My Journal - Week 55 (09Sep10)

Progress Progress everywhere, now how about a straw?!

It is always important to talk about accomplishments.  And it seems with Hunter, they come in groups.  I believe that it's not that Hunter is gifted to produce milestones in threes, I think it more has to do with the fact that I will attempt a group of things for him to try all the same time.  This time, after the standing and all I thought to myself, let's try the Nuby Sip and Flip flexible straw cup.  I had purchased this cup about a month of so ago, knowing that I needed a different sort of cup/bottle for Hunter's juice.  Since Hunter drinks his milk, water and juice, I wanted him to realize that each one comes in a different container.  I wanted to stop putting them all in bottles.  At one time I had put the water and juice in to his sippy cups.  However, I found that when he drank out of the sippy cups he drank a tremendous amount less then he would from his bottle.  I know that this was because it is just harder work to drink from a sippy cup rather then a bottle.  And after realizing that he definitely wasn't getting the amount of fluids I wanted him to because of the sippy cups, I resorted back to his bottles for the last month.

Today I busted out the Nuby Flip and Sip Straw cup.  He used it like a champ.  And of course he would!  He's Hunter!  And why this surprises me (still), I am not really even sure.  He will do what ever you want him to, so long as you give him few tries to acclimate to it!  Even though I know that he will do this, and I am the first to say, never limit your child, I still laugh that he does these things that I ask of him.

Here are some pictures of the learning experience, (not for Hunter) for me - once again!

I don't know Mommy, what exactly is this thing and what do you want me to do with it?

Okay, I will try it.  I am not too sure if I will like it, but I will try.

Humm, not too bad!  And I even get juice as a reward?  Pretty neat!  I love my juice.

Ha!  Now I am an old pro at this!  I will even do it for Grandma!

Look at me go!  I am something else, aren't I?  Yep, I know I am smart and cute to boot!

Seriously, Hunter is smart.  And he makes sure I know it every time we do something involving skill.  I am so grateful that I always had told Hunter the words for the actions he had done since he was born.  Every time he sucked from his bottle, I would say "suck, suck" or for his sippy cups, "sip, sip".  I think it really was beneficial for when I brought him the straw cup and straight out told him to "suck, suck" and "sip, sip".  He knew exactly what I wanted him to do with the straw and we obviously then had success!  My recommendation for anyone trying to teach the use of a straw, is to do these things.  Explain what you want them to do, and I also found that a few demonstrations from Mommy using his straw cup couldn't hurt either.  Today I learned an additional two things as a result of teaching Hunter how to use a straw.  Hunter knows exactly what I mean by the words "suck" and "sip", and he also is a visual learner.

Yay for Hunter!!