When and how to start on sippy cups?

[MustangGal]

Kyle is 6 months now, and I think it''s about time to try a sippy cup. He shows no interest in holding his own bottle though, so it might be a long process. He can sit up just fine on his own, and does well in the high chair.

And tips and cup types that worked for you?

 

[TravelingGal]

I''ll save you some time. Go buy a crapload of sippies and spend tons of money - then throw them all away when none of them work.

Seriously, I am the sippy queen - tried many. Here''s my advice - do straw over sippy. Better for their teeth. And don''t bother buying a bunch of cups. Just buy some straws and put them in water (use your finger to block the end so you can get water in it). Put it in your son''s mouth and slowly let the water go down. Keep doing it until he learns how to suck the water out.

Then try a simple straw set like the take and toss. These aren''t spill proof, so watch out. But there is no valve so the sucking motion is easier on the little ones. Oh and you can just buy these to start and teach your son using these straws because the disposable ones sometimes don''t work well since they find out quick how to chew on them.

Graduate to a munckin straw sippy.

 

[Loves2Laugh]

Hi Mustang, I intruduced Parker to a sippy cup about a month ago when he turned 6 months. He also didn''t and still doesn''t have any interest in holding his own bottle but I figured why not? He does well with it depending on the day. One day he will want no part of it and just a week ago I was packing his diaper bag and turned around to see what he was up to in his highchair and he was holding it AND drinking from it all on his own! I give it to him every time we get done eating in his chair and he''s come to expect it. We give him water. I bought the Munchkin cups with the silicone top and handles on the side at BRU. Good luck!! It''s amazing how fast they grow, isn''t it?

 

[D&T]

I bought a sippy cup (it was about $6) gosh, I have to go back and check the brand of it though, and this was the first cup that my second DD has taken and it works amazing! first time she totally got the hang of it, it has like 5 oz measuring lines too, This cup is suppose to be a cross between the breast feeding/bottle feeding phase & big kids sippy cup. The nipple/spout is soft like the bottle nipple is, I first introduce the sippy cup also at 6 months, I had to lay her down so she knew it was a similar experience to a bottle, but I truly love this cup. with my first DD it was a little harder and I didn't reallly push the sippy cup, nor did I find this cup either.

ETA: this cup also has a detachable handle too. I"ll find out the brand and what it looks like and post later about it.

 

[somethingshiny]

I introduced the sippy between 6 and 8 months. He only got milk and water from a bottle, so I put diluted juice in the cup. I gave him a tiny little sip before I put on the top. He was willing to work for the juice since it was a treat.

My sis was able to use any cup as long as she removed the valve (so no more spill-proof). I started JT on the Nuby brand with soft sippy tops and two handles. When he got teeth I switched him to a harder top. I introduced straws at the same time but he would flood himself when trying to conquer it.

I really think the trick with the juice is what made it work. He wasn''t going to give up when he knew what was in there.

By the time he was 9 or 10 months, he was nearly off the bottle. He still wanted his morning bottle, but other than that, he wanted everything in his cup. (he wasn''t a big bottle holder either)

 

[neatfreak]

Mine loooove playing with their sippy cups. They''ll drink out of them now but at first it was just playtime. We put water in them and just let them bang them around and have a good time. He''ll get it eventually.

 

[waxing lyrical]

We started DD1 on a straw sippy cup at 4.5 months since she wouldn''t take to a bottle. DD2 was 5 months.

 

[mrssalvo]

I second tgal''s advice. i bought Jake a regular sippy and he played with it. did everything but drink from it. around 9-10 months we started working on the straw and once he had it mastered, it only took him a couple tries I bought the Munchkin straw sippys and they work great. I actually just bought the regular take and toss sippy''s to have something less complicated to put together

and he drinks from it fine, but he''s 16 months. Most babies I know don''t get the hang of a sippy straw or other kind until closer to 12 months. another thing I love about them learning the straw early is when I forget his cup (which has been known to happen) i can always order him a water or milk in a plastic cup with lid and straw and not worry that he''s not getting enough to drink.

 

[MustangGal]

Thanks ladies!

We did buy one of the 2 handled Munchkin ones with the soft spout this weekend, thinking it would be more like a bottle. It also was one of the lightest weight ones, so I tought it might be easier. We''re going to give it a go tonight. The doc says no juice yet, so I guess we''ll try water. At least if it leaks all over it''s just water. I''ll try the stra also Tgal, I do have a straw cup I got as a shower gift.

Any one us the Dr. Brown ones? Those are the bottles we use, so I thought it might be a good cup to try, but they didn''t have any last night.

 

[qtiekiki]

We offered M a sippy cup before she holds her own bottle. I don’t remember the exact timeline of thing, but probably started offering around 6 or 7 months. We only offered water in the cup. The sippy that worked for us was the take and toss ones. We tried the BornFree sippy sprout and the Boon sippy before the PS mommies suggested the simple take and toss. Shortly after those, we transitioned to munchkin straw cup around 10.5 months. The transition to the straw cup was easy. I’ve read a lot of babies take to the straw cup easier than the sippy actually, so I second Tgal’s suggestion of skipping sippy.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My boys mostly just chewed on their sippy cups and banged them around during the first 6-12 months. Our table looked fabulous after about 1.5 years of that!

I kept a few cups to include in their baby boxes and there are teeth imprints all around the sucking part!

Oddly, last year I found some BPA free 8 oz. kids' size sippy cups at Costco and all of my kids' friends and my kids use them, too, because they're the only decent style for when in the car. My kids love to use them at home too and poor their own milk into them and keep the cups in the door of the fridge and sip throughout the day. Yes, they pour their own milk from gallon jugs and then use a sippy! Who knows. They do spill quite a bit on the floor when filling their cups. lol (and these sippies are targeted toward the 6-8 age range.)

Now that so much more is known about plastics, I would be very picky about which brands I would let my baby drink from. ETA - I hadn't heard of Dr. Brown, but just checked Costco and there is a set of BPA free bottles on there for $33.99.

 

[D&T]

ok- this is what we have and love it. the handles/base comes apart

http://www.gerber.com/Products/NUK_Learner_Cup.aspx

 

[MustangGal]

Thank D&T, we saw those yesterday when we were shopping, but I was afraid they were a little heavy to start with. They looked nice though!

So, here''s how the sippy cup intro went:
Fed Kyle pears and sweet potatoes, then handed him the cup 1/2 full of water in the high chair. I put his hands on the handles, and tiped it up to his mounth. He sucked away on it, and amazingly liked the water (he''s made faces at me when we tried to give him water in a bottle in the past). I let him play with it while we ate dinner, and he kept sucking at different parts of it, but never really got the spout back in his mouth. I put it in a couple times to help him, and you could tell he was trying to get it on his own.

When we were done eating dinner I layed him down on the carpet and helped him position it. He pulled it out and put it back in a few times on his own, and sucked down all the water. So I guess we''ll call it sippy cup success for now. We''ll see if we can repeat tomorrow!

 

[MustangGal]

And here he''s sucking away on it, he managed to do a 1 hand hold already.

 

[D&T]

awww what a cutie! sounds like he had success yay!

 

[sbde]

adorable pics mustanggal!!

looks like kyle took to the sippy cup like a champ j did the same, we bought the same NUK one that D&T posted and he plays with it in his mouth a bit like a teether but also takes sips from time to time.

 

[qtiekiki]

Kyle is so adorable, and such a smartie for getting the sippy right away. Yay for sippy cup success.

 

[somethingshiny]

OMG, he is so freakin cute! Looks like a success! Congratulations!!

Be prepared for him to make you a liar now that you''ve told us he can do it. (babies love to make you a liar)

 

[atroop711]

I started each of my kids on sippys around 6mo. Noah is 9mo now and will only drink from it for a sip or two..he likes to play with the water instead. He held on well from the beginning and the nipple part is soft enough that he just sucked away. I will introduce the straw sippy in a few months. I like those better