Will Not Drink Milk Out of Sippy Cup

I had the same issue with my son. I had to make a sippy special, so I started to give him a little bit of low-fat chocolate milk mixed with low-fat milk. He loved it except now, he will rarely drink milk without chocolate.

I use the Playtex Insulator Straw Cups for my oldest son... they are easier to open and close than the Munchkin and unlike their "valve" in the middle of the straw which makes it impossible to really get clean, the Playtex assembly is valve and blockage-free and disassembles completely for reliable cleaning... even in the dishwasher. Here's the link and good luck to you!

http://www.amazon.com/Playtex-Insulator-Sport-Straw-Cup/d...

My oldest had the same problem, she is now 2 1/2. The only thing that helped was adding a little chocolate syrup into the milk when it was in the sippy cup. Trust me on this one, a few moms I know had to do the same thing. I am not a mom who lets my kids have sugar either. It was just a little bit, but it did the trick. I tried the whole 'a different sippy cup for water and one for milk', (I even let her pick it out) but it just didn't work. Good luck!

Actually - think of it as a good thing. It makes it easier to ween him later. At meal time, give him a small plastic cup with a small amount and hand it to him when he would like a drink. In between meals, give him his cup and let him stand (sit) in the kitchen with the milk - also a very small amount to help limit the spill factor. It may be a bit inconvenient now but later - not having the sippy will really be helpful later on.

If he is able to drink water from a sippy cup, he is just as capable of drinking milk from one -he knows that if he refuses the sippy cup, you will give in and give him a bottle.
The solution: take the bottle away, cold turkey, and only offer him milk in a sippy cup. He may kvetch and cry or whine for a few days, but trust me, he WILL drink from the sippy cup once he knows that you will, under no circumstances, give him a bottle.

I took my daughter off the bottle at 12 months, though she had been drinking from a sippy cup since she was 9 months old. You should generally take the bottle away at about 12 months - waiting longer to take him off the bottle will only make getting it away from him in the future ten times harder. Just around up all the bottles in the house while he is napping, and put them up and out of sight - since he is only a year, there shouldn't be too much drama at this point. Offer him liquids only in a sippy cup - and dont worry, he will not dehydrate himself, he'll drink when he is thirsty. BUT - TAKE AWAY THE BOTTLES!

I just have to add, after reading all of these responses, dont EVER bribe your child into drinking milk by making it sweet! That is just asking for him to switch from one bad habit to another - you shouldnt have to convince your child to use a sippy cup by sugaring it EVER. Its bad for his teeth, baby and adult. Shame on you, mommies. He'll move to the sippy cup just like any other child WITHOUT the addition of more sugar added into a BABIES diet - you should never resort to something like that just because it is easier. Shame shame.

I'm not sure when I pulled the bottle completely either, I believe it was closer to 18 months, but I know that after a few days my twins figured it out and if they wanted milk they were going to have to drink it out of the cup. I also let them have every now and then sugar free chocolate in their milk too and they really drink it then.

Try the Born Free Sippy cup. You can get it at Whole Foods. It's a cross between a bottle and a sippy cup. It might make the transition easier.

My ped recommended adding a little honey or chocolate, or to warm the milk a little so that it more resembled breastmilk. That worked for me to get my daughter (now 18 mos) to drink more milk and breastfeed less. Maybe it'll work for your little one to take the cup, too.

Hi,
My daughter was the same way. What helped was a suggestion from a pediatrician friend to use the soft spout Nuby cups. The taller ones are kind of designed like a bottle. She immediately sucked down the milk like her bottle. We were able to transition her away from bottles at 11 months because of the Nuby cups. (We did begin putting whole milk in her bottle before changing to the Nuby.) The hard spouts can be tough for babies plus they miss their bottles. We would sit her in our laps with the Nuby, let her hold it, but still give her cuddle time while she ate.

Good luck,
T.

Buy some vanilla Quik, or use a little vanilla extract and a little sugar. If you add it to the milk, it will taste different than his regular milk, which he obviously associates with a bottle. Once he gets used to drinking it out a sippy, gradually decrease the amount of vanilla until he's drinking straight milk again.

Add a little bit of chocolate or strawberry syrup to it. Milk is milk.

Have you thought of abadoning the sippy cup? The idea is to get kids off the bottle so try a covered cup with a straw or have them sip from a regular cup/glass? Both my girls rejected the sippy cup, but learned the straw and sipping from a regular cup very easily.

The trick to the straw is cover one end of the straw with your finger and put the end in his mouth and slowly let go of your finger to regulate what pours into the mouth. That'll get him use to sucking from the straw and realize that the fluid comes out faster than the bottle. When he seems use to it, let him have a go at the straw. He'll probably suck up too much at first and cough, but my girls got the hang of it really quickly.

My son was the same way, so we offered him chocolate milk. He loved it. Each time, I did less and less, until he had regular milk. Good luck.
S.

Try using two different cups. One for water, the other for milk. He probably associates whatever cup you give him with water only. You can even shop with your little one and have him pick out the color/design of the new "milky cup". Hope that helps!

My 12 month old is the same way. What I do now is blend a little bit of a banana with the milk and put it in the sipppy cup and he drinks the whole thing. I will soon put less and less banana in the milk and hope he is still drinking his milk.

I started my soon to be one year old son on the sippy cup around 9 months just to get him used to the idea. We are now at 3 meals a day using the sippy cup and only 1 bedtime bottle. I believe transition is key and well, trial and error let alone patience. Your son sounds like mine. He initally drank water just fine from the sippy cup. Then I first replaced his lunch bottle with the sippy cup. Took some time, but we got there. Perhaps try a few different styles of sippy cups. I know my friend's son went thru several styles before finding the one he liked and felt comfortable holding. I do believe you son will get there : ) Good luck!

I had the same problem with one of my boys. What I did was offer water in the bottle and milk in the sippy cup. At first he didn't even want to look at the cup but it only took a few days and at least tried the cup. Then he realized that he would rather the milk.

Try using a straw in a cup.

I am going through the same thing right now about the sippy cup, my son doesnt want to drink from one, all he wants is a straw.
I think you just have to wait til he is ready, I liked the idea of putting water in the bottle and putting milk in the cup, I think I will try that one. Cuz you know if he will drink water he can drink milk from the cup.
Good Luck

Hi,

When my I weened my son from breastfeeding he won't drink milk out of a sippy cup or a bottle. I tried adding fruit to it, tried it hot, cold, everything I could think of and was about to try adding chocolate when the nurse in our prediatrican's office suggested not offering him water for a day on the premise that he would get thirsty and drink the milk. It worked and a year later I can barely keep enough milk in his cup. Good luck.

PS She also said milk with a little chocolate is better than none at all.

You have had lots of great advice! Our fist son did not use a sippy cup at all. My 10 month old uses one with the valve removed (he's just working on tipping the cup to his mouth). We'll take it away once he gets the hang of it. Maybe the combination of taking away the bottle and giving him a regular plastic cup would work for your son??? Good luck!

I would just get rid of the bottle. He's obviously figured out the sippy cup since he drinks water out of it, and if he's only offered milk in a sippy cup he'll eventually take it. A day or two with no milk won't hurt.

Hi. My daughter is 9 months now and I started her around 6 months with the Nuby sippy cups which have a soft silicone sipper which might help. It really only took her 1-2 days to really get used to the idea and know that the "bottle" was not returning. You can find a good selection at Babies R Us. The sipper are replaceable too.

Hi D,
He's probly not ready for it and or he is confused about the taste, that it should be coming from a bottle instead of the sippy cup. Just give him a little bit at a time in a sippy cup with his meals. Also my daughter will drink anything out of the sippy cup if it has a little ice.
Blessings~!

I have 6 grown children, 16 grandchildren..I work with my daughter in her day care...so, here is my advice..do not give your one yr old a bottle...Its a sippy cup or nothing..your child is running the show...

Try a straw. My daughter is almost three and still does not like milk. I know she needs calcium though so I give her alot of cheese and yogurt. Recently I bought her cereal bowls with a straw connected and she drinks her milk after eating her cereal. With my daughter I believe it's the taste of milk so the sweeter milk is working for us. It doesn't seem like the taste is the problem for your child, just the way in which it's being served. So try a straw. They have silly straws with twirls and stuff or cups with straws and your child's favorite character. I purchased the bowls at Walmart.

so, let him use a bottle. he'll eventually move on to cups. he's still a baby! my son used a bottle until he was three. very common in europe, not as common here.

Having the same problem with my 13 month old. She drinks water and diluted juice from sippy cups, but not milk. I'm following my mom-in-law's advise. So at mealtimes I offer her sippy cup w/ milk ( no more water) just so she'll get used to the idea sippy cups may also have milk in them. So far she doesn't drink too much of it. In another week or so, I think I'll go cold turkey and not offer the bottle anymore during daytime. However, I still want to offer her the bottle at night. My pediatrician, however, advises just to take away the bottle cold turkey!