Stop Milking It - Wean for the Win!نموونە

Rock on Tommy!

The weaning example relating to my daughter is when we transitioned her from her bottle to a Tommee Tippee cup. From her perspective it was definitely more of a ‘jog on Tommy’ than a ‘Rock on Tommy’ situation! Lord have mercy. My little girl is one of the most chilled, happy, delightful people you could meet. But during the weaning process from bottle to cup she was angry, stressed, stroppy and defiant. She did not want to have a relationship with Tommee Tippee. She did not want to progress to the next stage of development by embracing the lovely red cup with the spouted lid and handles so she could hold it herself. She dug her heels in. She screamed, threw herself on the floor – full of disdain for good old Mr. Tippee.

She loved the comfort of the bottle, the cuddles she received in mine or her daddy’s arms while it was fed to her. But the reality was she needed to grow up. She needed to gain independence. We tried to stand our ground and she refused to drink all day so in the evening we would cave in and give her a bottle. We were advised to use the tough love approach but we struggled with this because of her defiance and refusal to drink. But the day came when the teat of her bottle got damaged and we couldn’t find a replacement. We were forced to go cold turkey. There were tears and tantrums – which included me and her dad! She clung to the old and familiar bottle and she resisted the new independence of Tommee Tippee with all of her might. She did not do weaning well! Interestingly though, she had no problem in embracing Tommy K (slang name for tomato ketchup in the UK) – she was more than happy to partake in the sweet red stuff, which as an aside, is a good accompaniment to a wiener.

Reflection

Do you see yourself reflected in any of the behaviours displayed by my daughter through her weaning experience?! I certainly have responded as she did during some weaning times in my life – I’ll share more on this tomorrow.

Why do you think we struggle so much during times of weaning – when something we have relied upon has been withdrawn?

What feelings and emotions do times of weaning tend to bring out in you personally?