quit the rubber, murray!

I just wanted to comment on Em’s problem giving up the bottle. We just went through the same issue, and finally have weaned to a straw cup. My daughter (15 months) did not want to drink milk out of any cup, and we tried many different kinds. We finally just got tough and only gave her milk through her straw cup (which seemed to be the one she prefered best, but she still didn’t like it much) and after about two weeks, she’s finally drinking enough milk with no problem. For a while there, I felt like she’d never get there, and I don’t think she was getting enough milk during that transition time (so I made she she got enough calcium etc from food). But magically one day she just started drinking. It was hard, but we did it, and, once you’re ready, I know you’ll be able to do it too.

And my son is right there with Emory on the “sippy cups do not work for milk” situation. Even at daycare, where the teachers are miracle workers with all sorts of other things, Matthew refuses to nap without having his bottle first. Sippy cups are great for those fun drinks like water and juice, but if we’re getting serious here and talking about milk, well, you’d best be bringing out the bottle.

We give him bottles before naptime and at night before bed. He really loves them—like, loves them so much. Oh well.

The hard part is making sure Murray doesn’t steal them from him. What a freak this cat is.

The Born Free Sippy might be safer for Murray as well since is it quite a hard plastic and should be hard for him to chew. It comes with a lid so maybe keep that on as well.

Em can’t stand the born free sippy cups. I have been trying them for a while now and he just won’t use it. If it doesn’t have a nipple or a straw, no chance. :[

You know what he loves, though? My blue water bottle I take to the gym. I wonder if he’ll drink milk out of it. heh

probably not.

I dont’t know what to say about Murray, other than cats are weird. Poor baby, and poor bank account!

I know every kid is different, and maybe you have already tried this with Emory, but I thought I’d share what worked for us. It seems to be a comfort thing for Emory, and Adeline definitely has her share of “comfort behaviors,” or whatever you want to call them. :)

Something tells me that because this was easy I will get the full karmic payback when it comes time to potty training!

Good luck weening yours off of the plastic.

Ok, my best advice on cats & kids… Weaning Emory off the bottle—only put water in the bottle and put milk in the cup. Offer him both. Don’t push, just set them both out there for him and let him figure it out. Seriously. I know it’s hard to step back as a parent sometimes, but there are some things that the child has to feel he has control over and this is a big one. By letting him make the choice, you are giving him control.

On Murray—while the fiber capsules may help a little, you will probably get much better results from giving him a teaspoon of flax oil or fish oil on his food. This will help him pass the weird things he’s ingesting, and it’ll also keep his coat and his skin nice and healthy. Flax (and fish) oil is rich in the Omega-3 nutrients that humans and animals need. It can also help with shedding, if he sheds too much. It’s just an all around terrific supplement. I think I submitted a comment to you earlier about giving it to Emory for his bowel problems too…

Best of luck to you!

They each have some kind of issue. Brody eats plants. Do Baby scratches doorways to shreds. Babette comfort grooms because of her anxiety till she is nearly bald in patches. Mao is more like Murry-she likes to eat ribbon. The ribbon that hangs from balloons and goes on gifts-that ribbon.

When we discovered this, she had just gone poop and was running around the apartment flipping out….because she had about four inches of red ribbon hanging out her bum! I held her down and my husband (with aid of a plastic bag for a glove) had to PULL it out. It turned out to be over a foot long. I’m so thankful she got that through her intestines!

The only thing to do is not have this ribbon where she can get it. It stinks that Murray’s fetish is much more common.

I believe cats do things like this because they are inside and don’t have grass to eat and chew on. The grass helps their digestive system somehow. I know when we were debating taking Brody (a stray we found) out on a leash, he loved to eat grass.

Maybe you should grow some cat grass in a pot so Murray can get his munch on?

Also, with the bottle and Emory. When my son turned a year we took his pacifier away during the day except for naps and long car rides. It was a hellish two weeks, but we got through it. Maybe you can get a sippy with a rubber straw as a stand in for a bottle. My son has one of these. Or maybe just refuse to give him the bottle at all.

I understand how hard it is. My son does the same exact thing when I try to give him the leak proof sippy cup instead of the kind that allows him to get water all over the place. He kicked it across the room today in rage.