Let's talk about finger foods and sippy cups, shall we?

Just when it seems like we are getting into a rhythm or routine, a new stage pops up out of nowhere. And I am never, ever ready for it. At Thatcher's 10 month appointment our pediatrician brought up the transition from bottle to sippy cup and encouraged us to start working with him. Grrrrrrrreat, I think to myself. Can't we just leave well enough alone? He's on a good schedule and can hold the bottle to feed himself and life is grand. I felt like I had mastered everything about feeding Thatcher and our favorite items. I know there are a lot of conflicting opinions out there about when to get rid of the bottle. The most important thing, of course, is that he's getting ample nutrition, so I don't want to rush it, but at the same time I also know that he can't be a baby forever. And I won't be sad about not having to clean the 3,328 bottle parts.

And speaking of ample nutrition, I am really struggling to figure out how an 11 month old derives any nutrition from finger foods. My child is intrigued by them and plays with them but very rarely does he actually eat them.

Despite the fact that I've offered pretty much any finger food I can think of (fruits, veggies, meats, pastas, cheese, etc), the boy would just plain rather be lazy and have us feed him pureed stuff. The child won't eat macaroni and cheese! Clearly he is not related to me. So our current routine consists of me offering a plethora of finger food options, Thatcher flinging them off the high chair and to the dog and then me giving in and feeding him something soft. Every once in a while he will eat a good number of peas or grapes, but that's about it. Yet he isn't picky at all when it comes to the pureed stuff. This is our floor every single evening. Ignore the ugly brick (just one more reason we are thrilled to move!) What gives?

So, any suggestions on the transition from bottle to sippy cup (and formula to whole milk)? Thatcher will drink water and diluted juice out of a sippy cup, but the second the sippy cip is filled with formula, forget it! I am thinking we may have to go cold turkey (sort of like we did when we instituted Ferber) but I am not there yet. And I really don't want to buy 343 more sippy cups, as we already own 100 6. And what about this finger food stuff? My current plan is to keep offering a variety of foods at every meal, but it also feels so wasteful (though the dog isn't complaining!) Every day is a new challenge with this parenting business.

And while we're talking about feeding toddlers, I have to rave for a second about Oxo. We chose the Oxo Sprout High Chair and have been totally thrilled with it. It's aesthetically pleasing, easy to clean and a nice compact size. However, the tray on both our chair and my parents' chair was getting knicked really easily (and I started to worry about germs getting into the crevices). So I emailed them to see if I could order replacement trays and - get this - they were super apologetic and sent me 2 new trays free of charge! They really appreciated the feedback and want to look into the design so that it doesn't happen in the future. I just love amazing customer service and when a company stands behind their product. I would have recommended this high chair anyway, but now I wouldn't consider another one.

Bring on the sippy cup and finger food advice!