At Ivan's 12 month well check our Nurse Practitioner (who is not a mother) said, "OK, no more bottles, he can drink milk now"

Well, doesn't that sound EASY! I opted for unsweetened vanilla almond milk in place of dairy milk (we make a special effort to make sure Ivan is getting good fats by cooking with Olive Oil and feeding him avocados, etc). The first few days he seemed slightly bothered he didn't have a bottle, however, I kept his night time routine (which included a bottle) on schedule. The first few weeks he LOVED his "Ba-ba" and looked forward to it, but shortly after he only drank half and was more occupied with reading a few books rather than rocking with his bottle.

It took about 8 weeks in total (from his 1 year birthday) to the day I packed up the bottles ... As a new parent I often hear how every child will develop on his/her own time and not to get too caught up in milestones ... this was just a prime example of that in practice for us! I'm trying my hardest to nurture his development, while allowing him to be a baby just as long as possible!!

Feeding any child can be tricky! I've got a system in the way in which I present food to my 14 month old son that includes protein first, vegetables second, carbs next to last and fruit for desert! This was learned, like most new Mommy things, by trial and error! This order works best for my son, based on his preferences ... he loves his pasta and always has room for strawberries & blueberries!

The human brain increases approximately 3.5 times in mass between birth - 5 years old. This is why I have made such an effort to make sure I was taking a DHA supplement while pregnant and breastfeeding. Now that Ivan is on his own with regards to diet, it's my job to make sure he gets what he needs ... and sometimes that takes being more creative than not!

Our daily vitamin routine starts at breakfast ... I mix his multi-vitamin with Nordic Naturals Baby's DHA and either Bolthouse Strawberry-Banana Smoothy or Naked Juice's Green Machine.

Next, I thicken with brown rice or oatmeal infant cereal, which I love for the Iron (I could not find a multi-vitamin for babies that contained iron).

Poof, that nasty tasting multi-vitamin is disguised and down it goes! If he doesn't finish it at breakfast, I put it in the refrigerator so he can finish a few bites later in the day. He also enjoys a spoonful of Gaia's Black Elderberry Syrup to help support his bodies immune system since I cannot keep him from putting EVERYTHING from everyone's playroom in his mouth!