Dear Hetal,

Hope you are doing ok now? Sometime back u had mentioned that i can add italian seasoning to my daughters food. The thing is I am in dubai right now, here i was able to get a bottle of mixed herbs like rosemary, basil,savory and thyme. Can i use this powder?

Also another issue that i need ur help with is, my daughter will turn 14 months soon. She has never used a bottle or sippy cup to drink from. I have been trying on and off with sippy cups but in vain. I also got her a training cup but she just likes to play with it. She sucks from it once or twice then plays with it. How do i make her drink from it? Is there any specific time in day which will help? I feel intake of fluid is very less nowadays since she will just not sit in one place when i go to feed her milk or water with a spoon. I tried giving her fruit juices like u had told me last time, she has 2-3 spoons of juice then gives up. She does have water after her food but during the day its tough to get her to drink it. She does not seem to have any bowel problems but and her diapers are also quite heavy with piss when i change them. I am still BF her (if this info would help).

Also Hetal is it normal for children this age to get stubborn and uncontrollable at times. I dont know what happens to my daughter towards evenings, she starts crying if i leave the room even for a minute, wont stay with my parents. Pls tell me if this is normal.

I know its very selfish of me to ask your help when u yourself are not keeping well. Pls take your own time in replying no hurry. Take care of your health and baby's too.

Regards,
Preeti. Preeti replied. Dear Hetal,

Thanks once again. Just fyi my daughters weight and height at birth was 6.11 and 19 inches respectively. And now she is 20.9 and 31.5 inches. She will complete 14 months in a week. Hope this info helps.

You are certainly an inspiration for us. Managing your home and answering all the queries. Cant thank u enough. God bless you.

Take care.
Regards.
Preeti. Preeti replied. Dear Hetal,

Thank you for the reply. Will try your recommendations.

Can i ask u one more question. As i told u she does not drink too much of outside milk accept for about 1 glass a day for breakfast along with teh following. I give her Nestle cerelac powder which comes in diff varieties like wheat+fruits+milk. I give her around 3-4 tsps of this mixed with 3-4 tsps of mixed grains cereal+milk (powder). I mix this with warm water. So do u think she would be getting some benefits of milk from this mixture. She has this at around 8-8.30 am then has BM at around 10.30-11 am and is off to sleep. Gets up at 12-12.15 and has lunch directly at 12.45 or 1.00. So ideally she skips her brunch. I try my hardest to try to give her something in between but her sleep and everything just messes it. My folks too feel that i am just trying to feed her though she is not hungry. I am just losing it.

She has around 250 ml of khicdi for lunch. (rice+ moongdal+ soya granules+mixveg with butter). I mix 1 tbsp of curd to this.

She has around the same amount or lil less for dinner. either this or some pasta as suggetsed by you last time or some veg soups with enough vegs and pasta and some cheese.

Has BM after every feed and fruit in the evenings. I think her appetite is very less. Does not want to eat anything in between. Am i doing anything wrong with her schedule, Hetal?

Do u think she must be getting enough?
Pls help.

I asked u if i could ask one more question and ended up writing a list of questions. sorry abt that. Pls take your time in answering. How is ur back now? How is Nirja doing? Does the baby kick a lot? Take care Hetal. And thank you very much.

Regards,
Preeti.
Hetal replied. m doing ok,,but cant sit longer than 15-20min at a stretch...
now about your ques...
yes you can give mixed herbs,,i believe its powder so its dry herbs,,so use it less..dry pwderd herbs have stronger flavour thn fresh ones !

try nuby sippy cups and also start her on strawcups(nuby,spillproff),,often these have gvn successful transitions..also,start training her with direct glass,,make her feel interested in drinking from glass,,drinking before her in glass, in such a way that she sees your happy expression that you are njoying drinks from it,,nothin wrong if your baby makes you feel lucky by not washng the straws and sippies...
offer her abit cooler juices, to attract her to juices,,often kids like thema bit cooler(not cold)...
you cant expect your 14month old to drink with spoon now,,she needs to drink it fast and she will tend to lose her interest because of lil amts of her fav things..
check on her diet plan for 14month,,it will give you some idea about her intakes:
http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6086&table_name=dis_feeding

other tips on transtn to sippy or glass are :
1.when hunger strikes, some kids take watever given..
2.dipping the tip of the sippy spout gives them a hint that there is milk in there,,,,
3.drinking before your baby might make her interested in drinking/copying..
4.about specific time,,at 14months,,your dd must be drinking milk 2-3times a day,,make sure to keep a good gap of 3-4hours for all feeds of solids or milk so by then she will be badly hungry..
5.since you are bf,there is a possibility that your child is more attached to breast than ne other source of milk or liquids,,which explains her lack of interest in bottles,sippies...or is causng nipple confusion to her..and she might not accept them until you wean her....
6.at 13months onwards, many kids dont like the taste of cows milk,,so offering with additives like horlicks,complan,,nesquick or ask your dr for a good alternative and see if that makes her drink cows milk..
7.Don't be surprised if it takes several months to wean your child completely to sippy or straw cups..
8. there is one more brand called second nature,,you can read about it reviews and success transtns to babies from 6-9months onwards,,at onestepahead dot com.
9. medella has some sippy cups that aare just like breast nipples,,so that your breastfeed baby gets a scssful trnstn,,i dont know exactly where to get them,,but i recently came accross the stories in various parentng sites..
10.try to change the temperature of liquids you are offering,,like some babies njoyed warm cows milk in winters and some liked it right from fridge,,however i will not advice you right from fridge, but you can try offering him cardamom milk,cool milk(NOT cold), or warm milk see if that makes him drink..
11.try pumping your bm and offer that in sippy,,see if that works for you !
other than, keep trying is the only key..often breastfeed babies accept glass directly but in later phases as they are not familiar with ne other nipples or spouts other than breast,,which makes a bit challenging for moms to teach thr babies how to suck in diff modes...
for regulatng her bowels, try offering fibr foods if liquid intake is less.
its ok for breastfeed or even cows milk fed babies to pass on full wet diapers quite often,,.it dpends on how often you must be changing,,its expected by you to change her diaper every 3-4hours..to avoid ne urinry track infection,,and its expected by then that your baby will pass on good amt of pee !! and bf babies pass more bladders thn formula or cows milk fed..so consider that...

yes, its normal for kids to get stubborn and go out of control from 1 year to 24months..convert their negative reactions to positive,,whenever she is crying or cribbng,,divert her attn by eye contact, talking to her..let her express herself..its neccessary for them to learn that..breastfeed babies want their mothers to be present right before eyes which is quite normal ! if she cries, take her along with you, talk to her and come back to same room and sit with her play..once she starts playing, just move away talking to her,,this will make her feel comfort that you are there and you are not vanishing off...make it a habit to say Bye when you are leaving her with neone..eventually she will nod her head when you say bye because she knows you wil come back..babies needs lots of assurnce at this age to upto 24months,,once they are comfortable, they will allow you. respect her wishes when it comes to staying with you,,at the same time teach her that you are not leaving her but just leavng the place,,,,practse it often as needed...

also, there is no need to feel selfish about yourself..,,well,,every mom becomes selfish when it comes to her baby,,,,nothin wrong,,i reply whenever i am able to sit comfortbly,,so its upto me.my health issues are not going to disappr, if i reply or dont reply on IP,,so it doesnt matter,right !
rather it relieves me from my own health concerns when i try to solve other people concerns..i feel good that i am of some help to someone !

so i guess, all is answrd,,you take care, have a wonderful time with your lil one ! njoy your day !
good luck