The Mystery of the Disappearing Bottle

     So today ends week one of what I have affectionately dubbed "Baby Boot Camp."  I am trying to wean Alivia from her bottle.  At almost 17 months, it really is time.  At least I think so.  Alivia, apparently, has a whole other veiw of the situation. 
     When Alivia was born, she was a breastfed only baby.  In fact, until she was 10 months old, she refused to drink from a bottle at all.  This, of course, posed some complications for me  as it was very very difficult for me to ever leave the house with out my precious baby girl...especially if I was going to be gone during a feeding time.  So I thought, "Great.  I'll never need to worry about the bottle thing with her.  We just won't ever use one!"  And Alivia laughed. 
     At around 10 1/2 months old, it became necessary for me to leave Alivia with my mom for a few hours and so a bottle became a necessity.  Alivia suddenly decided she would drink milk or formula from a bottle, and would take it from anyone!  This was the beginning of our current trouble.
     When Alivia was 15 months old, I decided that she was done nursing.  She decided that was ok, as long as she could have not 1, but 2 bottles everyday!  What????  What happened to my "no-bottles baby???"   She would wake up in the morning chanting "ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba."  Then again at bedtime the chanting would begin again. 
     Knowing that the recomendation is to have children off the bottle by 12 months, I consulted with our pediatrician, who assured me this was ok, and even normal for a baby who was abruptly weaned from breast-feeding.  But she also explained that it was important to try to take the bottle completely by 18 months old.  Which is why we are now trying to make the bottles disappear.
     As Alivia's 18 month well-child visit approaches, I realize I need to make some positive steps toward accomplishing this goal.  Alivia, however, has a plan all her own.  
     So on Monday, instead of giving in to her demands for a "ba-ba," I plopped her in her highchair and shoveled a bowlful of porridge (oatmeal and applesauce) into her waiting mouth and gave her a sippy cup of cold milk to drink...which she promptly threw right back at me!  Later that day she "asked" to nurse (yeah right, like I'm gonna let her do that again).  By the end of the day she had taken 1 sip of her milk from the sippy cup, so I gave in and gave her the bottle at bedtime (which she guzzled like it was the best stuff on Earth).  Defeat.
     Day two and three were pretty much the same as the first one...more requests to nurse, more sippy cup throwing, and increasing crankiness!  But by the end of day 4, she managed to drink 6 oz. of cold milk from her sippy cup.   So 1 bottle has disappeared.  Soon, I'm sure she won't even remember it. 
    So that is where we will remain...allowing 1 bottle a day at bedtime (followed by teeth brushing).   Afterall she is still my "baby."