The general rule at daycare centers is that you wean your baby off of a bottle when they are 12 months old. Well, the girls hit the 12-month mark in September, so it’s about time to get them off of bottles. But I haven’t really been in a hurry to get rid of them yet. I kind of like that they are getting those extra calories from all that milk they’re drinking. My poor twins are so eensy-beensie. At their one-year birthday they were still fitting into their 9-month size clothes! I’m sure it is because they were small at birth (they were each 5 pounds and some change). Their doctor has never said that their weight was a problem, so I guess they’re just little girls. It would be nice if they could pack on a few more pounds so they could sit forward-facing in their carseats, though.
Here’s how it all went down. We ran out of milk on Saturday. And we just decided not to give them a bottle before bed. Weaning became a reality.
The girls were extremely fussy that day. We had been running around getting the Big Boy to the town Christmas parade, returning his pop warner equipment, picking out and setting up a Christmas tree, and had already made a trip to the store. We still have some formula left over that we’ve been saving for emergency situations. But the girls had missed their nap and were just flat-out tired, so we skipped the night time bottle.
In the morning we still didn’t have any milk, and we had to rush out the door for Sunday School. So we skipped the bottles again. It was starting to look like we might be able to do this. And just like that, the twins are weaned.
The twins were pretty cool about weaning off of bottles. They’ve been using sippy cups for a while now, and we offer them a cup at meal times. Since quitting bottles, we just make sure that they have plenty of liquids throughout the day and get some calcium at each meal. Thankfully we were able to get them off of bottles before they became too dependent on them. I’ve heard that the night time bottle is the hardest for babies to give up, and I’m glad we don’t have to go through that struggle.
I am really, really, really, really, really, really (not sure if that is enough reallys) happy to be done with bottles. Like, I’m almost ecstatic about it. I shall explain why:
We have less annoyingly awkward dishes to wash and store. Man alive, washing bottles for 2 babies was a pain.in.the.rear. It takes forever to scrub each one’s top and bottom. They were everywhere, too. On the counter, in the sink, in the dishwasher, in the cupboards, and often on the floor somewhere. I have just been given the gift of SPACE. *Insert enormous smiley face emoticon*
It was an extra expense. Formula was really expensive, and switching to milk was only slightly easier on the pocketbook.
The bouncers can finally be a thing of the past. These cumbersome things have been taking up a chunk of my living room for over a year now. I’ve posted before that if you have 2 babies taking bottles, you can only hold one of them at a time. Bouncers are a great way for the other baby to get her bottle while one is being held. And I’ll admit, I’m a mom on the go-sometimes I just prop both of them in their bouncer at bottle time so I can fix my makeup before work or make dinner. I can’t wait to get rid of those things. Again, the gift of SPACE. *BIG SMILEY FACE*
Don’t be surprised if you get an invitation very soon to my “over the bottles” party. It will be kind of like an “over the hill” party only everyone will wear their big-girl panties and drink from red Solo cups. I think weaning your child is just a step below getting their driver’s license. I’m pretty sure that is the only thing that could be any cooler.