Switch from Bottle to Cup - Suggestions Please!

There is a cup called "Nuby" that has a very soft spout, which might feel more like a bottle.

We basically just stopped giving the bottle and got rid of them. My daughter transitioned with those soft spout cups, but my son wanted a straw, or even to drink straight from the cup! So you can try that, as well... just to give him the idea that milk comes from other places than the bottle.

My son (2 1/2) still doesn't like to drink from a sippy cup, and walks around with an open cup and straw. We get a lot of spills... but c'est la vie.

Good luck.

My boys didn't get it at first. I would give them a sippy cup, and they would chew on the spout. So, using a Gerber sippy, I removed that plastic piece. It's that plastic piece that keeps the milk from dripping out, but in this case I actally needed the milk to drip out. Once I did that, it was almost as if they said, "Oh, that's what this is! There's milk in here!" It only took a couple of hours, then I put the plastic piece back in, and they've been good to go every since.

This worked like a DREAM both times for both my girls:

At 11 months, in addition to their normal bottle of formula, we started introducing the sippy with cows milk. We never put the cows milk in the bottle. They both, on their own, started to prefer the sippy over the bottle, and by the time they turned 1, wouldn't even take the bottle any more. They all went in the trash.

I realize your situation is a bit different. Your son has already turned 1, and you have already offered the cows milk in the bottle. The way I see it, if you throw all the bottles away and he only has sippys left, he won't have a choice. I've seen far too many kids get way too attached to the bottle when they have them past age 1, so if I were you, I'd nip that in the bud right now, but that's just me.

He may just need the comfort/security of the bottle for a little while longer. You might try just putting water in the bottle and letting him have that for comfort, then put the yummy milk in the cup and let him work/experiment until he gets the hang of that. If the bottle only gives water he'll be more willing to work to get the milk. Sometimes it just takes awhile. He may need some extra cuddling during this phase.

Others can give you advice about the types of sippy cups. I'm clueless there.

We have had the best results using the Gerber cups. They are shorter, have 2 handles, and a soft spout with a removable valve.

My youngest is 15 mos and we just got him off the bottle. I had been letting him do the bottle because it was just easier, but I knew I had to switch him (doctor's orders). One night when I was cleaning up the kitchen I just cleaned all of his bottles, packed up every bottle, lid, etc and put them away in the basement. In the morning when we came down I just opened the cabinet door, showed him that there were no bottles, said, "Look, there are no bottles" and then filled up a sippy cup. He rejected the first, maybe 6 sippy cups I offered to him, but eventually he gave in and took it and has been fine ever since. (Not like I let him go thirsty that day--he loves to drink water from regular cups, so he was plenty hydrated).

(I know many parents say to throw the bottles away, but that seems pretty wasteful to me. I just packed them up and put them in the basement. I've used the same Playtex bottles for all 3 babies, and just replace the nipples with each baby.)

Both of my boys came off of the bottle just fine. But we transitioned to a straw rather than a sippy. It was super easy and from there I just let them start trying to drink out of a regular cup around 20 months. The best thing is that I never had to wean either one of them off of a sippy!

It is quite easy. You start by cutting off a regular straw down to about 3 inches and then sticking it in some liquid and stopping it with your finger. Then you put it in his mouth and let it flow in. Do that several times and he will begin to understand that if he sucks it, milk will come out. You may even want to reduce the flow that your finger let's out each successive time so that he naturally has to suck more and more. Eventually, he is sucking it right out of the straw without you doing much but letting go when you feel the suction. Then, once he knows what to do with it, you just put a normal length straw into a cup and let him go for it. There are plenty of "leak proof" versions of straws on the market that you can choose from at any major department store (Target/WM).

Both of my boys got it within a day and we never looked back!

ETA: Just saw that you tried the straw thing... did you try etting him pick out his own cup design at the store? Also, there are TONS of different straws for all different levels of drinkers. Some fold down, others just stick up. some are thick, others are thin. You may have to paly around with the type before he settles down into one...

We transitioned from bottle to the First Years soft spout sippy (like the one in the link below) Similar prints were available at Target/Walmart.

http://www.thefirstyears.com/product/detail/Y9732?locale=...

Not the Locking leak proof one, even I couldn't get anything out. Didn't have any leak issues with the regular for about 4-5 months. GL!

My grandson stayed on the bottle longer than any of the other kids. He was about 2 1/2 when he was done with it. I think you will know when it's time. Don't let anyone make you feel bad for wanting to do it your way and take you time. Good for you!

As someone already suggested, try the Nuby cups which have a more nipple-like top. That may help with the transition. A recommendation from our pediatrician when we were transitiioning our son was not to put the milk in the bottle anymore, only in the sippy cup. Only put water in his bottle. That way he knows he will only get milk from the sippy cup which is an incentive for him to use the cup. If you put milk in the bottle, he really has no reason to use the sippy cup. With both my children, it seemed like the transition was never going to happen while I constantly worried about whether they were getting enough fluids. They did eventually figured it out. It took both of my kids about two weeks. Good luck!