Sippy Cup - Naperville,IL

I started both of my kids on sippy cups at 6 months and completely took away bottles by a year. They didn't get many bottles anyway since they were both breastfed. I wouldn't put anything in there cups except milk or water. My daughter's dentist is really big on spreading the word about no juice and encouraged no sippy cups. Although unless you want constant messes and ruined flooring, not very realistic!

Start with a training cup! Just put some water in the cup and let her drink it! it'll take few days for her to figure it out! I gave my baby hers after meals usually. I'm not a big fan of juice so my 13 months old baby is still not taking it!

My son started on sippy cups at about 9 months. We gave him just plain water. He didn't get juice until he was 18 months old. We water it down 50-50 with water, and he only gets one serving a day. The rest of the day he gets ice water in the sippy and milk in a regular cup at the table with meals. I agree with prolonging the juice as long as possible--it is much better to have them eat fruit then to drink the juice. My cousin's son got juice from the time he was 6 months old and they didn't limit the quantity. He is now the worst eater (he'll only eat chicken nuggets and french fries, some fruit and no vegetables) and he'll only drink juice or milk, never any water. Good luck!

Hi M.,
I'd start with water, and let her get used to the cup. A lot of people would say juice isn't too good for the baby. Plus then you won't have to stress if she spills a little.

Later on when you are ready to wean her to milk, I used a trick to get the kids to start drinking milk. I little chocolate powder nesquick. It helps!

Good luck,
K.

I don't think there is a "magic" time.....if she can sit up independently, its probably time. What to put in it? Water, formula, juice....whatever you expect she will be drinking out of it in the long run. If you can get her to drink water, all the better! Most children don't drink nearly enough just water. Some mothers are able to make the transition from the breast to an "open" cup. Good Luck! I know you will help her make this a pleasant switch.

My son is 7 months old and we try a little watered down juice in it.(Pear juice) He takes like 2-3 sipps and then he is done. I want him to get good at drinking from it so when we ween him from breast milk and go to cows milk we can put the cows milk in the sippy cup and the B-milk in the bottle. You might have to change sippy cups also.

Skip the juice for as long as you can. Fresh fruit is better and without the sugar worry. Plus once you give it to them that seems to be all they want. My son didn't get juice, OJ, until almost 2 years old. Your little one needs water with her solids feeding and you can do that with a sippy. I am currently having my 6 1/2 month old "play" with a sippy cup now and once he takes to solids I will give him water in it. It may take her awhile to get it but she will.

Is she eating solids yet? When you feed her solids I would put a sippy cup without the no spill mechanism in there (because it is a different sucking action than bottle or breast and they don't get anything when they tip the cup back and get frustrated). Anyway, also put water in there. Just a little because she will for sure spill it everywhere for the first couple of weeks. Also a good bib will help. So one of those little cups with just a lid and spout is perfect. Put a smidgen of water in there and allow her to experiment with it and spill so she learns stuff comes out etc. I gave my kids sippy cups at 6 months old. I would only give juice after they turn a year old and then it needs to be watered down a lot. It is better to do just water so they get used to that and not juice.

We started out son at 6 months. He did great pretty quick. We started out with water and till this day he loves his water. I took his bottle away at 12 months and had no problem eighter. We only give him watered juice on special occasions..

This is a great age to introduce the sippy cup. DON'T PUT JUICE IN IT!!!! You can do pumped breast milk but water is the best. My girl only gets water. She had some very watered down apple cider last september at an apple orchard but still just gets water. She loves water bc it's all she knows. Also, kid safe herbal teas that are luke warm are good, too. Luke warm chicken broth when you make soup is also excellant. But nothing beats water! :D If you must do juice, make it about 1/4 and the rest water. To your little one, that will be sweet.

BTW: It's tempting to put juice in it to make them want to drink from it. Just keep offering it several times a day and be enthusiastic when she just takes a little sip. Over time she'll get into the habit and drink more and more. It takes time.

We have always start our kids at 6mos. Since our doctors always advise us to stay away from juice, we put water in the cup. You will want to start with a stage 1 cup that has a soft plastic spout.

Let her be your guide! Plus they sell all sorts of baby juices, so try a couple to see what she likes. Might need to water it down at first if it isn't a baby juice like apple juice.

You can start at any time. We started at around 7 months with our youngest and she loves to drink water out of a sippy cup or straw cup (the straw ones are better for long term speach development). I think she picked up on the concept faster as she has an older sister, but she'll get the hang of it if you keep giving it to her. We have also put her formula in the sippy cup for some meal times. If you have expressed milk you could also try that. No need to give her juice at this young age.

I am a grandmother and am proud to say that all 3 of my kids went directly from breast to sippy cup, but gradually. Since your baby has only had breast milk so far, stay with it for a while. Give her what she is used to, in the cup. Once she is accustom to the cup, you can introduce watered-down juices and later whole milk.

Hi M.,
My son started using a sippy cup at 4 months. Children this young can be given around 4 oz of juice a day - I always mix with water...I think putting a different liquid (not milk) kind of motivates them to learn to use the cup quickly.
Good luck!

first off, i'd stay away from juice as long as you can. when you do finally give it, water it by at least 1/2. our daughter didn't ever get juice (just water, formula and breastmilk/milk) till she was probably 18 or so months old and at that point we tricked her into believing that juice only existed at restaurants... it was glorious!

as to the sippys, you could introduce them anytime. it may take her a while to get the idea and you may have to try a bunch of different kinds to find the ones that work best for her. you might want to start out with expressed breastmilk as it's something she's familiar with and likes. as it begins to get warmer, you could do water as well. we tried (i'm not exaggerating) 4 or 5 different brands before we found that the pretty plain old playtex ones worked best for our kiddo.

good luck!

Introduced sippy at 9 months, and never gave cow's milk or juice in a bottle. By ten months, my son was fully on a sippy. Doctor recommended at or before 9 months.

Six months is when the "experts" say to start. I think 8 months old is great too. I would start with water or your breastmilk in it. Juice is so sweet and unless it is really water down, is not that great for such a little girl. If you do decide to go with juice go for organic all natural, then usually do not add any sugar.

I bought several sippy cups for my son. You should start with ones with handles. Avent's sippy cups has handles that you can remove after they don't need them anymore.

Just give your daughter the sippy cup everytime she is in her high chair and one day she will just start drinking out of it.

Good luck.

Hi-We introduced the sippy cup to my grandson at about 10 mos. With the different "age progression" tops they have out now days you can adjust as the child becomes more comfortable with the nipple. If you introduce juice they can be watered down to adjust for sugar & acid (apple & orange). Good luck-have fun. B.

Well over due for her taste of juice. Your baby need the variety introduced to her as well as the nutritional value of having her fruit. This is a perfevt age to introduce the sippy cup it may be somethibg she is looking forward to or it may take a little time to adjust. Have patience this is a new experience for the both of you.

M.,

I started with sippy cups around 7 months. I put water in them. If your baby is not interested you could also put some expressed breast milk in it to just to get her used to it. It's your call. If she has teeth make sure to brush them since the sippy cup delivers the fluid right to the back of the baby's front teeth. (That is why I never put juice in the cup; too much sugar).

J.

We introduced it at about 8 months...we started with her using it instead of a bottle. Then we have switched to using it exclusively for water with a very tiny splash of juice just for taste so that she knows what to do with it. it took her about 2 months to get used to it though

Hi M.- I think you could probably introduce the sippy cup now, but I would suggest that you give her different things to drink in the sippy cup- diluted juices, breast milk, water etc. so that she doesn't expect just one certain drink from sippy cups. Around one year, you can also introduce sipping water from a regular plastic cup- it's a good skill for a little one to have- drinking from a regular cup; you never know if you'll have a situation where there's no sippy cup available and she's thirsty! :D
Good luck!

I know Ellie was using a sippy cup before she turned one. It's worth a shot.

A suggestion when giving juice to young'uns, especially if it's in a sippy cup: dilute it with water. Juice is as bad for the teeth as soda!

id introduce it now and put breast milk or water in it. two easy transition from bottle sippy cups are the avent magic cup and the nuby because they both have soft tips. good luck.

i think we introduced the sippy cup around 6-7 months, then took the bottle away at 1yr. it worked well-no fussing! our doctor told us no juice!! all they need is water or milk, they should get vitamins from fruit and not juice. although we still give him juice :>) we do dilute it 50% with water and only once per day.

I started offering the cup at 6mo with water...hate to waste breastmilk! Then at 10-11mo started putting cows milk in it....each kid was a different time that milk was introduced.

I started my daughter on sippy cups around 7 months. I just gave her water in the cups. I started with the sippy cups with a soft spout (Born Free ones actually) and then as she began to figure it out, I moved onto the harder spouts (Playtex with the handles work well). Hope that helps!

I introduced the sippy around 7-8 months to my daughter, and she took to it fine. Really you can put whatever you want in the sippy, as long as she takes to it. I started with water though, because in the beginning, she get very messy with it, and the front of her would be soaked! But once they get the hang of it, they can have anything in it. Maybe try giving her some 'clear' juice like white grape juice or apple juice, so it won't stain. The change in taste might make her curious to learn how to get it out of the sippy. :) My daughter is now 13 months old, and we've been done with the bottle for over a month now, so I would definately try introducing the sippy to her if you want to transition from breastfeeding without her being dependant on a bottle.

I also exclusively breastfed my son, he seemed to prefer the Nuby sippy cups initially because they are soft polypropolene (No BPA)He was unaccepting of the firm sippy cups as he was breastfed. He also liked the little dixie cups? So I gave him little bits in a dixie cup and he seems to like it best, probably closely resembles what momma and daddy do! I initially only offered him water, tepid at first and later cold. They have very placid palates, so they really don't mind, nor do they know they are missin out on anything. My pediatrician encouraged the action and said it helps them develop the association of quenching thirst with water and not the sugary juices and drinks that they will later learn to devore wholeheartedly. Good Luck to you!