Training/Sippy Cups - Introducing Water to 5-Month Old Twins

[blushingbride]

Hi All,

I was given the green light to introduce water to my 5-month old twins, but I was given no instruction on how to do so. What's the best way to go about doing this? Do I give them a few ounces when I'm feeding them their solid meals?

Also, what's the best sippy/training cup to use for this? There are so many out there and I'm curious to know which ones worked best for you all.

A friend of mine told me she gave her baby sips from a straw in the beginning which worked like a charm because she never had to use a training cup (she would draw some water into the straw and cover the top of it with her finger and then let her baby sip from the bottom). I'm wondering if I should also use this method.

Any thoughts, advice and recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[cdt1101]

Re: Training/Sippy Cups - Introducing Water to 5-Month Old T

After trying every sippy cup out there, we found that these worked the best in the beginning.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2793344

They come in a 5oz size which is even better when they are infants since they can grip it better. We gave my son the cup w/ a solid food feeding. These cups are super cheap so worth a try....

Closer to a year we introduced the straw, once he got the hang of that we never used sippies.

 

[meresal]

Re: Training/Sippy Cups - Introducing Water to 5-Month Old T

Our little one does real well with this one:

http://www.playtexbaby.com/CupsMealtime/The-First-Sipster-Cup

ETA: The straw method can be VERY time consuming. If they like it, they will want you to do it over and over again. We do this at restaurants, and it is annoying. I can't imagine how you would be able to do that with 2.

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Training/Sippy Cups - Introducing Water to 5-Month Old T

Sophia is weird. She never understood how to use a sippy cup. She learned how to use a straw early on and that's what we use. We tried the tomme tippie (I think that's what it's called) and didn't like it. So now we use some cheapy straw cups from wal-mart (munchkin brand).

We also did with meals and because it's so hot and humid here, we also offered periodically throughout the day.

 

[Mara]

Re: Training/Sippy Cups - Introducing Water to 5-Month Old T

At 6mo, we just got a Green Sprouts sippy at Whole Foods and put water in it and let him play with it at first. Then we started offering it to him at meals. Eventually he figured out that liquid was in it and he wanted it and got better at drinking from the spout. We didn't like the ones that had the 'non-leak' because it was just too hard for him to get water out and he'd give up. So we removed the non-leak valve and just dealt with some water spilling here and there while he figured it out.

Then around 9-10mo, because he was very good at sucking the Plum Organics puree pouches, I thought he might do ok with a straw, so I got a juice box (after reading this tip online), and put the straw in his mouth and when he went to pursue his lips a little, I squeezed the box. Juice came out and he swallowed instinctively. We did that a few more times and then he realized he could suck on it and take the juice out. We had to practice a bit more for him to get it consistently. Also he'd see me drinking from a straw and want some. Now he prefers the straw which is great for us because we can just request a water glass with a straw at restaurants.

If they seem a little not interested at 5mo, we were recommended to start at 6mo, so I'd say just keep introducing it to them and be patient. They'll pick it up and it's great you are doing it earlier rather than later. I would say that J was not really consistently drinking a good amt of water with meals til ~7mo when he was eating more solids and enjoying it.

 

[mayachel]

Re: Training/Sippy Cups - Introducing Water to 5-Month Old T

Hi there, just wanted to chime in to say that the introduction of water at this age is more about learning to swallow differently and not so much about hydration. At 5 months, they should not be given more than 2 oz of water per 24 hours to prevent water intoxication.