I Want My Daughter to Drink Her Milk from the Sippy Cup

Updated on March 16, 2008
J.D. asks from Louisville, KY
16 answers

Good Morning!
My daughter is 14 months old and I am ready to wean her from the bottle. She drinks water and juice from the sippy cup, but WILL NOT drink her milk from it. I'm concerned that she won't get the vitamins that she needs if I just stop giving her the bottle. But, I am really ready to get rid of the bottles. Any advice you could give would be great.

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S.S.

answers from Greensboro on

Try giving her milk in a cup with a straw even if you have to help her. My son was off the bottle at a year and on a straw and cup. She will get so she will drink her milk form a cup it just takes time because mostly she drinks juice and her water so it is different for her plus you didn't say does she get a bedtime bottle? that might be the different if the bottle is only milk at bedtime.

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S.U.

answers from Raleigh on

Hi J., this must be pretty normal, specifically with milk, because I had the same issue as well as others here. They must associate milk with the bottle, or it could be a temp issue, but I didn't know if you were giving the milk to her cold in the bottle as well. Anyhow, two suggestions are 1) may want to try the Nuby brand sippies as a transition, they are more like a bottle but still a sippy. If you've tried that already and it hasn't worked, all I can say is persistence. Just don't give in and give a bottle because that will make it take longer. Keep handing her that sippy. It will happen. I really don't think there are any magic tricks but time! Good luck...

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E.G.

answers from Clarksville on

have you tried other sippy cups? what about those travel ups with a straw instead and are spill proof. my daughter was already using regular cups, we didn't use sippy cups except for travel really. have you tried assisting her with a small open big kid cup? good luck

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B.W.

answers from Chattanooga on

You would be surprised of how often this exact question is posted! In fact, I posted one similar just weeks ago. My daughter is one and she wouldn't drink her formula or milk out of her sippy either. However, we have recently turned a corner! She has a milk intolerance so she has to be on soy. She HATED the soy milk, but she loves Vanilla soy milk by Silk. I have read several moms on here that said the same about their little one. She sucks it down! It even says on the carton that it won a 2007 best taste award! You can tell it's targeted for kids. We started by replacing just one bottle with a sippy. Then another, then another and so on. I eliminated her lunch and snack one and just recently her night time and morning. Slooooow process but we are seeing success. Oh, and she also uses the Nuby brand. The only kind she really took to! Hope this helps!

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J.M.

answers from Charlotte on

Start telling her that when there is no more bottle, she has to drink milk from her sippy cup. Gradually dispose of all bottles out of her sight. Then tell her this is the last bottle when it's gone no more bottle-only sippy cups like big girls. Then one day you two search the whole house for the bottle and there will be none and then celebrate that she is a big girl. You must act sad that there are no bottles, then get really happy and smiling that she is a big girl-your enthusiasm will ease her sadness, then you "brag" in front of her to everyone how great she is doing drinking her milk out a sippy cup.

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K.A.

answers from Hickory on

At her meals, try putting a sippy cup of water and one of milk and continously do this for about a week. Put a little bit of water in the cup that she drinks it dry and hopefully she'll pick up the milk cup. If she is stubborn, it won't hurt her to be without milk for a week. Just repeat it daily. She'll get used to it. Good luck! K.

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D.P.

answers from Raleigh on

My son will only drink milk from the sippy with the pop-up straws. When we first weaned off the bottle, he thought these were so much fun. To this day, he will only drink his milk from these. Good luck...

J.M.

answers from Nashville on

Hey J.,
Have you tried the "Nubby" cup? I have seen them at Walmart and they have worked wonderfully as a transition cup b/t the bottle and the cup for children who still want that 'bottle-like' feel. They are pretty cheap too. No valves to remove, they have a silicon-like top that is soft like a bottle nipple. I have used these in feeding therapy with some of my patients and it has worked wonderfully.
Hope this helps.
J. M.
www.jennifermcveyslp.com

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M.C.

answers from Nashville on

Both my kids went through that for a little while with the milk. I found that they drank their milk better if I stuck the sippy cup in the microwave for 30 seconds....to take the chill off. Have you tried making it chocolate milk or strawberry milk? Maybe if it's more like a special treat, she'll drink it that way... She'd still be getting the "milk" benefits. My oldest niece would ONLY drink "pink milk". =0) They always had a never ending supply of the Nestle Strawberry mix. Other than trying those things and testing out different kinds of sippy cups, my only other advice would be to see if she likes the drinkable yogurt drinks. Really, all you're wanting is the calcium benefits and those yogurt drinks provide that. They come in smaller sizes and you can poke a straw through the top so they won't spill too bad. My daughter STILL loves those things! A bazillion flavors & all their favorite characters to choose from. =0) Good luck!

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A.M.

answers from Memphis on

Hi J.! My daughter was 14 months old yesterday, will not drink milk from her sippy cup. Once she turned 1, I tried whole, organic, soy milk and even chocolate milk, but nothing has worked so far. Because my little one is a picky eater, I was really worried about her not drinking milk. My doctor told me to keep trying and I will but in the meantime, I started her on the Enfamil Next Step (which she will only drink out of the bottle) until I can work on her eating habits. Don't worry, it is very common (at least among my friends and family) for kids not to like milk once they stop drinking formula. Just try and be the patient mommy you are and it will all work out. Please let us know what happens over the next couple of months. You may also try Pedisure, or Nutri Pal Drinks. My baby girl doesn't like them, but yours may. Try diluting it with water to start.

A. M.

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C.S.

answers from Jacksonville on

Hi, my friend had the same issue this time last year. They packed up ALL the bottles and gave them to the easter bunny and took a picture as a reminder. Sure did work for her. Good Luck! Chas

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M.B.

answers from Rocky Mount on

My daughter never would drink milk after the bottle. To this day she won't drink milk. She gets calcium through other sources like cheese. Also, I never drank milk again after the bottle. I still don't like milk. Maybe your daughter is the same way.

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S.D.

answers from Nashville on

Make big show out of throwing away the bottles-into a trash can with a clean trash liner in it. Tell her that you are throwing them away because she is a big girl now and doesn't need them and hand her a glass of milk in a sippy cup. Then when she isn't looking hide the bottles for your next child. Do not have any juice in the house when you do it. Give her water and milk out of the sippy cup for a couple of days. My mother used to say to me, "Remember, you are the parent, she is the child."

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J.C.

answers from Wilmington on

I used the Nubi sippy cups with my daughter that have a soft nipple-like top and they worked like a charm. I know you can get them at Walmart.

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L.M.

answers from Fayetteville on

Hello J.!!

I am a mother who went through the same thing with the sippy cup. Believe it or not I got my sons off the bottle when he was 6 1/2 or maybe 7 mos old. But my second son however like your daughter did not want to drink a certain drink from his sippy cup. He would not drink water from his sippy cup, but would drink milk out of a pot if I gave it to him. Thats just how much he loves milk, I have to keep at least 2 1/2 gal of milk in my fridge. But the way I got him to drink water from his sippy cup was by adding a lil sugar or corn syrup to sweetin it a little and he would drink it down...I had a cousin that would only drink her milk if it was sweet or she was given strawberry milk. Being that your baby drinks juice from her sippy cupp try sweeting her milk or try the strawberry milk..Or see if she will drink it out of a small regular cup, cause it may be hard later for you to try and get her off the sippy cup because they tend to treat it like it is a bottle too, my lil one went through that phase and now he only drinks from a regular cup(not filled all the way up of course) and he is 2 years old. Now I just need to get the potty traing together lol, he just wont do it!!! Good luck though.....

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K.C.

answers from Charlotte on

Stop giving her the bottles, the longer you prolong it the harder it will be. She will not go hungry. Our Dr. told us once that children will eat when they are ready and they won't starve themsleves.

Do you do anything different when you give her milk in a bottle as opposed to when you give her juice in a sippy? Check that out.

It will probably take several tries but hang in there.

Children aren't picky eater, we make them that way. It takes several introductions to foods before a child starts to like it.

Think about it. Babies are on bottles, then to mushy stuff, then to table food. Experiencing something new each time. The more you introduce the item the faster they began to eat it.

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