One small leap for Mia kind...

Our little munchkin is two!  It is quite odd when to consider that Greg and I have been at this parenting thing for two years.  In some ways I feel just as inexperienced as I was when I started, and in other ways I feel a whole new appreciation for the growth we've all experienced throughout this journey.

New parents @ 5 weeks

Sometimes Greg and I have conversations where we say, "Next time, we will do it like this. I don't care if x, y or z happens, it's gonna be this way."  It sort of reminds me of when we were kids (everybody does this, I am sure) and you see your parent do something that you don't like, because of course at that time you cannot see in any way how it might benefit you, even if it's for your discipline or training, and you tell yourself, "I will never do it like that.  When I have kids, I will parent completely differently than my own." I am quite certain stored somewhere in my belongings (or my parents' -- please don't look!) there is a journal entry with a running list dedicated to the things I would never do to my future children.  And I'm sure I had it all figured out perfectly.  *Sigh*  Kids!!

Well, in this case, I honestly would do something differently the next time around, but we are where we are, and now we are dealing with the present and just seeking solutions.  And here's where the one small leap comes in...

3.5 yr old Suri drinking bottle in Katie Holmes' lap
Photo Credit

Mia's 1st bday party,
guzzling the bottle

We have been trying to phase out Mia's bottles for milk.  Looking back, either of us could have tried harder when she was younger, but sometimes change is not convenient, and I didn't see a rush, and Suri Holmes was still drinking out of a bottle so I figured, what's the big deal?  Well, what I didn't realize was that as Mia got older and more independent and more attached to her bottle, it'd be harder to break!

However, our successes have come in this form:

When we are out in public, or riding in the car, Mia will take milk in a cup.  For some reason or another, this does not phase her, and this has been "normal" for quite some time.

When we are at home though, and it's naptime, bed time, or wake-up time, a bottle is always requested and often demanded.  If one tried to pour it in a cup, pointing up at the cabinets would happen, and Mia would desperately cry out "bottle!"

But as nature would have it, these bottles, after enduring much wear & tear, are starting to break down on us.  The silicone nipples have withstood just about enough biting from Mia and are cracking.  In fact, just within the past month I've had to throw several out and we're down to only a few to make it through a couple of days.

Today before naptime, I had given Mia her bottle, and she was laying on the changing table, I noticed a puddle of milk on her chin.
"Uh-oh... buh-il (bottle)," Mia says.
"Uh-oh, is your bottle "broken?" I ask.  Upon a quick examination, I notice there's a small tear in the nipple.
"Yeah."
"Okay, then I think we should go get a cup.  If your bottle's broken, we can drink it in a cup."

I go get a cup of milk for Mia and she keeps saying, "Buh-il bro-en" (bottle broken).  She holds the cup while we read stories, but barely drinks out of it.  I put her down for her nap and a few minutes later, she loudly cries,
"Mommy?  Mommmmmmeeeeee?"
I come into her room.

"What is it Mia?"
[mumbles something unintelligible]
"Pup."
"You want your cup?"
"Yeah" *nods head*

I get the cup and let her drink a bit more and then leave her alone.  Check the monitor a few minutes later, she's snuggled asleep, no whining for more milk or a bottle.

Yay!!