The Battle of the Sippy Cup

I'm on day five of the Battle of the Sippy Cup, and boy oh boy is my son putting up a strong fight. I started at nine months letting him play with sippy cups--bite on them, take a few sips here and there, just basically inspect them. Now, it's time to bid the bottle goodbye.

And this is so hard.

Because....it's not like anything else in that my son has to drink milk. It's not like taking away a pacifier, because a child can live without a pacifier. My current plan (that I've mostly stuck to--I had one slip up two days ago when I couldn't take any more screaming) is that I've been letting him have bottles right before naptime and bedtime. That's it.

So, I'm worried for about a bazillion reasons, but I don't know what else to do. We've tried seven different sippy cups, and I'm at my wit's end. I keep giving him the sippy cup over and over and over. Most of the time, he throws it on the ground or screams or swats it away. And then, sometimes, he takes it. And I think thank goodness!! On a funny note, he does a much better job of taking his sippy cup when he is around his older friends who are boys--funny how that male ego starts early (wink, wink, just kidding).

Also, I'm pretty much convinced that there's nothing you can suggest that I haven't already tried. Three times. So, onward we go though the baby may scream! Onward we go though I'm worried sick that he's not getting enough milk/liquids! Onward we go toward moving him away from that stinkin' bottle!

My friends keep reminding me that he won't leave for college still drinking out of a bottle. I'm trying desperately to keep that perspective. ;)