get your child w/ Ds off of a bottle?
Did you just go cold turkey and offer something else like a sippy cup or straw or did you take your time and wait until they thoroughly had the hang of the other type of cop and then take the bottle away? Or is your 6 year old still on the bottle? (MINE IS!!)
I'm thinking that Micah's aversion is so strong to a straw/cup that if we don't just try to cold-turkey him he's never going to give it up. But... he doesn't necessarily know how (because he won't try...) to use a straw and due to the amount of thickening he needs I don't think a sippy cup would work for him.
Emma's kindof the same way, but I think she'd forgo all liquids (like Brianna did...) before learning to sip on a sippy cup or straw... hmm... Just thinking about the possibility of getting those two off the bottle. Emma will be SIX this month!!
I am having trouble getting my almost-3-year-old son off the bottle and he doesn't have Ds... Walmart carries Nuby sippy cups that have lids that feel almost the same as bottles, they are soft instead of stiff. That might be something to try to start with? I think you could even enlarge the holes for thickened drinks. They do not have those valves.
ReplyDeleteThankfully Bailey went straight from feeding tube to sippy cup. She was already over a year old when we stopped using the tube and her therapists thought a sippy cup would work, and it did. Best of luck though.
ReplyDeleteWith Aubrey(non-ds) it was a nightmare, but we used the cups with the soft spout and it worked.
I went straight from breast feeding to straw cup with Aidan, but my friend went cold turkey with her 3 year old - straight to a straw cup from bottles. The cup she and I both used was a take n toss straw cup made by the first years that you can squeeze a little to make liquid come out until they get the hang of it. Neither of our boys are big liquid drinkers. Aidan drinks mostly milk, but he also likes smoothies. My friend's son drinks a lot of smoothies for calories (he has had trouble gaining weight). Good luck, it's hard no matter what.
ReplyDeleteCold turkey somewhere around age 2 1/2-3. We did the thickening thing, too. I'd give milkshakes a shot. They are very motivating in our house. Honey bear straw cups worked great since you can squeeze the goods up the straw until they get the hang of it.
ReplyDeleteWith Xander, we tried cold turkey. He just refused any liquids, even on a spoon. Then, that back fired big time on us because when after a few days, we tried to give him the bottle back, he wouldn't take it! He went MONTHS refusing all liquids. It was a nerve wracking time...cause even more issues with constipation...and we had to very diligently watch for dehydration. He was in feeding therapy, so we had a professional watching him during this time too. It took months, and finally one day, he picked up a sippy cup and drank out of it(but only one certain kind at first). Soon after that, he figured out how to drink out a straw. So, I do NOT recommend the cold turkey approach. You may create more problems than you have now!!!!
ReplyDeleteI recommend letting them play with a cup with liquid in it. Let Emma chew on one or something(then she'll realize something is in it). That's how we introduced cups to our other kids. I was so worried about Xander's age that I tried to do this step quickly and I lived to regret it!
I'll also note that we did the cold turkey under the care of an OT who was a feeding specialist. His refusal of foods/new drinking vessels was purely behavioral. I don't know if I'd recommend that approach for E or M, maybe for B. Those take and toss cups were great, too, btw.
ReplyDeleteMy son had thickened fluids as well. I used a sippy cup, but took the spill proof spouts out so he didn't have to make much effort to get the liquids out.
ReplyDeleteBen had a very difficult time transferring off a bottle. We did buy a set from Walmart that included @ five different tops to a sippy cup. The first step was similar to what "Lou" describes...it was about the same texture as a bottle nipple, but it was shaped like a sippy cup spout. Then, we gradually moved up the cylce until we got to the hard sippy cup, the straw, and eventually the open cup.
ReplyDelete(With my other "non DS" kids we used milkshakes for inspiration... and I've read how alot of moms on the DS boards start with juice boxes, and squeeze the boxes to help their little ones get the idea).
Good luck!!
Can you do a sippy cup without the valve? The ones we got before we went to UA had removable valves, so you could take that out and maybe the thicker liquids would be able to go through. It wouldn't require quite as much suction as with the valve, but if the liquid is thick he should still have to suck a little.
ReplyDeleteIt was quite by accident. She had a sore throat and wouldn't drink her bottle for several days. All her liquids had to be given by spoon. When her throat was better she didn't want her bottle back. I agree with Shelley, I put sippy cups in the toy box, and once I saw her sucking on the tip once or twice I added water with a little hole cut on the top. She eventually figured it out. It seems with her that she has to feel that things are HER idea, or she won't do what we want her to.
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