Critique my cup plan

[pumpkin]

DD refuses to drink except from the breast. No bottle, no cup, nothing. She also isn't a huge solids eater. Probably getting 90% or more of her food from breastmilk. She is also very unpredictable. I can feed her well and she won't eat again for hours or I can feed her well and 30 minutes later she is ravenous.

Because of this I have only left DD a few times (3) and never more than an hour. I always make sure she is rested, well fed, and then top her off right before I leave.

I really need her to drink from something else. Right now if I say need to go to the dentist I have to bring DH and DD with and he has to try to keep her happy in the waiting room. It would be easier for everyone if they could stay home playing.

She is technically capable of drinking from a variety of cups. She just won't take more than a sip or two. She has her Dad's stubborn streak.

Here is my plan. DH isn't too keen on it.

I leave her at home, fed, but without worrying about timing my departure after a particularly big meal and a great mood.

I leave pumped milk and what seems to be her preferred cup.

I go to the coffee shop that is less than 5 minutes away. Seriously, from phone call to back in my living room would be less than 5 minutes.

I stay at the coffee shop for an hour and hope DD decides to eat while I am gone.

[Monkeygrrl]

Why isn't your DH ok with this plan? Does he just not want to deal with a child who is fussy and not liking the fact that mom is not available to her? Because, imo, that's life when you decide to become a parent. Sometimes you are not the favorite parent and sometimes you have to do the hard job. That's life. (Totally *not* a slam on your DH. Just sayin'.)

At 11mo, you should be able to leave her with DH and run your errands. And it's not stretching it to expect her to be able to drink from a sippy cup (or regular cup, whatever you are using). It's ridiculous to expect you to take them both everywhere you go, just because your daughter doesn't like being without you. Maybe her and DH need to figure out something fun to do on their own. Read books, play with toys, take a bath, have a sippy cup, play with bananas and peaches, etc.

The reality is, you aren't going to be gone forever and they will survive.

Find out *why* DH doesn't like the plan. Maybe you can do shorter periods of time. Maybe you just need to hire a babysitter and drop her off with a cup and go from there. Yes, then you are paying someone to deal with the fussy or happy baby, whichever the case might be. But then it doesn't matter if DH is keen on the idea of taking care of his own child for a short period of time, either. lol

Hope you find something that works!

peace...

[*Erin*]

i think that sounds fine! wonder why dh is reluctant? maybe he is afraid she will become upset and he doesn't feel like he can comfort her? praise him in advance for what a loving and attentive and capable daddy he is to DD, maybe remind him lovingly that he is her parent, too, and it's a really *good* thing that he can jump in and love her and comfort her without it being all on you-parenting is a team sport i hope it goes really well, it's HEAVEN to get away for a while!

[carmel23]

Originally Posted by *Erin*

i think that sounds fine! wonder why dh is reluctant? maybe he is afraid she will become upset and he doesn't feel like he can comfort her? praise him in advance for what a loving and attentive and capable daddy he is to DD, maybe remind him lovingly that he is her parent, too, and it's a really *good* thing that he can jump in and love her and comfort her without it being all on you-parenting is a team sport i hope it goes really well, it's HEAVEN to get away for a while!

I voted "until DH calls...." but that was before I read the post

I think you should plan to stay away for at least an hour, and stick to that. I do agree that you should discuss with DH why he thinks he can't give DD a sippy cup... did he have a bottle trial that failed miserably?

Is he scared that the same think might happen with the cup??

[sunfish21]

I would guess that if you were able to do this repeatedly over many days that you would see some results. The baby isn't 2 months old, and it might be good for both DH and DD to know that they are ok together and ok with cups!

[CookAMH]

Only an hour? I honestly think she'll hold off just fine and refuse the bottle and wait for you. Learning the cup won't be a one time event.

[stormborn]

Have you tried anything else in the cup besides milk? Dd2 wouldn't drink milk from a cup but she would accept water, because it was something different I guess. Maybe that would either hold your little one over for the short times you'll be gone or get her used to the cup?

I think it sounds like a good plan though. Maybe if you gave your dh some ideas for distractions he'd be ok with it. By that age we usually had a few 'magic' activities that would make the baby happy even without the favored parent (ie the one with the breasts); bath, walk, other kids, etc.

[Lineymom]

[QUOTE=stormborn;15092618]Have you tried anything else in the cup besides milk? Dd2 wouldn't drink milk from a cup but she would accept water, because it was something different I guess. Maybe that would either hold your little one over for the short times you'll be gone or get her used to the cup?

QUOTE]



My kids never took breast milk from a cup. At that age they were all about drinking daddy's ice tea out of his glass, though. They liked water in a sippy as well.

[Emmery'sMom]

Try something else out of the cup and have DH offer her a fav food instead.

My DD is a great eater (when she's not teething) and she loves her sippy, but she will not drink breastmilk from it- only ice cold water or cold chamomile tea.