Milk and the Miracle

Here's our success story! I finally got Lydia to drink (strawberry) milk! Hooray!

But first, backing up a bit. And don't worry, half way through you might be asking if I have a point... I do.

Ever since Lydia turned one, I've been wanting her to drink cow's milk, although I was nervous at first about allergies, since I am clearly allergic to milk. Milk+Me= no bueno! So that was one of my biggest fears. Usually if she's allergic, her skin around her mouth develops little red spots/blotches, that kind of look like acne. I'm thankful it shows up so clearly and fast, so I can tell what's bothering her right away. Luckily she's not allergic. So, I thought once we figured if she was clear of that she would take to milk really fast and love it.

Boy was I wrong.

For the longest time she's always taken water and occasionally juice in her orange and blue sippy cup. She is just a water-lovin' baby. It's kinda funny. So, when I tried putting milk into her blue sippy, every time she'd grab it to drink it, she'd make a sour face and let all the milk spill out of her mouth. She went for it multiple times thinking there was something other than milk in her sippy cup and then was sorely disappointed. When she didn't take to the plain milk, I noticed friends' comments on facebook mentioning to add chocolate or strawberry to the milk, to coat or hide the thickness of whole milk. So, off I experimented!

Nada.

I was talking to my friend earlier this week and asked about association with sippies and if I should get her a new one just for milk. I kinda figured she always associated her blue and orange one with water, so maybe I should get another one just for milk. My friend agreed and said she has done the same thing with her kid and it worked for them. So off to the store I go to get a new sippy. Hay, I'm willing to try anything... I don't want to nurse forever! I do enjoy the experience, but there comes a time when you don't want your baby pointing to your boob and then her mouth, at Church. That's kind of embarrassing hahaha. (And it happens all the time!)

Anyway.. Soooooo I thought I tried everything:

Whole milk plain, chocolate milk, strawberry milk, half milk-half water-strawberry flavored, in a baby's bottle, warm, in a cup, pretending to drink it myself, etc... The only thing I didn't try was pumping/hand expressing my own milk into her cup going halfsies with whole milk. There isn't really a possible way for me to do that. But, you get the idea.. it was becoming very frustrating for me. I just wanted her to drink her milk! I want her bones to grow strong and I want her to enjoy drinking milk.. If it doesn't harm her, and aids her health and growth, I am all for it. :) 

So I got the new cup for her, with handles because that's how she likes it, but I got the one with a hard spout, and she's used to a soft one she usually chews on. Oops. It took me multiple tries for her to even TRY to suck on the spout. She'd shake her head and push her arms against the cup. She did NOT want it. 

I felt at a loss. I know it sounds silly, but I couldn't figure out what else to do.

But you wanna know something? I thought I had tried everything, when really I had forgot to ask the One person for help, who could help me the most - the Lord. 

And it wasn't even like it clicked in my head at the time to just ask Him. It was later when I was saying a prayer over food or something, I can't even remember, and the thought just came to me to ask for help with Lydia and for her to start drinking her milk and enjoy it. Later, when I offered her sippy cup again, she tried sucking on the spout and realized delicious strawberry milk came through those three tiny holes. And she was happy and kept on suckin'! It was then that I realized my prayer was answered. The request that I had asked for so simply, was given. A little miracle happened. If only I had asked sooner.

Lydia still doesn't take her sippy with milk all the time; she'll still chug water over milk, but I believe with time she'll learn to really like it. She gets better at it as the days go on. You know when they say "it's the little things"... well, it really is the little things that matter, and I'm glad the Lord sees it that way, too.

It's funny I feel like I was good at raising a baby. I felt like I knew what to do at least 85% of the time with Lydia her first year. But now as a toddler I feel like I am starting all over again. I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing with her. Is she supposed to have shorter/longer naps? One nap a day? Cut her morning nap out? Am I supposed to put her to bed earlier? Am I now allowed to give her certain foods? Should I have a structured day routine? What should I be encouraging her to do at this age? Should I teach her more signs? Why isn't she picking up on the ones I've been signing this whole time? The questions go on. It's all a learning experience, but at times I feel like I make more mistakes with her now than I did before. I guess I should go study! Haha

I just hope this message, however insignificant, can reach moms wherever they are and let them know they're not failures, even if something new and challenging comes their way. Embrace it and learn from it, and don't forget to include the Lord. 

He usually has a better outcome than you do anyway.