Transition from bottle to cup

[emmiem]

I am trying to teach my one year old to use a cup and it's frustrating! Is it better to use a traditional sippy cup so the liquid comes right out? Should we try the non-drip type or wait? My daughter shows very little interest in a cup except for a plaything. I could use some advice.:)

[suzska]

I wish I could offer some advice, but I'm in pretty much the same situation. I have been trying for months (off and on) to get my son to use a sippy cup. He's just now starting to get the idea that it isn't a toy. Sometimes he will drink the whole thing, and sometimes he will drink a half ounce and what to get back to playing. He's getting a little better about trying to hold it himseld, but this has just been in the past week or two. I have tried Avent, Gerber, and Evenflo (and maybe one or two more). I like the Evenflo ones (with the "soft" spout--it seems to be a hard spout with a softer coating). These are the ones he finally started "accepting." I don't like that they don't have ounce markings on them, but I can "guess" how much milk he's getting. But he will also sometimes drink from the Gerber ones (most of these do have ounce markings I think--I have one with handles and a couple 7 oz.? ones without). I'm not so crazy about the Avent ones. I know everyone raves and raves about their stuff, but I'm one of those people who hasn't had good luck with it. Also, I've only use the "non-spill" of any brand since my son still likes to turn them upside-down and chew on the bottom of the cup.

The only thing I can suggest is get one or two types and just put some water in them. Let her play with them until she shows interest in drinking from them. My son liked the sound the water made in the Gerber cup with the handles.

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[acadiaphile]

I'm not there yet m'self, but friends RAVE about they Playtex sippy cups. Apparently the valve on those cups is super at not leaking. Friends of mine from Germany have brought home many when visiting not only for their own kids but for those of friends.

[neuhofer]

My 11-month daughter just finally got the whole idea about a cup this week. We have been trying with varying committment for about five months now to get SOMETHING other than the breast as an option, as I go back to work in a month and have needed to make a few excursions without her.

Fortunately, we got a wide assortment of bottle, nipple, and cup styles from my sister-in-law, so we didn't have to spend $5-10 each time only to realize immediate and firm rejection.

She NEVER tolerated any whiff of any bottle but always liked to try to drink straight from our adult cups. Seeing this, I tried the traditional sippy cups and the Playtex ones without valves inserted. (I had tried the Playtex sippy myself with the valve in place and decided that since you had to suck to get a vacuum going, she would hate it just as much as a bottle). She did like the traditional sippy if it was a two-handled cup. But she drank very little and would quickly turn to throwing the cup off the highchair, splattering a fair bit.

This week, I revisited the Playtex sippy with valve attached. She just LOVES it and we are off to the races. She definitely seems to like that she has to suck harder to get the liquid through the valve. (And she still adamantly refuses bottles!)

Advice in summary? Try and retry everthing. Her moods and abilities will change. It's great that you let her play with it to improve comfort, confidence, coordination. BTW, my nephew went straight to adult cup at 9-10 months (with parental help) because they just couldn't be bothered with kiddy cups. He did just fine.

Shannon