Kicking it Cold Turkey

This has been a big week in the life of a little girl! It started on Monday when I talked to her about how it was going to be her last day having a bottle and that the next day she was going to start drinking her milk out of a big girl cup. She hasn't been having lots of bottles a day but she was having them at significant times, before naps and bedtimes. It was how she would relax. I talked with her a few times on the Monday and every time she would look a little uncertain when I told her it was her last day with bottles but then she would get excited when I would tell her she would be drinking her milk out of a big girl cup.

On Tuesday we washed her bottles and then we packed them up into a plastic bag. While we were doing that I was telling her again why we were doing it but this time she shook her head "no" the whole time. It was so cute but it almost broke my heart. Her depth of understanding astounds me. Not just with this but with so much that we talk about with her. She really listens and responds and more than once she has astonished us with what she has done or how she has reacted. After we packed the bottles up we took them out to the garage and say bye-bye to them and put them in the garbage can. We have been very careful to not mention the word "bottle" around her since then.

Overall she has done amazingly well! A number of times she has gone to sleep with no fuss whatsoever. There have been a few times where there have been some tears and she has signed "milk" and asked for it. I tend to just ignore that and get her attention off of it somehow. She is still drinking milk when she gets up, although her interest in milk seems to be waning which I am totally fine with.

I am so incredibly proud of Emma! It has been a tough week with a huge change but she is still her smiling sweet self. Perhaps a little more clingy and her "lovies" (a stuffed giraffe and a stuffed elephant) have definitely become more of a take everywhere kind of thing but that is so okay. She has handled this so well and I just keep telling her how proud I am of her. The first night I talked and cuddled her through the little bit before bed and just kept telling her how much I love her and how proud I am of her and she kept giving me little hugs and kisses and at one point signed "I love you" to me. Precious moments for sure. Of course I have also been in tears as I watch her grow up much too quickly and burst with pride in the little girl that she is!

Next step, the soother. She only has it when she sleeps and I am not in a rush to get rid of it as she needs to fully get used to not having a bottle. All in good time.

Here is our precious, brave, beautiful little girl...