New accomplishments

Jude-drinks-from-straw

I’ve been working with Jude for a while on trying to get him to drink well from a sippy cup, in anticipation of the wean off of the bottle. He’s done pretty well, except for the fact that he refuses to drink in any other position than lying flat on his back. This all started when his reflux was pretty bad, and that just seemed to be the most comfortable position for him. It got to be harder and harder to hold him in our arms when we were giving him a night-time bottle. And finally, when he started grabbing the bottle, preferring to hold it himself, we let him and resigned ourselves to the fact that our little guy was just getting more independent. We were concerned about the drinking lying down, though, because of risks of ear infections, and also that, quite frankly, he was going to have to learn someday how to drink sitting up! I thought sippy cups would help, but finally figured out that he hated tilting them up and hitting himself in the nose because of the way the spout was situated. I decided to try teaching him how to drink with a straw to avoid those issues. I tried special expensive straw cups designed to “teach” babies how to drink through a straw, I googled for advice, tried baby juiceboxes, gently squeezing the box to give him the idea, but he still didn’t get it. We’ve tried off and on (more off than not, if I’m being honest) for about the last 4 months. I decided to try again last night, and thought maybe something thicker, that would kind of stay in the straw would help him get the idea that sucking would yield a reward. I also realized that perhaps water or even milk wasn’t quite enough of a treat to motivate him. So I made him a yogurt smoothie with his favorite fruits, mango and banana. I sucked the smoothie up into the straw and then squeezed a little out onto the tip of the straw. He put it in his mouth, and tasted the smoothie on the end of the straw. All of a sudden, this look of realization passed over his face and he suddenly got it. He wanted more, and to do that, he was going to have to suck, sitting up. I tell you, it was the coolest thing, because, honestly, I haven’t really “taught” him anything yet that he didn’t just learn to do on his own developmentally. To see this moment of understanding dawn on him was just so neat. I know it’s just a little thing, but I’m excited anyway. I’m so proud of you buddy!