Sippy cup

[alison]

I'm just now trying to transition dd to a sippy cup. We are a little late to the party, because I needed a break from dd's feeding issues. She barely eats anything to begin with, and so I've been hesitant to push the sippy cup, because dd struggles so much with eating.

But now that we are a family obsessed with dental care, I thought I'd start encouraging dd to use the sippy cup on a more consistent basis.

Do you guys have any tips? The pediatrician said to let dd play around with one outside, and just fill it with water, but there's very little interest with the actual drinking aspect of it. I

If it were left up to me, I'd just let her drink out of a bottle. She isn't able to hold a cup on her own, but is able to drink out of one. Should I ditch the sippy cup and just let her have a cup?

[alison]

It would be SUCH a load off my mind if we just let her have a cup. I think she has seen me water plants, and views her sippy cups as watering cans... I'm tired of all the milestones set for babies and drinking receptacles. GAHHH!!!

Since my dd is a terrible eater, and she's been out of OT for some time, she tends to just bite on the rim of the cup when she gets bored of drinking... Sigh. She used to like to show off for her therapist.

[Ladybug]

Try a variety of sippy cups too. Each kid has had a different preference. Nuks are a good transition cup. One kid only liked straws. Nobody really liked the hard plastic tops until they already on sippy cups.

She's not even 1 yet, right? Leave her be!!! You're going to move, her life will be in flux, and she's been picky enough to begin with. My neighbor always went hardcore - no more bottle - right at their first birthday, which I thought was overkill. My boys both used bottles well into their 2nd year of life. M gave it up earlier -- she was never as offended by the idea of a sippy as the boys were. There is no rush, being bottle fed until 18 or 24 months will not hurt her.

[peggyfromwastate]

She's not even 1 yet, right? Leave her be!!! You're going to move, her life will be in flux, and she's been picky enough to begin with. My neighbor always went hardcore - no more bottle - right at their first birthday, which I thought was overkill. My boys both used bottles well into their 2nd year of life. M gave it up earlier -- she was never as offended by the idea of a sippy as the boys were. There is no rush, being bottle fed until 18 or 24 months will not hurt her.

ita...

I've had people tell me I need to take away DDs pacifier-- but I never took away the thumb from the 2 of my kids who were thumb suckers. Ultimately, the kids with the worst teeth is Kate, who needed braces and a minor dental surgery by 3rd grade. She drank from a cup only from age 10 months or so (honestly I didn't even know what a sippy cup was! I was soooo clueless), and she never sucked her thumb, never used a paci. Her teeth should have been perfect...

So, anyway, if the bottle is working for you, stick with it until she starts to not want it. This will probably happen- at that point you can transition to something different easier.

[HouseofWool]

Alison, given all of the stress you have coming up, I certainly wouldn't worry about it at this point. It just isn't that big of a deal. If you want to introduce it, great, but it isn't something that needs to be pushed at all.

[alison]

Ah, thank you, ladies. They are bf and sippy cup Nazis here, and just needed to hear from people in other parts of the country that it's ok that she's not using one. It's recommended that you start getting your kid used to one by 9 months. You know, because they'll never get into a good preschool. And that means, they won't get into a good advanced placement kindergarten, and blah blah blah.

[scrub-jay]

Ah, thank you, ladies. They are bf and sippy cup Nazis here, and just needed to hear from people in other parts of the country that it's ok that she's not using one. It's recommended that you start getting your kid used to one by 9 months. You know, because they'll never get into a good preschool. And that means, they won't get into a good advanced placement kindergarten, and blah blah blah.

Yes, and maybe just maybe M will NOT have a performance complex!!

[alison]

Have I told you recently that at nearly 11 months, dd still wants to be swaddled?! She breaks free, but in order to fall asleep, wants to be snug.

[Pollyanna]

She's not even 1 yet, right? Leave her be!!! You're going to move, her life will be in flux, and she's been picky enough to begin with. My neighbor always went hardcore - no more bottle - right at their first birthday, which I thought was overkill. My boys both used bottles well into their 2nd year of life. M gave it up earlier -- she was never as offended by the idea of a sippy as the boys were. There is no rush, being bottle fed until 18 or 24 months will not hurt her.

I ditto this too. Let her enjoy her bottles.

[Tenacious_D]

E is 19 months and I am not ashamed that he likes his bottle. The only change we made was using a sippy cup nipple (Born free) on his bottle but he is happy and happy baby makes happy mommy and daddy. I will never understand why folks are in such a rush to have kids grow up.

[madeintaiwan]

Seriously, don't worry about it. I had to have a little chuckle. I guess maybe since my kids were nursed, I never got the sippy cup "bashing." It was all about the cup. Especially in Davis. The center Jasen was at had the 10 month infants drinking from cups. All of my kids have been able to drink from little cups since before they were a year old. So, if you really want to worry yourself about something, skip the sippy and go straight for the cup training. All joking aside, Alison stop adding more stress to the big transitions you have coming up. When she's ready she's transition to the "next" step.

[Thirteen]

My two friends transitioned straight from BF/bottle to full-on cup (child sized, but still).
The hardest part was letting E learn for himself, and realizing that spills happen -- they really only give him water though, and occasionally homemade keifir or watered-down kombucha, so stains weren't an issue.

[MrsK]

:hijack: A related question: When to start the sippy cup? BabyK is 7 months old. He primarily breastfeeds. He drinks from a bottle at day care. He can hold the bottle but doesn't do so consistently and never does at the day care. (I told them that he can and they were surprised. They think he enjoys the service there.) DrK worked with him on holding the bottle the other day and had to keep directing the baby to tip the bottle to get more milk out rather than slapping the side of the bottle or squeezing it. I wouldn't push it but he's been very interested in straws and drinking glasses. If I'm holding a glass anywhere near him, he's grabbing it from me and putting the rim or the straw in his mouth. He also has a little toy cup, about 2 oz sized, and he pretends to drink from it. But when I give him a sippy cup, he's not interested at all. There is no way he'll be coordinated enough to use a regular cup soon. Should I keep offering the sippy cup?

[HouseofWool]

Mrs K, my sister never gives her kids a sippy, they all go right to a regular cup. I think both S and C were closer to a year before I started introducing a sippy. At 7 months, I wouldn't bother. He probably doesn't have the coordination yet.