Milk No More

My toddler has recently given up milk. Maybe it was for lent or something, but I never told him about it. :-) He doesn't fuss about it or anything just takes a sip, decides it's enough and won't drink it. I tried all the tricks that I used to get him to take it over formula to begin with, such as adding strawberry flavor, but to no avail. Hmmmm. So here's a few of my tips for sneaking in some calcium and such w/o a fight over milk.
Disguise it! My monkey eats oatmeal nearly every morning of his life, so instead of fixing it with water, I add milk to it. He doesn't care and it makes me feel better to know he's getting a little of the good stuff.
Substitute other dairy. I push cheese and yogurt to make sure that my lil guy is still getting some good dairy in his diet.
Lead by example. I drink milk in front of my toddler. It's worked some. He will occasionally ask for milk when he sees me or his daddy drinking it. It's great!
Try, try again! We all remember this mantra, but it holds true. I've taken a 'break' from milk with my little one for now, but I haven't given up on having him drink it and enjoy it in the future. For now he still gets his one cup of juice and the rest of the time drinks water. I will give him a small cup of milk from time to time just to test the waters, but I'm not pushing it. I think he'll come back around on his own eventually.

Spit Solutions

Having had the privileged of not one, but two babies who's main goal for their first few months was to see how many times they could burble on Mommy, I believe that I've come up with a few tips on how to deal with the unwanted spits!
Blankets are easier to clean than carpet! Use a blanket whenever you put your baby on the floor, especially for tummy time as the extra pressure tends to send up geysers. I even put a receiving blanket under baby's head when he's playing on the floor gym. It helps keep his hair dry as the mat is not that absorbent.
Dress baby in layers. Use a onesie under any outfit. This way if the top gets wet at least they will be dry next to their skin.
Use fabrics that work FOR you. I love the terrycloth rompers that float around baby departments. They are super absorbent! Perhaps that's not why they were created, but personally I don't like to change little clothes constantly just because some spit-up is involved.
Use bibs! This seems like a no brainer, but I have an entire drawer full of bibs, many that came to match outfits and yet I often forget to use these. It's much easier to swap out a soaked bib than to change an entire outfit!
Take a burp rag EVERYWHERE! In fact, take 2 at least! You'll find that just as soon as you think that you're "safe" from the "urps" they'll hit ya with a huge one when you least expect it. Have a rag within reach all the time to protect your clothing as well as the baby's.
Inevitably you will wear the "parent badge" of spit up down the arm, back, leg, shirt, or all of the above at some point, but when you look at the grin on that little face after it's just doused you, I doubt you'll mind THAT much.