Starting Sippy Cup

My doctor told me to wait til anout 9 months but my daughter still wont tsake the sippy cup but I think 5 months is too early. I put water and juice in the sippy cup

Just my opinion, but don't rush it! He's only 5 months, enjoy him being a baby. Also, my pedi said to never give a baby juice until they are able to drink water first. Otherwise, the child will always want the sweet, plus water is healthier especially in staying hydrated.

I have a 5 month old as well...he is very interested in cups at the moment and although I haven't started him on a sippy cup yet, I think I'm going to in the next few weeks. When I did sippy cups with my older girls I didn't put formula or breast milk in them...I used those specifically for either water or juice (I limited juice b/c I didn't want them to get hooked on it). Then, when we transitioned to whole milk at 1 I put that in the sippy cups and was successful in getting them off the bottle at a year.
Have fun with that little one for the next few weeks...I'm a teacher too and will be sad to leave my little one as well!

Dear S.,

I started my daughter with a cup at six months. We started with just a little water. She was breast-fed, so she HATED the bottle. I also would sometimes express my milk and put a little in the cup when she got a little better with it.

My daughter got the hang of it very quickly. The BIG upside was no weaning of bottles, we were already using a cup!

L. F.

Before beginning with a sippy cup at this age you need to ask yourself a few questions.

1. Is child able to hold own bottle
2. Does child sit up without support and hold bottle
3. Will child be able to get enough nutrients thru sipping on a sippy cup as child does with bottle
4. Is child able to grasp objects (rattles, small toys) without support

If you cannot answer yes truthfully to these questions than I would wait...Eating solids and sippy cups have nothing to do with each other...

There is a transitional style sippy that starts with a nipple, than a spout, than a straw..It has handles and allows the child to get use to holding.It can be found at Baby's R Us or Walmart..

I think most of the sippy cups say 6 months and up, but I don't see where it would matter. At this point, you really just give them the cup to get them used to it, since chances are they won't drink from for a while. I started introducing the sippy around 6 months, but Jack didn't drink actually start drinking from it until around 9 months. His doctor said that was fine.
I really only put water in the cup for several months, but with my next baby I will definitely give milk or formula in it as well. My son drinks water like a pro from a sippy, but he does not want to drink milk from it. I think that if I had gotten him used to getting formula from one when he was younger, than maybe the transition from the bottle would be a bit easier.
Hope that helps!

5 months is probably a little to young to start the sippy cup, however, if your son will take it you should use it for juice and water and leave the bottle for milk / formula.

I didn't start either of mine quite that early, but when I did, I put formula in the sippy. I offered it at meal time to replace the bottle. That is how I weaned mine from their bottles.

I gave apple juice in the sippy cup so mine would like the sippy cup ; )

Hello,
I just gave my 5 month old son a "sippy cup" a couple of days ago. Actually, I think it's called a trainer cup. It has handles on the sides that are easy for him to grip, and the spout is shaped like a sippy cup, but has a silicone, nipple-like feel. So I guess it's in-between a sippy and a bottle. But he has really surprised me with how well he can hold it. He's not a pro yet, but he knows what to do with it. I think you should give it a try. Like one lady said, I give it to him a couple times a day and he enjoys playing with it even if he doesn't get a lot of liquid down! I give him apple juice diluted with water. I still give him his formula in a bottle as usual. Good luck!

I absolutely think you should introduce the sippy cup now! We gave my daughter her first sippy cup at 4 months and like the other moms said she played with it a lot at first, but by six months she was a pro. I nursed her until she was nine months and gave her bottles occasionally starting at 6 months. I really didn't even want to start her on a bottle at all and my peditrician said if she would drink formula out of a sippy cup that was totally fine, but she wouldn't drink formula or breast milk out of the sippy cup only water or VERY diluted juice. But, when she turned one and we switched her to milk she was fine with that and the bottle was completely forgotten no fuss!

I would give it a try. I started my girls on sippy's at 6mos(4mos adjusted age)when giving them their solids. Each meal I would fill a sippy with water and let them practice with it. I took the spout out at 1st to make it easier for them to get something out and know what it's for. It took a while for them to be able to drink with the spout in. A week before they were one I quit cold turkey on the bottles and went straight to sippy's and they never noticed.

We started sippy cup at about that age- it was a lot of fun for my daughter! I put formula in- strangly, water is actually NOT healthy for a person this young (though I did offer my child very small amounts at that age- it's hot in TX)and juice can cause diarrhea, until your child has tasted lots of solids avoid juice. By the time she was 12 months I EASILY had her off the bottle because she enjoyed the sippy cups.

If your child will take to it, go for it! My oldest started using a sippy cup at 6 months and we never had to struggle with a one year old who was attached to a bottle and didn't want to give it up. I found it easier to transition things when my son was younger and had less of an opinion about it! We transitioned to a big boy bed early too for the same reason, and he did exceptionally well with both. My second child, on the other hand was a whole different story! I nursed both, but would use a bottle or sippy cup for my first child when we were somewhere that nursing wasn't convenient, no problem. My second child refuse anything but good ol' mom - no bottles, no cups, nothing, until I HAD to cut him off cold turkey at 11 months because I had to go on a medication he could not take. What a nightmare! If your son will transition easily at a yopunger age, go with it - it might be easier and less traumatic for both of you! Definitely start with the water until he figures the cup out so nothing is rotting in there or getting wasted. My son didn't even know juice was an option, and it made him a great water drinker!

I think what ever is best for the baby. At first Jaeden my son he didn't "get it" how it worked the cup. My doctor I felt was rushing me. I really like the soft spout NUBY cups. The soft ones with the little handles are good at first, but the Nuby ones were more santitary to me. One time I pulled the plastic cover some thing told me to check and there was black mold after one use. . . yuck. So the other kind is clear and you know if its clean or not. I would try it and if he cries and feels fustrated wait a week to two and try it again. I only put water or watered down juice in mine at first. solid food is fun. Especially when you are teaching them to feed themselves. Messy Messy be sure to have a camera with you. You wont want to miss that!!

Hey, S.:) I am a speech path (and mom), so I actually have an opinion on this one! You can certainly give him the sippy--keep in mind he will probably just play with it for the most part for some time now, but that's how they learn, and it it is totally acceptable. I would definitely suggest WATER only in the cup at first, and here's why:

1) kids that age really do NOT need juice, and if he aquires a taste for it it will really be hard to get him to drink good ole water, 2) you will need to be offering water a couple of times a day when he starts solids, and if he is competent with the cup...all the easier, 3)the novility of using the cup is a great way to get your guy to enjoy water (it's a "special treat" to use the big boy cup and have water), 4) you can easily move the formula to cup after good drinking is established, then there won't be much waste (remember, he IS going to play with it more than actually drink at first).

You can experiment with which cup works best, but usually the soft spouts are a good way to start. Good luck and enjoy your summer!

You can introduce it and my pedi told us to use water until they are old enough for milk. Good luck!

I also have a 5 month old and I've been giving him a sippy cup with handles for a while, just to practice with, with water. I would help him drink it too, but of course most of it wound up all over him. Its never to early to start the babies on anything, so they can get used to it, just don't expect much of it for a while! And, there is nothing wrong with giving juice at that age, they don't even have teeth yet, so how can it hurt their teeth??? But just once in a while. I've also started on rice cereal at varying consistencies with a spoon, and he practices holding the spoon as well. Its fun isn't it?

I think 5 months is a good age to start the sippy cup. My son had a hard time taking the sippy cup. I used the sippy cups with the soft silicon type of spout. I think these are closer to what a bottle would feel like and he was able to drink out of these much easier than the other type of sippy cups. You can get the little bottles of Gerber Juice that is in the baby food section. They have a few different flavors you could try. I did not refridgerate them, just gave it to him at room temp.

I started my daughter on a sippy cup a few weeks ago. I give it to her mabey once a day. I just figure that it wont hurt her, and mabey it will make the transition a little easier in the future. I do only give her formula in it, and if she gets frustrated I just pour it in a bottle. But I have to say the best one to start with is the NUK, the top is soft like a nipple, my daughter pushes any other kind right out of her mouth, but that kind isnt so unfamiliar. The only place I have been able to find them is Walmart. Here is a link so you can see a picture -
http://www.gerber.com/toddlersite?tmsdir=feeding&tmsp...

If you are going to start solids, I would wait on the sippy cup. Too many new things at once....

Plus, I really thought you didn't start the sippy cup till around a year when you wean from bottle. I'm pretty sure that's what I did for my son (now 3 1/2) and will do for my daughter (just 3 months).

For right now I'm pretty sure formula and or breat milk are the only liquids he needs right now. Then, later when you do introduce the sippy cup do only milk or water. Once he starts liking juice it may be hard to get him to drink anything else from the cup.

Hello
I think that as soon as the Dr. tell you the baby can have something else besides formula one should put that something else in the sippy cup. That is exactly what I did with my daughter and when she turned a year old and took her off the formula I did not have a problem getting rid of the bottle, she did not even missed it. This will save you time when trying to get rid of the bottle. You may have to try different sippy cups before you find the right one.

S.,

I don't see much benefit to introducing the cup so early. It's nice to let babies be babies, and not rush them to grow up! They grow up soon enough!

See this article from an expert on the matter, Dr. Sears. He recommends a sippy cup at about 1 year:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032200.asp

That seems really early. I would suggest 12 months old when they can hold and manipulate it. However, there are many new types of sippies out their so maybe there is something in between a bottle and sippie cup.I used it for my daughter with water or milk. A lot of Docs don't suggest juice or watered down juice because if what it can do to the their teeth!

Good luck!
C.

I think I gave my son a sippy cup to try around 6 months. He didn't like it until I added a little apple juice to the water. I gave him formula in a bottle since that is still the most important part of a baby's nutrition at that age.

Over the past few months we have been using sippy cups more and more often, so that by 1 year we are off the bottle. He's 11 months, still taking formula from a bottle, but taking water or watered down juice from a sippy cup or cup with a straw daily.

5 months is early for sippy cup. Talk to your pedi.
Best of luck.

There is nothing wrong with introducing a sippy cup now. That's about when we started with mine. I would recommend the Nuby cup. It has handles on both sides so it's easy to grab and the sip spout is soft and doesn't leak. I would put pumped breast milk (formula) or just a tiny bit of water. He doesn't need the water and it can mess with their electrolyte balance. Just enough to familiarize himself with the feel of the cup. I would wait to introduce juice. When you do start with the juice I would recommend the Gerber organic juice with no added sugar and dilute it with 2/3 water.

My pediatrician said to start giving my son (Jaxon) a sippy at his 6 month appt. She said to give water with a splash of juice or just water.
I have bought 2 kinds of cups and no luck yet. My son will hold his milk bottle himself most of the time. He will not drink water or juice from a bottle so it isn't very interesting to him in the cup either.
Anyway, good luck with your Jackson.

If you have not yet given juice, I highly recommend introducing it in the sippy. The sweet taste usually incourages little ones to take to the new "device". Babies usually do not want to try so hard for water and milk/formula can be put in the cup at about 9 or 10 months.

Be sure to mix the juice (clear juices are best to start -- apple, pear, white grape) 1/2 and 1/2 with water and only fill the sippy with about 1/2 cup of the mixture once or twice a day until his little tummy adjusts.

This is what I did with both of my boys.

Blessings,

P. <><

We started both of our girls on sippy cups with handles at 4 months with a little juice or water. Neither of them got much into their mouths, but had fun for a the few minutes a day we let them play.

With my son, who is now almost 3, I think we waited till 8 or 9 months. But with my daughter, we started the sippy cut at 6 mos. She can't hold it by herself yet, but she can drink out of it pretty well. My advice is to NOT put formula in the sippy cup. With my son, which worked so well I plan to do the same with my daughter, was to only put formula in the bottle and juice and water in the sippy cup. Then when he turned 1 and was done with formula, we just put the bottles away and continued with the sippy cup with water, juice, and milk. He never looked back, never asked for a bottle, and it wasn't a difficult transition at all. We are hoping it goes just as well for our daughter, but that would be my advice. Good luck!

I would wait until after you have introduced him to solids. You should probably wait until about six months before giving the sippy cup. Give him a little water or diluted apple juice. Never give him formula in the sippy cup. It will make the transition much easier later on.

I think my son was four months old when I introduced a cup (at my pediatricians direction) with a small amount of water . I helped him understand the logistics. I introduced the sippy cup shortly thereafter. He is an excellent drinker and very tidy; unlike a lot of other kids his age (he is now 3). I would also say that by 6 months old, my son could drink from a straw. The sippy cups with two handles are particularly good for little ones. I always put water or breast milk or formula in the sippy. If you use formula, there are some sippy cups with measuring lines on the side that are great, particularly for travel. Because my son was so proficient with a sippy cup, he never took a bottle. It was great, I never had to wean him.

since you're little one is only five months i would get a sippy cup with a softer "nipple". that way it resembles the nipple but its not a bottle. i used water and juice with my son's but now we put milk in it since he's almost a year old and he's no longer on a bottle. good luck.

We introduced solids first at 5-6 mths, then waited until 7 mths to start training with the sippy. My pedi said to take the valve out of sippy cup for training purposes and to only offer water. Be patient doing this b'c it's messy, and it took us many many many months before our baby caught on and were able to put the valve back in.

I think 5 months would definately be ok. I started both my children around 5 or 6 month on sippies...the ones with the handles are really great so they can learn how to hold it. My little ones never liked formula or milk in sippy cups so I did water and juice with water added ( usually apple juice) it gives them something else to drink besides formula all day and they get to try soemthing new. At 12 months both of mine were off the bottle and I would give them a couple of cups of whole in the cups and and juice as well. Like I said before thought when breaking them of the bottle some are easier then others to go from milk in a bottle to milk in a cup. My son was more picky but my daughter wasn't. She is two now and she doen't like milk in a sippie anymore so she has a big girl cup with a straw and she LOVES chocolate and strawberry milk...good luck and God bless