My daughter is nine months old. She sits up well and cruises along furniture. We are currently taking the bottle and replacing it with a sippy. I think its best just to take it all at once, just like ripping off a band aid, but my family is really giving me issues over it. Stuff like... you need to give that baby a bottle, look how sad she is... blah blah blah. They are actually kind of rediculous about the whole situation and give whatever she wants anytime her lip quivers. I dont want her sucking on a bottle until shes three. Anywayz, my question about that is does anyone know any effective, creative ways to make this transition easier?
Also, for those who use cloth diapers, do you use the ones with the diaper pins or do you use the ones you buy online that have like the butttons and stuff on them. Does anyone make there own, because I have always wanted to try that.
Also, when should I start potty training? Are cloth diapers helpful in potty training? My daughter grabs at her crotch when she is about to pee or when she has a wet diaper, and my mother says thats a good sign and that it wont take me very long at all to potty train her. What do you guys think?
Well, thats all for right now
Shannon

Bottle: I don't see a problem with what you're doing as long as you're comfortable your baby is getting enough fluids during the day and the appropriate milk/formula amounts you supposed to be giving.

I personally have found my DD responds best with the band-aid pulls on about everything. When I've tried to transition too slow on things, it it just drags it out & makes things confusing for DD. Don't worry about what other's tell you...you know your baby better than anyone. Do what's right for you & baby, and let everyone ramble amongst themselves about how "they" would do it.

My DD is 10.75 months and here's what I do...I've weaned her off the breast a couple weeks ago & giving whole milk with instructions of no more than 20 oz of milk over 24 hours. Primary nutrition is table foods. For the 20 oz whole milk, I still give via bottle because she won't drink/play around with more than 1 oz at a time thru a sippy or a straw. She'll take a bottle just fine. I'd be messing around with a sippy all freaking day just to get 20 oz in...hence the bottle for whole milk.

I use a cup & straw for juice or water during mealtimes and supplemental hydration throughout the day. Bottles are morning snacktime, afternoon snacktime, and bedtime.

I'm 99% sure at the 12 month Ped visit, he is going to suggest I stop the bottle (fine by me!) and I also think he'll say to cut back the oz of milk/day as well since she's very good with table food & prefers it. I'm just waiting for the Ped to tell me total oz of milk to be less than the current 20oz...as that's a lot of milk to drink in a day thru a sippy.

Cloth Diapers...don't know.

Potty Training...I started setting DD on the potty at 6 months & she didn't get it. She peed & poo'd in the potty a few times & I thought it was all wonderful...but in hindsight they were due to me knowing the signs of when DD was going. In reality...DD had no clue what was going on.

I tried again at 9 months and she's starting to understand poo a little. Pee...not so much. I'm working on getting the poo's down before I start the pees. (I can't believe I just wrote about poos and pees like that...what would my co-workers think?? LOL!!!)

My SIL started potty training at 6 months. My neice was mostly out of diapers at 1½ years and totally out before she was 2. SIL said she wished she would have waited until neice was a year...she thinks from 6mo-12mo my neice really didn't get it...even though SIL thought neice was getting it...she really wasn't in hindsight. I'm generally following my SIL's advice and not going to get hung up on potty training until DD is a year old.

Those are my thoughts.