Bottle Free!

Two nights ago, I used the last bottle liner for Seth's morning bottle. He's been bottle-free at daycare for at least a month, but I've still been giving him a bottle before bed and in the morning, and on the weekends, I've been giving him a bottle before naps. When I used the last bottle liner, however, I decided not to buy anymore. So last night before bed, I made a sippy cup of formula mixed with milk, and Seth didn't complain one bit. He didn't drink much, but he went right to sleep, as usual. This morning, I made another sippy cup when he woke up, and he drank the whole thing without stopping--no complaints at all. And again tonight before bed, he drank his sippy cup without batting an eye. Woo-hoo! Bye-bye bottles!

I'm hoping, too, that I'm on my last container of formula. I've been mixing milk with his formula, and he seems to be handling it fine. Next week I'll up the milk a bit more, and see how it goes. I'm giddy at the prospect--no more bottles AND no more formula! This means we're even closer to-- *gasp!*--no more diapers! Okay--I'm getting a little ahead of myself. But we're definitely making progress. I washed all the bottles tonight for the last time. Praise be!

Of course, I'm lucky that Seth never developed an attachment to his bottles. His pacifier, though? That's a different story. I think he's getting more attached as he gets older. But I'm not worried. I have no problems with the pacifier--other than keeping track of them! I imagine we'll wean from the pacifier the same way it happened with William--just kind of on accident. All of our "weaning" milestones have happened that way--nursing, bottles, pacifiers, even sleeping to some extent. Well, maybe not by accident, but without any purposeful plan or agenda. I never forced the issue--it just kind of happened. And in hindsight, it happened when everyone was ready. I'm generally a nonconfrontational person, so that's probably why it worked well for me. I assume that had I ever gotten to the point where I couldn't stand something anymore, I would have forced the issue. But maybe not. Regardless, I'm glad things have worked out the way they have.

And speaking of milestones, we're getting closer to potty training with William! Several times in recent days, he's told me that he wants to poop on the potty, but then he chickens out when we actually get to the potty. But that's okay--it's progress! And this morning, he woke up dry and peed in the potty when he got up. That's a first. He often tells me when he's peeing in his diaper, too. All good signs. We might try underwear this weekend and see what happens. I have hope that he'll have his "breakthrough" soon. But of course, I'm not pushing it! (It isn't my nature.)