Getting Baby to Use a Sippy Cup

My daughter would not drink anything out of a bottle or sippy cup. She would drink out a dripless straw cup.

With my kids I used the soft nippled playtex sippy cup with handles on the side to start off. I would give it to them very frequently with diluted juice in it and would try to show them how to use it (I would drink out of it). At first they would play a lot with it but then would start to drink more and more from it. Later on I changed to cows milk in the sippy cup too.

Hi there,

My daughter showed no interest in a sippy cup at 10 months. It, too, seemed to irk her. (She was bottle fed, though.) I got nervous thinking, "How am I going to get her off a bottle?" and when she turned a year old, she went through a phase where she didn't want her bottle. I think she had a cold. Anyway, that day I threw out her bottles and went straight to a sippy cup. She was drinking whole milk at that time.

Since then, she's 19 months and we've never looked back!

Give it time. I think it's too early for your son. Just my two cents.

T. :)

My son also was breastfed and never took a bottle without a battle. We were inconsistent. I was disappointed, but I figured we would skip the weaning from a bottle, at least. We started giving water in a sippy cup around 8 months. He did not get the hang of it for awhile. Just keep offering it. I did eventually try the Nuby, and I think that works best. He also did OK with the Playtex. When he turned a year, it was time to try milk, and I was very concerned that he would not drink it. But, we tried the Nuby straw cup (shorter one), and it worked after some tries. I felt like he could get a good flow from the straw. I do remember trying breastmilk in the regular sippy cup for feedings when I was not with the baby (since he did not take the bottle). I don't think it hindered his idea of nursing. Just keep trying the sippy and it will eventually click. Every stage has its worries, but looking back, it is amazing to see how it all worked out. Have a Merry Christmas!

Hi T.,
I also breast fed my son and he had occasional bottles until he was 6 months and refused to take one. So at that time I let him play with a Gerber sippy cup with water to get used to having a cup.I found it was too hard for him to suck anything out of though, so I got the take and toss cups and they aren't really leak proof, so when he put it in his mouth, I could give it a little squeeze and the juice or water would come out. After that, he caught on pretty quickly and was drinking out of them well by 9 1/2 to 10 months. Don't worry about not taking the bottle...it is one less thing you have to worry about weaning!! I also weaned him from nursing at 1 year and he did great...I think he did better then me! Good Luck!

Playtex makes an awesome straw sippy! That's how we got my son to drink from a cup. It's pretty much leak proof til you start throwing it in the dishwasher! then it will drip if turned upside down. there is a lid on it so it's great when you are out. my son is almost two and is drinking great from regular cups now. totally bypassing the sippy

Hi T.,

I breastfed my daughter to one year, but offered a sippy cup of water starting around 6 months as it was hot and we were moving (I was afraid we'd both get dehydrated!). She took to it so well that when I introduced milk in a sippy, she refused. I had to supplement her with a TON of baby yogurt (the full fat kind that Stonyfield makes) while we weaned as she didn't mind leaving the breast, but I worried about milk consumption. Some docs have told my friends not to worry, but my doc agreed that she needed the calories, fat, and calcium from milk (even suggested OJ with calcium). But my daughter HATES juice and even at 2 won't drink it. She'd rather have the actual fruit, and the only time she has sampled juice is at parties when she grabs another kid's Capri Sun! I think in that case it's the novelty, not the taste:)

We are just introducing the cup now as she just didn't get it for the longest time - she now gets 1/2" of liquid in a regular plastic cup and loves it as a "treat". If she's thirsty, she wants the sippy or a cup with a straw and she'll go to town!

Experiment - you'll find the answer for yourself!
Take care and Merry Christmas!

We went through quite a few sippy cups until we found one that our som would drink out of. Look for ones that are closest looking and feel like bottles. that may help the transition.

Hi,

I had a couple of kiddos that didn't want the bottle. I know some people say that the soft nipple sippy cups are not good for teeth or weaning or some such thing but they worked great for me. I also, although it is messy, let the little one start with a small amount of water in a regular juice sized cup. They start to realize that the stuff in the cup is really good and they are not so picky about trying it next time.

Just be patient, it will all sort it self out, just be consistant in letting your little one try it every day.

Good luck.

Mom of four: 12, 10, 9 and almost 4

When we were at my son's 12 mo checkup I said to the doctor, "he's just not ready for a sippy cup yet-- is that a problem?" He drank fine at the breast or bottle, but just couldn't get the sippy cup down. He said that was fine, and that they really only wanted him off the bottle by 18 months. I offered the sippy every day (with water, milk, or some very watered-down juice). Within 3 weeks (just after he turned 13 months) he had a day where he was without me, and without a bottle, all day until dinner time. I gave him the sippy at dinner and he drank from that. That night, after he went to bed, I packed up all the bottles and we've been off the bottle ever since.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that there will come a day developmentally when he's ready, and you can't really make it happen before that. But he won"t go to college still drinking from a bottle (well, not a baby bottle anyway, lol), so don't worry!

Hi T.,

I recommend you get a Nuby baby sippy cup. The spout is very pliable, like a bottle and easy for them to master. Don't buy too many... once they know how to drink the spouts are easily broken. I also recommend trying it with something that would be of great interest to drink, apple juice, etc. Just until he gets the hang of it.

My daughter also couldn't really drink from one until she was 12 mos. Prior to that, she was 75% breast/25% bottle fed.

Good luck!

Hi T....Try a cup with lid and straw or the little 100% juice boxes. For some reason (in my experience) babies seem to get the hang of straws (boxes/cups with straws) before they really get the hang of using sippy cups. This has worked for all three of my girls and the babies I have taken care of. Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

T., I also breast feed. I started my daughter on a sippy cup when she was 6 or 7 months old. All I did was put a little bit of water in it, and had it there on her highchair while she would eat solids. She didn't really do much with it at first, but over time she started to play with it and when she would do that I would try to get her to take it into her mouth. I never forced the issue. Make sure to start out with the kind of cups that have the soft spouts (I used Nuby). She wouldn't taker the harder spouts for a long time...I guess because she's used to a soft nipple.

Also, if your son is into doing what you do, you can drink from the cup and let him watch you. He may just want to try it then...my daughter wants everything that I have and wants to do everything I'm doing.

Good luck! And good luck on weaning too...I haven't started to think about that yet!

Hi T.,

I started my daughter drinking out of a regular glass first as she was very attached to the breast and the bottle with breastmilk in it when I am/was at work. She does great now with both the sippy cup and regular cup/glass. We did start earlier than 10 months, but I don't think that should make a difference. I initially gave her water and she seemed to enjoy it, still loves water best! My daughter did not like apple juice or any juice really until she was past a year of age (16 months now). Maybe your little guy just doesn't like apple juice? Try something else, I don't think giving him breastmilk in the cup would be bad, although I can't say I ever tried it myself. Good luck.

What my sister did, and therefore what I did, was to move from the breast to the glass without a sippy cup in between. It's kind of fun, and funny, honestly, because they have to learn how to do it. Feel free to use water, too, not just juice. And if you use a plasic cup, like what comes with the little toddler place settings, or something, that he can hold, with just a wee bit of liquid in it at a time, he will see that you both eat and drink at mealtime, and he may want to experiment and try it, too. It will spill, however. He'll make a mess on more than one occasion so plan to relax about that ahead of time. Mealtime should be fun, not frustrating, and cleaning up the face can be fun, too.

(My sister, whom I first thought was insane, used to take warm wash cloth, swing it in front of her son's face, then let go and have it land on his face. He's startle, of course, then slide it off his face after she asked, "Where's _____?" It was quite a game, and he loved it ! And, he washed his own face in the process. I did initially think she was horrid through, simply throwing the washcloth at him !! And, yeah, I copied the game, too, and it worked with my girls, too ! )

Offer the drink at mealtime, when he's eating food anyway, and he'll gum it some, because he doesn't know how else to drink from a glass, and it might even make a little noise. He WILL get water down his bib. For sure. So make it fun and it'll help to wash his food down, and it'll be okay.

After my children were drinking from glasses at mealtime, their older siblings came up with the grand idea that I should buy those sippy cups that don't spill when tipped over. That was a disaster! They had learned to drink from cups and could suck with enough force anymore to get the drink out. If you are using one of those, he may be frustrated trying to drink as much as use the cup. (I ended up pulling the mechanism out that makes it spillproof and so hard to such from.)

Honestly, what happened in our house is we went from breast to bottle and cup (at mealtime) and eventually to drinking from a cup all the time, then later, as preschoolers, they opted for the sippy cups because they thought they were "fun". They even played with them at 10, because I have tupperware sippy covers for regular cups we still use. You just kind of do what works for both you and your son, and try not to frustrate either of you too much.

I'm impressed with your career. It's wonderful to be able to combine parenting and a career, and my hat's off to you !!

I didn't breastfeed my son but I let him have his bottle till he was one and then we gave him a sippy cup after he turned one. Maybe it's just a little too early for him.

Like all other things, patience, patience and MORE patience! You are on the right track. Just keep offering the sippy and eventually he'll get the hang of it. When I had to make any changes for my 3 boys (ages 6,5,3) I always told myself to give it 2 weeks for them to adjust. It never took that long but it definitely helped me cope through the tantrums, tears, crying, etc. Also, consistency is key to your success no matter how tough it gets, you have to stick to it. Good luck!!! It'll all be fine and work out and you'll be amazed at how quickly he'll be using his sippy!!!!

I breastfed (still am with my youngest) all 3 of mine. We did occasional pumped bottles, but very few (fewer with each one as it just seemed to add an extra step). I always started offering the sippy with water beginning when they started cereal (6 months) at every meal. They'd play with it at first, but having it on the tray at every feeding made it familiar. My first one really only liked water other than breastmilk. Even when she weaned, she never would take milk (we tried all sorts) or even juice. We've always liked the Playtex line of cups. The lids mix and match and they seemed to be easy for mine. At first it can be tricky to get them to understand how to suck on the sippy. It can be helpful to remove the "stopper" device that prevents spilling at first (only when sitting in the high chair or you'll have a mess!) Sometimes that helps them to realize that there is something in it and it's worth working for. Also, you mentioned putting just a little juice in the cup whne you offered it. In my experience, they don't have to work as hard to get the drink if the cup is mostly full.

In summary ....
1- Fill the cup mostly full
2- Remove the stopper
3- Offer it with water at every meal - just put it on the tray
4- Replace the stopper and let her have it during play time to try it out too

My son was also breastfed & he also did not like the sippy cups at first. I eventually got the born free cups with the soft tips. They flow much faster/require little sucking, so he quickly learned he could get fluid out of that. They do leak though, so I only used them at the table. Once he got good with the cups I then switched to various playtex models. He likes them all now. Also, my son would only drink water out of a sippy cup. He did not like juice or milk. It still takes us all morning to get him to drink his 8 oz of milk. He's just not a big fan. He can drink 8 oz of water in a few mins if he's thirsty. But he takes hours to finish his milk. The doctor told us that was fine as long as he's getting other dairy products. He still doesn't drink juice out of his sippy. He will drink juice out of juice boxes or straw cups, but not his sippy cups. Its strange, but I figure its probably better that he doesn't want juice all the time. So, give water a try & try various sippy cups. ALso, it took a long time for my son to figure out how to hold the sippy cup, so I had to hold it up for him every time he wanted a drink. you may need to do that too. Finally, if the sippy cup still isn't working try using a real cup or a biking/sports bottle. My son learned to drink (with assistance) out of a water bottle long before the sippy cup. the sippy cup is not essential, its just convienent.

Hi! Take the valve out so that when you tip it up, the liquid will drip out a bit - then he'll get the idea that there is something in there. Or, use the "Take n Toss" sippy cups, they don't have valves so they will drip also.

Once he puts it together that there is something good in there (I'd use juice too, not breast milk), he'll get the hang of it and you can put the valves back in.

Hi T.!
My daughter is a year and a half and I tried introducing the sippy cup around 10 months. She did not take well to it, either. Someone told me to give her juice in a cup that is not spill proof. (You can find them at the dollar store.) Once she realized there was something good in it, she took it. Then move on to the spill proof cup because he will know there's juice in it, he should try to suck it out. I hope it works as good for you as it did for me.

Hi T.,

I tried introducing a cup at the same with no result, I waited until he was a year and he did great. Another thing, you could try is just water. My son wanted no part of the juice still doesn't at 14 1/2 months and we are bottle free to boot. Just give him time..he will take it when he is ready. Good Luck!

I agree with others about using a regular cup and/or straw. According to our son's developmentalist, its great that he's drinking from a sippy cup, but its not necessary (not drinking from one won't hold him back in any way).