"Whoa, whoa, old lady...need my fix. Where the hell is my calcium?"

I hope Rachel doesn't hold a grudge.  It is really (Ching and my) fault that she is in this predicament.  (Hanging my head low)...Before each nap or bedtime, we let her have a small bottle of milk as part of the nighty-night routine.  You may scoff at my usage of "nighty night" until  you find out that we call the bottle a "ba-ba."  Since she is closer to 3 than 2, we need to ween her from this habit.

I feel unbearably cruel taking this form of comfort away.  I can't imagine how she understands why we are doing this.  (Jesus, she doesn't see Ching giving up his Sunday night sweet.  This isn't code for anything.  Every Sunday night he has something sweet from Whole Foods--his favorite is this parfait of crumbled pie layered in whipped cream.)  We keep telling her she is a big girl and giving up her bottle is the next step.

Today, before her nap, I thought I could reason with her and she understood.  She could have a sippy cup while she finished playing but no ba-ba watching Calliou right before nap.  The snapping out of the Calliou routine was easy---like me, she seems tired of the whiny bald headed freak.  She said that she would get into her crib with Baby Bear and a book.  As she was cuddled in and I walked out of her room, she clearly started looking at me with a "Whoa, whoa, old lady...need my fix.  Where the hell is my calcium?"  I didn't give in and tried the reasoning again.  But when I think she has given me the finger, I walk out of her room, calmly.

I stay close even though she is screaming for me.  After 10 seconds, she has given up on me and starts crying for her daddy.  After 5 long minutes, she is asleep.

As she is sleeping I hoped that she would wake up not hating me.  Rachel was full of joy when she woke up, like nothing had happened.  This process still isn't over but we are another step closer.  If we are lucky, this "un-routine" may just last until Thursday.  But it's going to be a long few nights.

God, what is going to happen when I tell her that she can't shit in her pants AND has to wipe herself?