Ok I have asked questions before and have gotten some great advice...so here I go again. I don't remember when and how I got my son onto a sippy and on whole milk. I want to say that he was off the bottle by the time he was 1, and drinking whole milk at least most of the time, but I can't remember. My daughter will be 1 next month and I have been trying to give her a sippy and she just doesn't want to take it. she just chews on it, so I took the valve part way out thinking that if she gets some milk she will know to suck on it to get her milk... but she still just chews on it. So my question is how did you handle the transition and is there any thing that made it easier? Also when did you start your babies on whole milk?
I am happy to say that she is on the sippy cup now although she does still need a bottle at bed time... and she is on whole milk. Thank you all for all the advice that you gave me, it was wonderful and appreciated.
Hi A.,
I like the Avent sippy cups, b/c you can actually put a bottle nipple into it, as well as the regular spout that it comes with. Also, it's rubber and flexible, so my son transitioned to it without any trouble. I switched my son from formula to whole milk at 1 year. Good luck!
I agree with Cassandra. Our pediatrician said to introduce a regular cup to our son at 10 months. We chose cups with handles on the sides, playtex was the brand, I think. We had several cascading milk episodes, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly. We started with just enough milk to cover the bottom of the cup and increased the amount as he became more adept. When we travel and our son wants something to drink, we hand him a playtex water bottle. There's no nipple, it just has a small opening and you have to suck out the water, etc. And it doesn't spill if you tip it upside down. Great product!
Try the brand NUBY sp? sippie cups they sell them at walmart and they have almost like a bottle nipple but yet still a sippie lid, they're soft and silcone like a nipple but it's definately a sippie cup. That cup is the easiest to transition over.
With the milk I would switch 1 or the other meaning don't switch over to a cup and whole milk at the same time. Either start the whole milk in her regular bottles she's use to or start formula in sippie cup. I think switching both at the same time might be to much. The easiest way to switch the milk is just add whole milk to the formula and add a little more every few days til it's mostly just whole milk.
As far as when to switch most parents switch at or by age1 but you can wait a bit longer if you want also.
A.,
We started with a regular cup, THEN transitioned to a sippy. We wanted him to be able to use both so that he'd know how to use a sippy cup in the car/stroller/etc. Use both for awhile, she'll get the hang of it! Also, find a sippy cup with a soft spout - that's more like the bottle and she might know what to do then.
Good luck!
Amy
My daughter did the same thing with the hard sippys. She just used them as chew toys. The silicone topped nuby sippy worked for us. I kept tryin with the hard topped ones also and eventually she 'got it' and started using them too.
I second the advice on gradually mixing in the whole milk to formula. Thats what we did. Doesnt mater if its by one year or a bit after- do what works for her.
Good Luck!
Why not just teach her how to drink out of a regular little cup? There'd be nothing for her to chew on, and she has to learn how to drink out of a cup eventually. By son is almost 9 months old, and I am totally bypassing the sippy cup. They seem like nothing but glorified bottles to me.
I bought my son a little SIGG brand water bottle. There are multiple tops you can buy for the SIGG bottles, and he has one where a little stream of water comes out the center, and he actually has to gulp and swallow. So far it is going great.
If you are giving her a soft nipple sippy, give her a hard one. They don't wear as easily and she may be chewing on it because of teething! If she continues to just chew on it when she is two, then really start worrying! Good luck.
