What to Expect the First Year (102 page)

And if you're still not persuaded to switch to a cup in the next month or two, consider these potential developmental drawbacks of continued bottle use: A toddler who's constantly toting and nipping from a bottle has only one hand free for playing and exploring—and a mouth too full to speak out of.

If your baby hasn't started on a cup yet, it's time to make the introduction—
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for tips on how to begin. While introducing the cup is relatively easy at this age, getting your baby to give up the bottle entirely and take all of his or her liquid from a cup is a little more challenging. Following these suggestions can make the switch from all bottle to all cup a little smoother:

Time it right.
While you shouldn't expect your baby to be completely bottle-weaned until closer to a year, there's no reason not to start the process now. But be smart about timing. It's best not to start weaning your baby from the bottle if he or she is sick, teething, or otherwise out of sorts. And wait until baby has settled down again after a big move, new child care, or any other stressful time before pulling the bottle plug. Also hold off on weaning if your little one hasn't yet mastered the cup. Get the cup up and running before you retire the bottle—otherwise baby won't have anything to drink from.

Go slow.
Unless you're planning a cold turkey approach to kicking the bottle habit—a technique probably better suited for an older toddler whose help
can actually be enlisted in the plan—the best way to transition from a bottle to a cup is by gradually phasing out the bottles while phasing in the cup. There are a number of ways to do this:

• Drop one bottle-feeding session at a time and replace it with a cup. Allow a few days or a week before replacing the next one with a cup. Middle-of-the-day bottles will be easier to cut out first. The early morning and bedtime ones are usually harder to give up—as well as any bottle baby takes before nap-times, especially if it's been used as a fall-asleep habit (in other words, it has become a sleep association).

• Put less formula or milk (formula for babies under a year, whole milk for those over a year) in each bottle than your baby normally takes and top off each bottle-feeding with a cup. Slowly decrease the amount of formula or milk in the bottle while you increase the amount of formula or milk in the cup.

• Swap out the formula or milk in bottles with water, starting with one feeding at a time (serve that feeding in a cup). Pretty soon, your baby may decide that bottles aren't worth it just for water alone—and even if he or she does cling to water bottles, at least no harm will come to baby's teeth. Juice, if it's on the menu at all, should be served up only in a cup. Just make sure, as you transition to cup, that your little one gets enough total formula or milk, or enough in the way of other calcium foods (say, cheese and yogurt).

Banish the bottles.
Out of sight, out of mind—hopefully. To make the transition a little easier, start stashing the bottles behind closed cabinet doors, where your baby can't see them. When you're ready to call it quits on the bottles altogether, box them up, give them away, or recycle them promptly. At the same time, make sure your baby spies cups around the house often—in the refrigerator, on the kitchen counter, on the dining room table, in the diaper bag.

Go cup crazy.
Choose cups with features designed to charm your little sipper. Cups with bright colors and cute designs, or see-through cups that allow baby to watch the liquid swish around. Valve-free sippy cups with straws, cups with handles, cups without handles, bottom-weighted cups that don't tip over (but can roll around … how fun!). Cups indented in the middle or shaped like an hourglass for easy gripping … or ones made out of rubber for even easier gripping. Cups that are tiny enough to fit completely in baby's small hands, or cups that baby can wear as a bracelet (they're shaped like donuts). Cups with silicone spouts (they feel more nipplelike), ones with slanted interiors that keep drinks angled toward baby as he or she drinks, or open cups with inserts that control the flow of liquid anywhere along the cup's rim (in other words, without a cover and spout). The options are endless, so experiment with a few (or a lot) to see what your baby likes best.

Put the cup in baby's hands.
It may take longer for your little one to finish a cup of formula than it did a bottle, but with practice, that should turn around fast. Try to avoid interfering with baby's practice (maneuvering the cup into his or her mouth yourself, for instance, or constantly correcting technique), even if it's messier or less efficient than you'd like. Remember, the bottle was in baby's control, so the cup needs to be, too.

Expect less.
Less milk, that is. Expect your baby to take fewer ounces of formula during the weaning process. Once he or she adjusts to taking all daily liquid from
a cup, you'll see the number of ounces tick up again. Keep in mind that older babies approaching their first birthday need fewer total ounces of formula (only 16 to 24 ounces) than younger babies do, making the end of that 12-month mark a perfect time to wean.

Teach by example.
Babies at this age love imitating adults (particularly adults they love). Take advantage of this urge to mimic and drink from a sippy or straw cup along with your baby.

Be positive.
Every time your baby uses a cup, serve up positive reinforcement—clap, praise, make up a cup song to keep up your little one's motivation. Try toasting, too. Show your tot how to clink his or her sippy cup with your cup, along with a chorus of “Cheers!” or “Bottoms up!” It will quickly become a beloved ritual for your baby at meal and snack times. On the flip side, avoid criticizing your baby for slow progress with the cup or belittling your little one for clinging to the bottle (that will only make him or her cling more tightly).

Be patient.
Habits of a year or longer generally don't get kicked overnight. You can expect Mission Bottle Wean to take several weeks, even a month or two, to be completely accomplished. Hang in there, and help your baby hang in there, too. Be consistent (and don't cave—once you've dropped a bottle from the schedule, keep it dropped) and you'll be rewarded, eventually. If it takes more time than you'd anticipated, that's fine (even if you don't end up fully weaning until months after the first birthday deadline)—as long as you're gradually making progress.

Fill baby up with love.
For most babies, the bottle provides not only nourishment but also comfort. As you limit the amount of time your baby has the bottle, be prepared to fill in the comfort gap with extra hugs, extra play sessions, an extra bedtime story on your lap to help your baby feel secure in the face of change. A new comfort object—a blanket or a stuffed animal—can also help ease the transition.

“My baby just started taking steps, and she seems to be bowlegged.”

Bowed until 2, knock-kneed at 4, a typical tot's legs certainly won't give a supermodel a run for her money. But even the legs that grace fashion's top catwalks were likely bowed when they took their first steps. Almost all children are bowlegged (their knees don't touch when their feet are together) during the first 2 years of life, and the bowing becomes easier to notice once they start to stand. Then, as they spend more time walking, they typically become knock-kneed (their knees meet, but their ankles don't). Not until the preteen to teen years do the knees and ankles align and the legs appear to be shaped standardly straight. In the meantime, enjoy those adorable baby bows while you can.

If you have concerns about your little one's bowing, check with the pediatrician for reassurance.

“I feel like I'm living on the edge since my baby started to take his first steps. He trips over his own feet, bangs his head on table corners, topples off chairs. He's fearless, I'm not.”

Being a brand new walker can definitely trip a baby up. And slip him up, bump him up, and bruise him up … not to mention walk him into a whole lot of trouble fast. For baby, that means countless close calls and falls—for you, it means frazzled nerves and skipped heartbeats. But steel yourself, because misadventures on two feet will not deter your intrepid adventurer—and it's a good thing, too, or he'd never learn to get around on his own (or, in fact, learn much of anything at all). Mastering walking (and the climbing and running and kicking a ball and throwing and hopping and jumping to come) takes plenty of practice, along with lots of ups and downs (at this point, he may be down more than he's up). So don't bother running interference while he perfects his stride. Your role, other than that of proud but nervous spectator, is not to stand in the way—but to do everything possible to ensure that when your baby falls, he falls safely. While taking a tumble on the living room rug can bruise his ego, tumbling down the stairs can bruise a lot more. Bumping into the rounded edge of the sofa may draw some tears, but colliding with the sharp corner of a glass table may draw blood. To decrease the chance of serious injuries, be sure that your house is safe for your baby (
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). And even if you have removed the most obvious hazards from your baby's path, remember that the most important safety feature in your home is close and constant adult supervision.

Remember, too, that how you react to your baby's slip-ups shapes his response. Panic with each fall, and so will he. Worry endlessly about every bump, and he'll believe there's reason to worry. Shrieks of “Are you okay? Are you okay?” or dramatic gasps and shudders are sure to cue the crying—even if the fall didn't hurt. The idea is to protect him without becoming overprotective (which may make him overcautious). Respond instead with a calm “Oops, you fell down! You're all right. Up you go,” and you'll help your little trooper take minor tumbles in stride, getting right back on his feet without missing a beat.

“Our baby has just taken her first steps. What kind of shoes does she need now?”

The best shoes for a new walker are … no shoes at all. Since walking barefoot actually helps build arches and strengthen ankles, those tiny feet will develop best when they're bare, not covered and confined. But barefoot won't always cut it—as when your baby is outside and her feet need protection from broken glass, dog poop, or from being stepped on by other people's shoes. So it's time for a trip to the shoe store to look for shoes that are as close to bare feet as possible. Look for:

Just-right fit.
Your baby's shoes should fit her just right. Too big, and your baby may slip, slide, and even trip in them. Too small, and they'll pinch and restrict. Check the width by pinching the side of the shoe at its widest point. If you can grasp a tiny bit of it between your fingers, the width is just right. Check the length by pressing your thumb just beyond the tip of the big toe. If there's a thumb's width (about half an inch) of room, the length is right. Check the heel
fit by trying to slide your pinky between baby's heel and the back of the shoe. It should fit, but snugly. Reddened areas on baby's toes or feet when shoes are removed mean the fit is too tight.

Lightweight.
New walkers have a hard enough time putting one bare foot in front of another. The weight of a heavy shoe can make this tricky new skill even more challenging. So think lightweight: soft leather, canvas, or cloth.

Flexible nonslip soles.
Feet are flexible, and shoes should be, too. You should be able to bend the toe of the shoe up (about 40 degrees) easily. And look for a shoe that has good traction to help keep your baby on her feet. Nonskid leather or rubber soles, especially those equipped with grooves or bumps for when baby becomes a more proficient walker, will keep your baby from slipping as she walks and won't be so ground-gripping that it'll be hard for her to lift her feet. Even dress shoes should have good traction on the soles.

Padding.
The shoes should offer firm support but should be padded on the heel backs and around the ankles to minimize rubbing and on the bottom inside for comfort.

Secure closures.
Whether the shoes are secured with velcro, snaps, or laces, be sure that they are easy for you to secure onto baby's feet, but not so easy they can come loose by themselves (or be undone by baby's agile fingers). Slip-on shoes might be easy-on, but keep in mind that they're also easy-off (and can fall off easily, too).

Reasonable price.
Shoes should be built to take it, but they don't have to be built to last forever. After all, your baby will be growing out of them every 3 months or so.

Remember, too, that a good shoe is only as good as the sock in it. Socks, like shoes, should fit well and be of a material (such as cotton) that allows feet to breathe. Make sure they fit without restricting the foot, and that they don't bunch up or wrinkle. When socks start leaving marks on the feet, it's time to move up to the next sock size.

“Although she's been trying for some time, my baby hasn't yet pulled up to stand. Shouldn't she be able to by now?”

For babies, life's a never-ending series of physical challenges. The skills that grown-ups take for granted—rolling over, sitting up, standing—are for them major hurdles to be confronted and conquered. And no sooner is one new skill mastered than another looms ahead. For your baby, next up is pulling up—and it's no small feat on those two little feet.

As with all skills, there's a wide range of normal when it comes to pulling up. A few scrappy babies will pull themselves up by 6 months, others won't pull off pulling up until well after the first birthday, though the majority will fall (make that, stand) somewhere in between: The average age for pulling up is 9 months. A baby's weight may have an impact on when she first pulls up—a chunkier baby has more bulk to take with her than a lighter one does, and so the effort needed may be greater. On the other hand, some lightweights may lack the muscle power needed to pull to a stand, especially if their legs are on the scrawny side. The baby who's cooped up in a stroller, baby carrier, or bouncer much of the day won't be able to practice her pull-ups. True, too, of a baby who has no steady furniture around her to pull up on. Slippery shoes or socks
can also slip up pull-up efforts, making a bare foot the best foot to stand on.