Am I being unfair?

[Taler]

My 22 month old DD was having just one bottle of milk a day, first thing in the morning. She has always been used to slightly warmed-up milk in a bottle. Tried plenty of times to give her the milk in a cup but she always refused.

A few weeks ago we cut out the morning bottle. Partly because we have a holiday coming up and felt that was a good incentive to stop it and partly because I know ideally she "shouldn't" really be having a bottle after 1 (although I personally think that's too young!).

Any way I don't think she gets her daily quota of calcium (350ml a day I believe?) all the time (how do I know how much calcium is in one little yoghurt or a few chunks of cheese?) and am a little concerned.

But my main issue is that some mornings she actually asks for milk. When she does I'll say "yes darling, you're a big girl now and big girls drink from cups" (or something along those lines) but if I get as far as pouring the milk in the cup she never actually has any.

I feel I am depriving her of milk! And milk is good!

I have once or twice heated a little milk in a pan (would prefer her to drink milk cold but have no probs with it being heated) and pour it into a cup but she won't go near it!

Yet at nursery she has milk in a cup?!?!

What do I do???

[PotOfYoghurt]

Have you tried letting her choose a cup herself? Ie lift her up to the cupboard 'yes darling, what cup would you like it in?' Or perhaps letting her choose a special one from the shop?

[Taler]

We could open a 'cup shop' the amount of cups we have here! (It's like that Friends episode where Monica leaves Phoebe in charge of cups!).

Alas choosing her own cup hasn't worked so far.

[Allthatnonsense]

I suppose it's a bit like someone telling me to drink my tea of out stone wear rather than bone china. I have a preference and so does your daughter.
Maybe you could add a teeny bit of drinking chocolate to get her attention, then give it cold and then just cold milk.
Probably not recommended, but sometimes you can only catch flies with honey!

[MagpieCursedTea]

Will she drink water out of the cups?

[PotOfYoghurt]

Sometimes just filling a cup with milk and putting in on the table while they have their breakfast works... Halfway through there's a cry of 'miiilk....miiiiilllk....'

[purpleme12]

My daughter's the same age. She also has one bottle of milk a day although in our case it's before bed (we clean her teeth after). I worry about her getting the right amount of milk without it too. I tried recently with a beaker and milk in but she hardly drank any from there and I'd rather her have more milk to be honest so I'm going to continue with the bottle til she doesn't want it at the minute. If it's just one bottle a day I can't see the problem for the minute for your daughter

[letthemdrinktea]

how about letting her drink her milk through an exciting curly straw or something? Might get her a bit more interested

[SevenSeconds]

I wouldn't worry too much about calcium. If she's having cheese, yoghurt and some milk at nursery, she's doing fine. I seem to remember there's the same amount of calcium in 40g cheese as in 250ml milk.

Now you've cut out the bottle I wouldn't reintroduce it. You'll just have to cut it out again at some point, and she'll probably start drinking from a cup soon. You say you have lots of cups, does that include open cups? My DS1 never drank from a sippy cup at any age - always refused it so he went straight to an open cup.

[Taler]

She has plenty of open cups all shapes, sizes and colours. None interest her as yet.

Just feel I'm being wicked depriving her of milk :(

[SevenSeconds]

Don't worry OP. She'll get the hang of it soon. I went through this with DS1 - when I stopped breastfeeding he refused all bottles and sippy cups. It was a few weeks before he got the hang of open cups, but he got there in the end and your DD will too.

[SevenSeconds]

Also does she have milk on cereal?

[Taler]

She does drink from cups (open and closed ones) for her water. It's just milk she doesn't want in a cup ???

Yes she has milk on cereal.

[purpleme12]

Mine is the same taler. Apparently they'll take what milk they need they the cup rather than the bottle being for comfort but I'd rather mine have 1 bottle if it means she'll drink some more milk.