Tag Archives: leche

I’m the Mommy to a Milk Monster!!

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We go through 4 gallons of milk in my house a week…easily…and that’s on a good week. Sometimes I avoid drinking any or won’t have cereal, because I don’t want my guys to run out. However lately, it seems like I can’t keep enough milk in the fridge. My 2.5 year old drinks non-fat skim and the 1.5 year old consumes Vitamin D whole milk…our fridge is full of milk! I guess it’s kind of our fault, maybe we’ve pushed milk on them a little too much, so it’s become a crutch to pacify them or help them fall asleep. MY BAD! But, enough is enough and it’s time to cut back.

As it is, I try to only offer him maybe 4 ounces at a time, but he’ll beg for more… and since I am not the lone person who pours his cups…my version of 4 ounces may not be the same as the others! Just saying…hehe

From a health standpoint, I have healthy boys and when Isaiah hits the 2 year mark, he’ll be going to non-fat too, so it’s not a weight issue on either end, but I know doctors and “experts” warn about food allergies, iron issues, constipation and/or too many extra calories and not enough other nutritious foods. The things is…and I know “guidelines” are always being redefined…but when I was a kid I recall drinking milk all the time, and I turned out fine!

But seriously, another problem with all this milk consumption is the amount of “pee” it produces! I mean when my child can get through a night with just 1 overnight diaper and his pajamas and sheets are dry, it’s like a victory for me. Plus, it’s about that time to potty train, so how will he every be able to get through a night dry when he’s all milked up!?!?

It’s certainly time for the tough love with his leche. The good thing is that boys of my sons are on the high end, in the 90-percentile of the charts, and it’s been that way since birth. Raef isn’t just drinking milk and not eating or drinking other items…it’s just he loves his milk that much!

I don’t think it’ll be easy easy getting my milk monster to ease up on his milk consumption, but it’s time for this Mommy to put her foot down, and hopefully I can fix this before little brother gets in the habit and becomes my milk monster number 2!

Bottled Up, It’s a Sippy Situation

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My younger son just turned 16 months and finally has more than 2 teeth! Just like any dutiful parent, we’ve been attempting to slowly wean him off the bottle and to a sippy cup since he turned 1. He’ll do it sometimes… I mean I have no problems getting him to drink his water out of a sippy cup or a straw cup…but when it comes to his leche (MILK) forget about it!!! I’m not sure if it’s a comfort thing like before he’s going to sleep or if he just has to have a bottle instead of a sippy cup with the “good stuff!”

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I’ve been trying to recognize any potential patterns for when he’ll take his leche in a sippy cup, but I think it’s only been when he REALLY wants it, or maybe we were out and running errands or in the car. I guess it’s his “bedtime” routine. And I’ll admit, even though I try to offer it in a sippy cup first, if he needs to go down and is going to do the whole fussy song and dance, I’ll cave and just let him have the bottle because I know it’ll calm him down.

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And, it’s not like he doesn’t have a full array of sippy cups available to him. I have not only bought him his own to differentiate from big brother’s…but I have bought him ones similar to his brother’s because you know, they’re always more interested in what’s not theirs! Ay yi yi… I have tried different styles and colors, shapes and sizes…I’ve had most success with the one with a more nipple-like spout..but still, he won’t drink leche from it consistently.

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The first time around with Baby #1, it was cold turkey, a done deal…one day we stopped giving him a bottle and he had no issue with his sippy cup. I know every baby is different and some never take a sippy cup, or always rejected the bottle… but seriously!!?? haha! In my mind I think well, if he wants it bad enough he’ll just have to accept what he’s given…but yeah like I said earlier I’ll bend and just give him what he wants – so I can have some peace and quiet! I know as they get teeth it’s really it’s really best for their gums and dental development to ditch the bottle, and since Isaiah only had 2 teeth up to this point, I wasn’t really trippin…but now it’s time to give it up!! My goal is to have him transitioned by the new year…wish me luck!

And — please if you’ve had this issue…tell me what worked (or didn’t) for you!!!