Today was Noah's first official day with no sippy cup to drink out of. Yesterday, in a moment of inspiration I realized that perhaps the reason he has such a poor and picky appetite is because he is full of liquid. He walks around all day, sucking on that sippy cup, and although it may not be as filling as food, it's enough to keep true hunger at bay. I informed him last night that starting today he would need to drink out of a big boy cup at the cup, just like the other kids. And to keep us both honest, I took all his sippy cups, and stuffed them down deep in the yucky gross trash bag. I didn't want myself giving in in a moment of weakness.
There were a few tears, especially when he and Alexandra were sitting on the couch watching Star Wars together and she is sucking on her bottle for all she's worth. He thought that was highly unfair. But I explained to him that he would be starting kindergarten soon, and they don't have sippy cups there. All the kids drink out of normal cups, so he needs to get used to it at home. By the evening, he was doing much better. I also saw a huge leap in appetite, starting in the afternoon. He downed half a cucumber for zvieri and about 4 crepes at dinner. That is quite the feast for him.
Now I just need to figure out where I left my backbone when it comes to nursing Alexandra and I will be all set.