I have a little boy who will be 2 on April 4th. he had continous ear infections and speech problems up until he was about 13 to 14 months old. His pediatrician also sen tus to an ENT were they recomended that we get tubes in his ears. I was very scared but we went through with it any way - he is talking up a storm now. Even a week or so after the tubes we notice a huge difference.
As far as the bottles it is going to be harder on you then her - just keep them put up - when she is thirsty she will drink. Try a reward system to get her use to it. My osn also has a binky (we call it a ninny) and the dentist told us he has to be off of itby May so if you figure soemthing out with that one let me know. When I took it from my daughter she went straight to her thumb and still does that at nap and bed time and she is 5. Good luck and I wish you the best
Hi Cheryl,
My friend has had experience with this. Her son had a partial hearing problem. It turns out from ear infections and chronic fluid in the ear. Her son had speech thereapy and eventually had tubes put in his ears and his adnoids out. All of this helped, but was still getting fluid in hid ear. He went to an allergist and found out he is allergic to quite a few things. He is 3 1/2. Allergy testing can not be done until 3, i think. They are slowly elliminating certain things from his diet and hopefully that will help.
hey girl! for the ear infections, take her to your chiropractor!! believe it or not they can help. apparently some babies ears don't tilt the way they're supposed to fast enough causing excess fluid build up. my first child had this problem and my chiro said "you shoulda brought him to me" so my girlfriend's daughter had the problem and she took her to the chiro and fixed her right up!!
Also, just completely take the bottle away and deal with a day or two of crying. If you're using formula too, use vanilla soy milk. my daughter still loves her soy milk in her sippys even tho we only give her milk once or twice a day and water and juice the rest of the day!!
My daughter still uses her binky to go to sleep with, and THAT'S IT. When she loses it, it's gone... hehe
Good luck momma!!
If she won't drink from a sippy cup, try a straw cup. My son prefers a straw cup over a sippy cup any day and he's 12 months old. My daughter was the same way. I think straw cups are better for them anyway. Move to an open cup as soon as possible too.
As for the fluid in the ears, we went through that with our daugther. She had chronic ear infections and fluid in both ears for 5 months straight. It resulted in her losing some of her speech gains. We went to an ENT and had tubes inserted and her adenoids taken out a few weeks before she turned two. Before the tubes, she had a moderate hearing loss in both ears due to the fluid. The fluid blocks the sound waves from reaching their destination point. There is a more technical explanation, but basically sound needs to be able to enter the ear and bounce back. If there's a lot of fluid, it can't do it. We wish we would have had her tubes put in sooner!! It's the best thing we ever did. She spoke her first 3 word phrase the very next morning and the surgery was a breeze.
I'm a speech-language pathologist, so I was trying not to obsess over her speech delays and obvious articulation problems, but it became very apparent to me that her speech was developing like a person with a hearing loss. I waited longer than I should have because I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but looking back, I wish I had done something sooner. She is now three and speaks beautifully, with just a slight lisp : )
Have you tried the Avent or Playtex sippy cups? Playtex are the only ones my son would use at first. Just a thought, in case you hadn't tried those. We cut out all of the daytime bottles first (at 12 months) and still gave him a bottle before bed. We replaced the bedtime bottle with a sippy cup after a month or so. He didn't like it at first, but then he gave in and started drinking more from the cups. We didn't really have a hard time with it. He didn't cry for the bottle, he just didn't drink enough from the cup at first.
We haven't used a pacifier since 6 months. My son started spitting it out and so we put them all away and took advantage of that. I know from other moms that the longer you wait to get rid of the pacifier, the harder it is. It will start to interfere with speech soon if she is using it all the time. I'm glad my son made that decision and we didn't have to take it away. Made it much easier for us.
I think bottles and pacifiers are associated with ear problems. I guess the sucking puts pressure on the ears and it's worse when they're laying down. That's probably whey the ped wants you to get rid of them.
My son is 17 months old. He had chronic ear infections and we got ear tubes a few Pediatric ENT of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.
My son has been slow to pick up "words". He understands me, loves to babble and use sounds for speech but never really said a lot of words. Our doctor thought it might be due to hearing but the ENT checked his hearing and he was fine. He probably had 3 words at 15 months. Now at 17 months he has 10 words and seems to get a new one every day. Everyone told me that right before 18 months they just start talking away and that seems to be the case with my son. Maybe you should get a second opinion or ask the ENT about it.
As for the bottle cold turkey workded for us. My husband was not for it but I just took all the bottles away and sippy cups were it. There are some that say it is easier to drink out of a bottle so maybe take the valve out of the sippy (while messy would make it easier to drink). Maybe the fluid in the ears has something to do with not liking sippys. If the baby has to suck harder it might hurt the ears with all the fluid.
We still have the passy but only for night time. Our doctor said it was fine until 18 months. (see it really is a art and not a science....everyone and every doctor has their own opinions!)
My son had numerous ear infectins from the time he was 3 months old until we had tubes put in at 12 months. He is now five and hasn't had an ear infection or problems with fluid in his ears since. Trust your pediatrician & see the ENT. As far as the binky goes, I cut the end off of all of my youngest son's binkys & he got rid of it himself. It made him not like it any more. He was a little cranky for a couple of weeks, but for the most part it was not that bad. As for the bottle, my kids pretty much were a breeze. Not all kids are the same - it may take a lot of patience and some time, but you have to be persistant. Keep the bottles hidden and keep giving the sippy cups. She'll get the idea.
My son was breastfed and never had bottles. He hated sippy cups so at around 1 year I started giving him drinks in a regular cup or one of the sippy cups with two handles just without the top. Of course they can't carry it around with them everywhere but that't not really a good habit to get into anyway.
Hi Cheryl. My sister went through a very similar situation. To stop the binky/bottle use, her ped. told her to clip the ends off of the nipples. Sure enough, my nephew didn't want thebottle or the binky anymore after about a day. (You have to watch, though, since they can chew off little pieces easier after the tips are clipped.) We (my sister, me, my friends) use the born free cups. (You can get them at Babies R Us or Whole Foods.)They are made without harmful additives in the plastic, and they have a valve that prevents sucking too hard, which can cause problems in the ears. (They are not super spill proof, though.) After tubes in his ears and switching cups my nephew is fine - a regular chatterbox, in fact. He immediately began speaking much more clearly, and he hasn't had an ear infection since. I hope this helps.
I had a similar situation when my daughter was younger. You will probably have to take her off the bottle completely and offer her nothing but the sippie cup. After a while she will get thirsty and nature will take it course.....she will drink from either the sippie cup or a regular cup with a straw. As a matter of fact.....try a sippie cup with the straw attached. As far as the binkie....I cannot comment because I did not allow my daughter to have one. I was told that they caused ear infections due to the constant sucking.
Good Luck and Kiss the baby!
P.S. The baby will cry and have a fit but if you stay strong (you will cry too) and don't give her the bottle she will do it. THROW ALL BOTTLES OUT SO THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE AN OPTION!
I would go to the health food store and get some ear drops with tea tree oil & grape seed extract (or something close to that). They have shown that antibiotic do not clear ear infections and are not used in other countries to fight ear infections. There are also some homeopathic remedies that are good. If she has been on antibiotics, for sure get her on some probiotics (the good flora that is killed with the antibiotics.
Also, get her COMPLETELY off of any milk/cheese products until the ear situation clears up. The milk is very mucus forming and may even be the cause of the ear infection... espically with a bottle! We used soy milk, but that can be an allergen as well. Babies really so not need cows milk!
I do not know enough about the speach therapy to give any advice, but my thought is that she may resume speaking if the ears clear up.
My daughter &I talked for about three weeks about the binky fairy coming to take her binkies to the small babies. The fairy would leave a present. She really missed the binkies, but she knew the babies needed them and so was OK with it.
Will your daugther drink out of a regular cup? Maybe pull up some fluid into a straw and put your finger over it so the liquid stays in the straw... then she can drink out of the other end of the straw. That is how my daughter learned to drink out of a straw.
Cheryl,
You and your husband should try using straws for your beverage (milk or juice) at the dinner table and offer your daughter a taste for a couple of days. Once she accepts that and is comfortable, you and your husband remove your straws and drink normally from the glass offering her a taste. It may take a little time but it's worth a try and you can probably eliminate the sippy cup stage entirely. Be prepared with a roll of paper towels for the spills :>)
CW
It sound like there are two separate issues: 1. The Bottle/pacifier and 2. Chronic fluid in her ears.
1. My suggestion would be to take the bottle away first and let her have the pacifier in limited doses for awhile. (baby steps) She will drink more (eventually) from a cup when she doesn't have the bottle as an option. (You will really have to stand your ground on this.) Let her satisfy the sucking need with the pacifier in the meantime.
2. My youngest son had chronic fluid in his ears, and ear infections. He was very slow to speak. We had the tubes put in his ears, but after a few months, one fell out and he got another infection. A friend of mine used homeopathic medicine and I asked her if I could try some. I gave my son a remedy called Pulsatilla. It got rid of his ear infection AND dried up the fluid!!! We used it several more times ove the next few months and were amazed with the results. My son is now 23 yrs old. We've been using homeopathic remedies for various ailments since that time. There are many resources now, online, and at health food stores. There are also Naturopaths that can help direct you to the right homeopathic remedy for each illness. A helpful website is: www.abchomeopathy.com. They have a pharmacist that can help direct you to teh correct remedy. We also used Mullin/garlic drops in his ears regulary at the beginning to prevent ear infections. You can get those at the health food store. Allergies may be causing the fluid. So we eliminated all dairy (makes mucus thick) and most sugar (weakens the immune system) to help him get healthy again. He is now a strong, healthy wonderful young man. Our family still uses homeopathic remedies to this day.
Hi Cheryl. I experienced delayed speaking with our middle child. She barely said anything until she was a year old. After that, she spoke whenever she needed to communicate, but as a very independent and quiet child she just liked being in her own little world. She read early, passed all tests magnificently, was the life of the playground and is now a very talkative teenager. She started off w/fluid in the ears, but after seeing the ENT and having her ears irrigated it got much better. Now, unless your baby suffers from sleep apnea and airway obstruction which causes her to stop breathing 10 - 50 times a night - the fluid really isn't life threatening or cause for alarm. For those two ailments, we had the tonsils and adenoids removed. It worked swell and she suffered no ill effects from it. As far as the bottle goes, for some reason doctors are now trying to bully parents into taking bottles away before 12 months of age. It has more to do with the sugar and juices which settle on the teeth (and result in 3 hours-so our nurses one of which is my niece-of those substances working to invade those little teeth) than anything. Your little one should be drinking less and eating more, in my nearly 20 years of mommy experience. Fruit, wheat crackers, yogurt, some cheerios in a bag to carry in the car, soybean patties chopped up on her plate w/softer carrots that she can feed to herself (if you're a vegetarian) will be her new best foodtime friends. Our youngest refused his sippy cup until mealtime after he started feeding corn, fresh cooked brocolli, apple slices and apple sauce to himself. And lastly, the soothing benefits of the binky cannot be ignored! No one on this planet can tell mommy & daddy when a binky has to be removed; Besides, we were told by nurses and the ENT that the chewing motion helps clear the ears. Hence, the importance of giving our children gum to chew as the plane would take off to relieve the ear popping. Trust your instincts, you are right on target. With the absence of the bottle and the introduction of the new, brightly-colored fun finger foods, your sweet baby will be happy as a clam with her new-found diet. Enjoy those baby days, and be blessed. A
I know this seems tough but you will both get through it. My now 3 yr old daughter was also late to break from the bottle. I had to just throw them out finally and eventually she did take to the sippy cup. Try ones with straws. They like to see the drink come up through the straw. It took my little girl about 4 months to REALLY start drinking from the cup. As long as she is drinking something and still urinating don't worry. Hope this helps.
I have a son that turned 2 in September and he didn't talk till about 2 months ago. He didn't even say momma till a month after he turned 2 and now he talks in complete sentences. If she has fluid in her ears it can delay her speak but once you get the fluid out she should be okay. As for the bottle... my suggestion is just take it away and offer her the cup. Chances are if she doesn't have the bottle to drink from she will end up taking the cup because she is thirsty. It is hard to do that to your child but in the long run it is better. I had the same problem with my daughter but after not having the bottle she started drinking from the cup. We got her the cups with the straw in them. As for the binky I think you should do one thing at a time. The bottle is more important to get rid of right now. Babies can get baby bottle rot teeth from using a bottle for to long. My step daughter has had to have 9 of her teeth pulled and she is 8 from baby bottle rot. Just do your best and don't worry even if she has to have speach therapy its really not that bad and most of the time they end up with there speach more advanced for their age because of it. My oldest daughter has a hearing loss and uses a hearing aid and at the age of 4 and a half she had the speach of a 2 and a half year old but not she is 13 and doesn't stop talking and is very intellegent. Good luck to you and just take one thing and one day at a time.
Doctors orders are to take away her pacifier and bottle. It will be hard on you and her, but if you want her ears and speech to get better, you have to do it. When she gets thirsty, she will drink. At this age they can be stubborn, but it is for her own good.
Buy some ear plugs for yourself and give her plenty of hugs and attention when you are not focused on the bottle and pacifier.
Hi Cheryl,
I had an experience very similar to yours with my son when he was 2. I know that taking my son off his paci and bottle actually did help. But what we did to keep from having the tubes was this: (and always run things by your pediatrician...we did, and she was fine with it). We applied drops that were equal parts rubbing alcohol and distilled white vinegar into his ears about three times each day, and we gave him Dimetapp (ask your ped) every night at bedtime. The pediatrician told us that we could do this, but it would not help. We took our son back every 2-3 days, and had her check his ears (he was scheduled for tubes 2 weeks from the day we started this). Every visit, she said there was no change, but 2 days before his tubes were supposed to go in, she looked again and her eyes got big...I asked her if it was getting better, and she said that all the fluid was gone. She sent us back to the ENT, and he said that there it would be wrong for him to put tubes in those ears. He retested my son's hearing, and he was back to normal. The little bugger started learning about 8 words every day! (Of course he was older than your daughter is, so she probably wouldn't learn that many words that rapidly).
For the paci, I just cut the tip off of it and gave it to him. He looked at it, made a protesting sound, and handed it back to me. I said, "Oh, it's broken, I'm sorry!" and gave it back to him. He whimpered a bit, but took it anyway. I cut a little bit more off every day until he finally threw it down in disgust and stomped off to pout. He only asked for it for a couple of days. The bottle was a little easier than I thought it would be. I would only put water in it, which he didn't want as much as the milk or juice. At bedtime I started putting less and less water in it until I finally gave it to him empty and told him I was sorry, but that was all I could give him. During the day, I let him have smoothies and such in a regular cup with a straw. I had to sit right with him so he wouldn't make a mess, but it got fluids into him and made him accustomed to drinking from something other than a bottle. I started thinning out the smoothies more and more until he was just drinking milk or juice. When he was a little older (by which time we had 4 children) we decided to cut juice out of our house because of all the sugar (even if it's natural, it's still more than some sodas have). I just watered it down more and more until they just would rather have ice water!
With the bottle/cup thing....it just may take some time. With my daughter it was breast/cup and she hated the cup. After 3 days of minimal drinking she drank up a big cup of milk. Just make sure that you give her lots of juicy foods during the transition time -- watermelon, pineapple, applesauce...etc.
With the binky, while she is still young enough, if the Dr. thinks it would improve her overall hearing and speech to be without it, I would get rid of it.
All in all, though, I find it odd your Dr. is diagnosing a speech delay this early. I have had friends with children with SIGNIFIGANT speech problems that they were unable to officially diagnose until the children were 2.5-3 yrs old. Some kids are late talkers (just like some are late walkers). But the fluid would concern me. The ENT may recommend tubes. Ask his/her opinioin on the pacifier.