Operation Sippy Cup

This week I will be initiating a new phase in Baby Z's development. He is going to graduate from the bottle to the sippy cup. After months of half-hearted attempts to get him to befriend the sippy cup, I've concluded that I will continue to get the full arm slap-away from Baby Z when he is 3 and 4 if I don't step up my game now. It is certainly not going to get easier the bigger and more determined he gets. Most of the skills that require some training have taken a focused, loving forcing, such as dropping feedings and sleeping through the 45-minute nap intruder. Baby Z takes well to a routine and thus doesn't like it too much when things change. (Hm... sound familiar?)

Why the sippy cup, you ask? Well, I was almost convincing myself he might just jump straight to a regular cup one day and be fine. What's so important about a sippy cup anyway? Here are my conclusions (emphasis on mine b/c I'm sure there are other Moms who think differently and love their kids just as much):
1. sippy cup is much more practical than regular cup for baby to use when younger and not as coordinated- less spills, happier Mom.
2. sippy cup is important step in developing different muscles in mouth and jaw -- the baby uses different ones than when they suck from the bottle. This might be the reason doctors recommend dropping the bottle by 18 months.
3. cleaning bottles is a pain and I can't wait to pack them up.
4. baby holding sippy cup himself rather than me holding bottle is easier and more convenient. (I know! I didn't insist on Baby Z learning to hold his bottle-- mistake number 19 of Momhood and something I will do differently with next child.)

I was thinking I could handle a little more work if I ignored many of the reasons above. (Just like I convinced myself that waking up for that one middle of the night feeding wasn't a big deal.) However, reason number 2 is the one that finally convinced me the sippy cup was important for Baby Z, not just a social norm we inflict on ourselves. Overall, I'm treating the sippy cup like a milestone in Baby Z's development -- it will help him master some new skills that will serve him better in the long run. The other reasons are niceties that will help motivate me in the next few days while I struggle to teach Baby Z the art of the sippy cup.

Commence Operation Sippy Cup.* OOhAh.

*Your prayers are much appreciated!