Don't ask me why but for some reason, I decided that B should move on from drinking out of a sippy cup. It goes along with the big boy bed, the push for self care independence and the general idea of making him a big kid like his peers. B drinks only from a specific type of cup and only water. When we took away the bottle at age 1, he never again drank milk despite being given an unbelievable myriad of cup options. To him, milk belonged in a bottle. And to him, water belongs in a sippy cup. This is where we see that he is in fact rigid and set in his ways/resistant to change even though he seemingly has a pretty easy-going nature.
So here we go. We started yesterday by allowing him to have this regular cup at meals but not at any other time. He was pretty unhappy about that. When presented with other options, he would push it away and cry and then try everything he could think of to get the sippy cup. After a trip to the park, I successfully got him to take a couple of sips from a cup. Small victory! Today was more of the same except that I could not ever get him to take a drink. After a LOT of crying and failed attempts (and a definite negative impact on his therapy sessions), he brought me to the refrigerator and said clearly "water". He has never said this before and so he was immediately given his beloved sippy cup.
I was somewhat excited about this but our team leader was ecstatic. This is a big step for B. It tells us that he IS capable of talking to get what he wants... he just needs to be really highly motivated. So while it feels quite mean to deny him things (particularly water), this could be a huge step forward. He said water again tonight to request it. If he continues to make the verbal request, it may mean that it takes longer to transition him to a cup but this is okay. The cup is arbitrary progress. Using language to have his needs met is the whole key to communication.
We'll see what happens. B's will is so very strong. But my will for him is stronger.
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