The Great Debate

I have become more neurotic than I thought possible.


Yes, I have always had a few quirks ~ I like to go to bed knowing my kitchen is clean. When I leave on vacation my house must be spotless. I sincerely believe that cheese makes everything better. While in school my notes had to be meticulous - no cross outs or scribbles, or I'd have to redo them. I could probably make a huge bulleted list of neuroses, but it would be a bit embarrassing.
Motherhood, however, has brought my neuroses to a whole new level.


I can't stand the idea of Addie crawling around on a dirty floor, meaning I vacuum and sweep sometimes multiple times a day. (To clarify, I don't mind dust and regular clean dirt, I do mind cat fur, pieces of food, tracked in grass and insect carcasses.) My latest obsession has been her transition off the bottle to cups. The agonizing decision of which to use:

vs.

She really likes the straw cups, and I read somewhere that they were good for speech and oral development. Therefore, I bought a few straw cups and let her go to town, and she was perfectly happy.


Then I noticed that the supposedly leak proof straw cups were leaving milk all over my house, because they are nowhere near leak proof. (Don't even get me started on what milk saturated carpets stir up in me).
I also started to fret that she would never learn to hold a cup up to her mouth and drink. I talked with a few other mothers and friends, and was told it might be a good idea to reintroduce the sippy cup and take away the straw cups. I was told it might be a struggle and she might be unhappy, but to hold my ground, she'd figure it out eventually.


I held my ground for about 28 hours. The reintroduction of the sippy cup was disastrous. Addie did not want to hold it up high enough to drink from it and got super frustrated. She cried. She screamed. She threw her cup. She stomped her feet. She gave her father and mother headaches.


I tried the sippy cup again this morning and received the same response - an extremely unhappy, frustrated babe.


So I poured over the internet looking for the best solution. I talked about it with my sister. I called Andy and asked his opinion (for the 37th time). I could not find a definitive answer and I still had frustrated one-year-old.



Finally, I became that mom. I called my pediatrician. I explained to the medical assistant who was on phone duty that I had an absurd question. She assured me that I didn't (I used to use that line at work too, but I never meant it. There are alot of absurd questions out there.). Helpful medical assistant woman made me feel better. She said in their opinion there is no wrong or right way to go. She said that sippy cups are to help babies transition from the bottle, and straw cups are usually harder for babies to handle. When I told her how happy straw cups make my daughter she said "Well there's your answer. There is no use in frustrating her with a sippy cup, when she is perfectly happy with a straw cup." She also assured me that using a straw cup would not retard Addison's ability to eventually drink from a cup like the rest of the world. (For the record, I was having visions of her at her wedding sipping champagne out of a straw, because she was unable to successfully lift a glass up to drink.)

So my baby has her straw cups back. The sippy cups are stored in the pantry for use maybe one day....or maybe not.


I know, I'm neurotic. Or as my loving husband might say...psychotic.