Sippy Cups and Food

We used the Nubby with the handles on the side. It has a soft spout. I have also had friends that used the Advent training cup. I just put water in it. At first, my son would use it as a toy and bang it or throw it around. I slowly started showing him how to drink from it and he eventually became a pro!! I think it is just about consistency. As far as foods, my son loved those fruit puffs you get in the baby aisle. They are kind of like cheerios, but fruit flavored. They dissolve in the mouth, also. Hope this helps. Good luck!!

Hello there! My son will be 1 in a couple weeks, so we went through all this pretty recently. Here is what I learned: It is best to buy a few different kinds of sippy cups. People told me that most babies like the Nuby ones, since they have a soft spout, almost like a nipple. My son was not crazy about these; he preferred the Gerber or Playtex ones that had a harder spout. Each baby is different, so buy a couple and see what one your son prefers. I still do not give my son juice, so don't worry about that. You can put pumped milk or formula in the cup, or you can try some water. I was worried because my son only wanted to play with his sippy for several months, but at his 9 month check-up, his doctor said that right now, the point was really just to get him familiar with it. Suddenly, around 9 1/2 mo, it was like he got it, and now he drinks from it with no problem.
As for starting solid food, I think that depends more on your son's development than his age. Is he sitting unsupported, crawling with his tummy of the ground, etc. Gerber has a lot of info on their website: http://www.gerber.com/feedingplan . We started with Cheerios and Gerber Puffs, since they dissolve easily. We then moved on to soft foods, such as small pieces of banana, cooked sweet potato, etc. We were told that bites should be about the size of a Cheerio. You can also move up to the 3rd foods, which have some chunks in them. But if I remember correctly, we didn't do a lot of this stuff until closer to 8-9 months.
Hope that helps!

My sons are a bit past this age (3 & 6), but if memory serves, we started the sippy cup about this aga I believe. Once they could sit up, I'd put them in their high chairs at the table whe we'd eat with some cheerios and a sippy cup. I started the sippy cup without the no spill spout since it was hard to get the liquid out at first. The liquid doesn't come out fast, just kind of drips slowly. They'd play and munch and sip while we ate. Then, after the cheerios got easy for them, I'd give them tiny chopped up pieces of what ever we'd eat with their sippy. To get it super small, I'd use the pampered chef food chopper. As for what was in the sippy cup, I used water and watered down baby juice at first, then, as they approached a year, I'd use milk. I never put the formula in the cup, and I never put the other stuff in the bottle, so the bottle was very easy to give up eventually. I don't see much of a problem with juice. It's not like the baby will suck down an entire cup, and it never kept my kids from wanting their milk. In fact, even now, they'd prefer milk over juice. But if water doesn't get them interested in the cup, a splash of juice will make it more appealing to try. I used either the Gerber juice or Juicy Juice and poured like a tbsp in the cup and filled the rest with water. Most of the cup ended up on the tray anyway. Good luck!

I wouldn't worry too much about a sippy cup. You can introduce it with water, but I wouldn't push it. I would also talk to your pediatrician about water. Sometimes they don't want the babies to fill up on water. Then, they won't consume enough formula/breast milk.

I was pretty aggressive with solids. Both my boys were on adult table food by 8 months. But, my kids get teeth faster than you can imagine. So, I think each kid is different. Some of my girlfriends would continue giving baby food well over 12 months because they could get fruits and veggies in them that way.

I would just casually try different things. I think you'd don't really have to get serious about food snd drinks until they are 12 months.

Good luck!

If your son is like mine, I had to buy a ton of sippy cups before I found one he likes, and it took a while before he really got used to it. I also breastfed him, so he wasn't even very used to a bottle. He likes the Playtex brand sippy cups with the handles. I don't remember the exact name, but I got them at WalMart. I put watered-down 100% apple juice (not the sugary stuff), or pedialyte. I still do about 2/3 water, 1/3 juice. I can't get him to drink milk from a cup, though.
I would suggest trying the 2nd and 3rd stage foods if you haven't already before trying solid foods. They have more solid chunks in them to get used to the texture. You can also give him small pieces of banana. My baby loves cheerios, and they make little puffs that dissolve easily and are good to teach babies to feed themselves. You can buy them in the baby food section. I also gave him finely cut spagetti. I was very blessed, though, with a baby who eats EVERYTHING. I hope that you have as good of luck as I did. Just use your judgement with how he responds to new things. And don't give up...it takes time. Don't stop after only 2 or 3 times, it can take up to 10 times for a child to try a new food before they like it. Hope that helps!!

Some people will say not to use a sippy, but both my boys used one and still learned to drink from a regular cup later on. I think it is a good progression to go from bottle, to sippy, to cup, but that's just my opinion. I would put whatever he usually drinks into sippy and offer it with a meal or two at first. As far as baby food goes, don't even try number 3 foods. My kids hated the texture and so have all my friends kids. Try some mashed banana plain or in his hot cereal or some steamed carrots mashed up with a little formula mixed in. I gave my son small containers of apple sauce-no sugar added- with a dash of cinnamon stirred into it. Anything that is soft enough to gum like steamed veggies and soft, stewed fruits either mashed or slightly pureed.

My son is almost 11 months old. I have not introduced juice and will probably wait another month. He still really enjoys 3rd stage baby food however if you want to branch out to table food some things you can try: mashed banana, Yo-baby yogurt, cheerios, puffed snacks, and baby mum-mum teething biscuits. You can boil some sweet potatoes until they are very soft. Try canned carrot slices and mash them if they are not soft enough try Gerber carrot dices , Le Sueur brand canned young sweet peas-low sodium, natural applesauce. My son also loves those Gerber meat sticks. I have also bought fresh green beans and cook until very soft. He also really likes avocado, thin slices of a soft mango and peaches. I hope this helps a little.

Really, there is just no rush, and 7.5 months still seems early to me, but maybe my kids just werent ready then. I dont give a sippy cup until around 9 months, because then they can hold it themselves. But, we do like the gerber one with the handles on it for a first cup. It is designed so that they dont have to be able to tip it all the way back, or you could try one of the cups with straws built in, so that they dont have to tip it at all. As for foods, stick to baby food, maybe move from stage 2 to stage 3, so that there is a little more texture to it, but again, my kids werent eating finger foods until around 10 months. I dont like worrying about if they are choking or not. But, this is coming from a mother of four, who is willing to slow down the growing up process, as opposed to when I had my first child and wanted to see her do all of the new things that she could, as early as she could. Good luck, do what you feel comfortable with! ~A.~

Hi J. -
This is just my two cents, but if you are happily breast feeding, I wouldn't mess with that too much. If you are out of the house in the hot Texas sun for the day, maybe bring along a sippy cup with some water. If you are having someone else feed him or if you are already offering the bottle of breast milk or formula, you could start introducing the cup, but with the understanding that you will probably have to follow up with a nursing sooner than usual. I would introduce the Gerber finger foods that melt away first - the little ones love them and there is no choking hazard like other foods may have.
Blessings, S.

I'd say call your pediatrician. It's a long wait between the 6 and 9 month appointments when you have tons of questions! My daughter is nearing 9 months now. Her doctor says no to juice. She said it's the equivalent of adults drinking sodas - just empty calories and sugar when water does just fine.

We've tried tons of sippy cups, probably have one of every brand in our cabinet. But the Munchkin brand seems to work the best for us - she likes the "spout" and it's no-spill for REAL. Others claim to be no-spill, but they don't work out that way. You just have to try a few yourself, I think.

Try all different brands of sippy cups, & put whatever liquid they drink in there...breastmilk, formula, etc.

I think it's a little early to put juice in there. If you want to get him accustomed to the sippy cup, put his "milk" in there. Introduce juice later.