Andi’s exciting life.

I am so thrilled that Falco is nearly to the age (12 months) when he can switch from formula to cow’s milk. Formula is expensive, inconvenient, and smells terrible, and I can’t wait to be rid of it. The formula companies try to sell the fact that toddlers should stay on “Stage Two” formula because it has more nutrients than milk, but I’m not buying it. He is already on Stage Two formula because his formula consumption went down as he started eating more solids, but I feel pretty sure he can get what he needs from food. I’d rather give him a vitamin supplement than keep giving formula. (I should say here that Falco has done really, really well on formula despite all my concerns that he could not be breastfed. It’s not the poison the lactivists make it out to be.) The plan is to start gradually adding milk to his formula during his twelfth month to get him used to it, and then make the switch on his first birthday. Somehow, it is not OK to switch him completely now, but in four weeks it’s fine…

Not only is 12 months the age to switch to cow’s milk, it’s also when he is supposed to give up bottles. I haven’t really figured out the logistics of this one yet. Right now he drinks milk in the morning, before his nap, and before bed. The morning bottle will be easy to give up because he doesn’t really ask for it or notice if we skip it. The other two, however, are ingrained in his sleep routine. Drinking his bottle is the last thing he does before getting into bed, which I realize is a problem that I have created. I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes. I’ll probably first try giving him milk in a cup beforehand and then hold him with his pacifier in place of the bottle for a few minutes before putting him to bed. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just try giving him a cup instead of bottle and seeing what he does. That doesn’t fix the association of milk before sleep though. Hopefully if we just go cold turkey it will be fine after a day or two. I have no plans to take away his pacifier since he only uses it to sleep, and hopefully that will be a good substitute for the bottle. As far as I’m concerned, he can still use it when he’s in first grade as long as it never leaves his bed.

Can you believe that I am about to have a one-year-old? I kind of can’t. Soon I won’t feel like I have a baby anymore but a kid instead. As long as he can’t walk or talk though, he’s still a baby to me!