cup on the market - seriously. Nuby first sippers, Gerber Graduates, sports bottles, Munchkin straw cups, Avent trainer cups, normal lidded cups with straws. The closest we can get her to "drink" from it is for her to chew on the spout or straw. Her absolute favorite sippy cup activity is to turn it upside down and chew on the bottom. Parental exasperation on her complete lack of interest in sipping out of sippy cups is setting in.

Initially we really felt like we had a TV baby. Every time we held her, from the age of 2 DAYS old, she would turn toward the TV when it was on. When she was 3 DAYS old, she turned toward the TV even when it wasn't on - as if she was willing it to turn on. Our newborn was a TV addict. She had no idea who we were, but she knew that if she turned her head to the right while she ate that she might see colors on that box. We really thought she would be even more obsessed with TV as she grew older. But she hasn't been. Maybe it's because our family room TV is above the fireplace, and it's hard to see from that angle. Occasionally she'll look at it, but never more than 10 seconds and then she'll go back to playing with her activity table or venture to the kitchen to see if there are any refrigerator magnets she can gnaw on. We have a few baby DVDs (all gifts), but we've rarely played them. One is Baby Einstein, one is The Wiggles (ugh), and I can't even remember the other two. I wouldn't mind Teletubbies or Blue's Clues, but I know we don't have those. I guess we could play the DVDs we have occasionally, but Miss J really doesn't seem to be interested in them. One morning I was holding her and flipping through stations, and we came across Sesame Street. One of the characters was on the screen, and she actually seemed interested. Hmmm...maybe I should show her one of the DVDs we have occasionally. At least the Baby Einstein number DVD.

I am such a horrible housekeeper. I have an awful time keeping toilets clean. The toilet cleaner only seems to work for a day or two (you know, the blue squirty kind). So for many years I've been using plain old bleach to clean the toilets. The smell will asphyxiate you, but it seems like it actually DOES something. Anyway, we've run out of bleach. At Target today (I only went to Target 3 times this weekend!) I was on the prowl for something that actually cleans the toilet and smells good. I came across Pinesol. According to the label, you can use it on toilets. Score! I love the smell of Pinesol. So I used it today, and it actually fits the bill of cleaning well + smelling good. I'll take any kind of victory that I can get.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can also use denture cleaners like "polident". You just drop them and let them fizz and flush them when they're done.

Leigh Ann said...

I don't know about you, but I am having a hard time giving up the bottle! I can't believe we are supposed to wean them by a year old(ideally). It just seems so young!
Waylon does good with a sippy cup. But he does it a few sips at a time. I can't get him to take 6 or 8 ounces from one! How much milk are they supposed to get after a year anyway? I need to read ahead in my books....
As for the TV....Waylon couldn't care less about tv. And I LIKE it that way. I would rather him play with toys and kids than be glued to a tv set. Check out this article: http://www.pedsforparents.com/articles/2995.shtml
That's also a really good website for lots of subjects!!!

I love the smell of pinesol :)

B said...

LA, I have a feeling I'm going to have to go more than 1 year with the bottle because she won't drink anything out of a sippy cup. I thought it was about 16 oz of milk - since most of their calories should be coming from solids. Again, that will be another challenge for us.

I know she shouldn't be watching TV, and I'm so glad she isn't. Most of the time she isn't even curious though. I think I will sneak in one DVD just to see if our taste in TV is the reason for her nonchalance. :)

Leigh Ann said...

Well, since our babies are "little ones," I think it's just fine if they go a bit longer on the bottle :) I haven't even attempted a morning or bedtime cup vs. bottle yet. I've just been doing the cup at meals and other times in between. I might try a cup in place of the morning bottle tomorrow and see how that flies...
The bedtime bottle I am afraid will be the hardest and last to wean him off of.
As soon as Waylon hits 20 pounds(and a year old), and he is able to face forward in the car, I thought about getting a dvd player for him to watch back there. I really like the brainy baby dvds, even if he isn't into them. lol

Scrapping in Circles said...

If the bottle works...use it! I'm not big on bottles since I breastfeed. I just put them straight to the sippy cup. But, for those who use bottles, I know it is really difficult to get most kids to transition to the cup. So, leave it on your "not gonna stress about it" list. The important thing is that she gets liquids and nutrients. You can worry about the bottle vs. cup issue when she is older.

BTW NEVER LET HER WATCH TELETUBBIES!!! They are AWFUL! They don't even use correct English and treat each other horribly. That was one show I NEVER let me kids watch after I sat and watched it with Elizabeth one day. The Wiggles, while annoying to adults, is a good one since it is mostly music so it gets them moving around rather than just sitting and watching it like zombies.

Blues Clues never has attracted any of my kiddos and didn't really get into shows at all until about 2 or 3-years-old.

Television isn't bad for kids, but should be limited and shows should be carefully picked.

Good luck!!!