Daughter Has No Interest in a Sippy Cup

i am 59 my children never had sippy cups, for one thing they weren't around except the ones with the slit in them. Novel though they maybe some pediatricians say they are nothing but a replacement for a bottle. If you child will drink out of a cup GREAT! So you have spills at times, motherhood was never said to be easy and without messes. Its all a part of getting children prepared for life.

I am a preschool teacher and a mother of two girls myself and I know the difficulties of getting a child to drink from a sippy cup. My suggestion is to repeatedly offer the cup and keep the bottle to a minimum (maybe right before bed). The first week or so she may play with the cup but the more the cup is offered and the less the bottle is she will drink from the sippy cup.

hi C.-
My little guy (he's 17 months now) never liked/would try a sippy cup either... Someone told me to try those cups with the built-in straw (I think they're the stage after sippy cups), and it works great!
Maybe try one of these?

good luck
L.

wow. i have a 15 month old daughter who was also premature - still drinking her formula from a bottle and doesnt have any interest in a sippy cup, other than carry it around and try to 'feed her baby dolls' - if you figure it out or find the magical cure, let me know!!

just a side note, my pediatrician is NOT AT ALL concerned with it. he said as long as she is getting the formula, he doesnt care if its through a bottle, cup or funnel!! ha ha. these preemies do things in the own time, which i am sure you have learned!! congrats on a now healthy baby. i know first hand that wasnt easy!!

I would try the nuby soft spout sippy cup. The nipple is soft silicone like a bottle and it does not have any handles like a bottle. You can purchase one of these very cheap (maybe $1.99). My 14 month old son still favors this one over the playtex ones.
Good Luck :)

I had this same problem with my daughter and I started giving her the sippy at 6 months. She is one of those kids that is just stubborn and does things on her own terms. She wouldn't start taking a sippy until about 16 or 17 months. It drove me nuts. But when it comes down to it, they just won't do it until they're ready. Now she'll drink out of any cup I give her. I would just keep trying and one day she'll just pick it up and start chuggin!

Have you ever tried the straw sippy containers? The top flips up and the straw appears. They are great to pack and take on outings too! My kids loved them at an early age and took a sippy cup at an early age, but I do understand that your daughter was a preemie. Maybe a straw would most resemble that of sucking on a nipple as opposed to a sippy lid? Just a thought.

have you tried different ones. my kids will not drink from all of them. they have to have certain kinds. also my one son drinks fromt he ones with straws.

You may want to try sips from an open cup or one with a lid with a small opening (like a travel mug). This will get her used to taking liquids from something other than a bottle. Also, go ahead and start with a straw cup. A juice box or a squeeze type bottle is helpful at first as you can gently squeeze the liquid into her mouth. Goodluck!!

I agree with the moms who suggested cups with straws. My son was strictly breastfed with a very rare bottle when we were apart. I transitioned him to a cup with a straw when I found that he did better drinking from a straw than trying to get liquid from a sippy cup. He wanted to bite the nipple on the sippy cup rather than suck from it. When he found out he could suck from a straw, he did it fairly easily. Now, he's drinking from both sippy cups and straws. I'm not sure how long it took for him to transition, but he seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly. Good luck!

Don't worry! She'll take it eventually! ;) Our son was the same way--it took him a long time to actually want to drink from a sippy cup (probably about 15-16 months). One day he just liked it, and it wasn't an issue anymore! Just keep trying! Glad she's doing well now--that's awesome! ;)

I'm with Andrea J. As a Mom of a preemie and now a Grandma (that preemie grew up and is a Mom now too) she took a bottle until she was about 2. The main concern I would have is that she is getting enough calcium and fluids. Subsitute her calcium intake with yogurt, cheese, etc. but don't worry about how soon she drinks from a sippy cup. Just keep offering it and don't fret. All babies will progress in their own due time. In Biblical times a child sometimes nursed until they were what we consider school age. :)

Have you tried the soft spouted ones, that are a transition for bottle to sippy? They almost look like a bottle nipple, but not quite. That's what we used to change our also former-preemie over, and it really worked well. I was surprised! We also delayed the switch until he was 1 yr. adjusted. (He was 8 weeks preemie.) I would try any of the soft spouts first, over the harder ones, then you can transition to those ones later, if you like.

Our daughter was 2.5 months early and was very picky with her bottle (Soothie only) and subsequently picky with her sippy cups. I second the suggestion of trying the Nuby ones. I tried almost every other kind out there with no luck. She liked the straw ones as well about the same time but wouldn't drink milk out of it. We went cold turkey getting rid of her bottles and amazingly she never really cared. She was around 14/16 mos. or so though, so don't worry too much :) Our daughter is now 20 mos. old and will drink out of whatever sippy cup is available though the Nubys are still her favorite.
Best wishes and congrats on your daughter!
E.

A suggestion you might try a straw or sippy w/straw. Sometimes they prefer that, or to act like bigger kids/people.

I don't know if you would want to try this, could put you 2 steps backward, but recently I have seen (my niece had one and she'll be 2 in April) a sippy (looked like the throw away kind) that had a snap on nipple lid. Just like a bottle only a sippy.

Hope this helps.
D.

I would try giving her MORE time with the cup and LESS and less time with the bottle.... If she's really thirsty, she'll drink from the sippy. Also- My son LOVED straws so we actually started out with the straw cups and then he kinda decided he liked sippy cups!! Good Luck!!

My daughter only wanted bottles and refused sippie cups. I talked to her about it and let her know two days in advance that we were going to make the switch. I reminded her the night before and suddenly on the scheduled day, she was willing to drink out of sippie cups. Now, I try to talk to her about changes before they happen and transitions are much easier. She really understood more than I gave her credit for at 12 months old!

Hi C.. Some children don't like the like the transition from a soft nipple (breast or bottle) to the hardness of a sippy cup. In the center where I worked we would have 5oz cups and fill them half way with liquid (water, milk, soy milk, juice) and have a regular size for them. As the child finishes the 5oz cup we would ask if they wanted more, if so then we would fill it half way again. This teaches how to use a regular cup and gives the children a sense of pride in being more "grown-up". Yes, you will have to watch her and there will be little messes and you can't do this in a car. However, if you ask me, the rewards out weigh the sacrifice. Good luck :).

Hi C.,
My third child was a preemie, too. He was born at 26 weeks and was 2 lbs 5 oz. I am happy to say he is now a happy healthy 3 year old. What a long journey though! I look back to when he was your daughter's age and I remember the frustration from feeling like he was so delayed in everything he did. I remember calling my mother with tears of joy because the day before his first birthday he rolled over! Most people are celebrating the first steps at that age and I was so excited over rolling over. I guess my point is that your daughter will do things at her own pace and I wouldn't worry that she is still using a bottle at 14 months. With the adjustment she is barely a year old. As long as your pediatrician and therapists are happy with her physical, motor, and cognitive advancement then don't worry. I would just keep offering her the sippy cup and try not to get discouraged. She'll come around soon!

Try the Nuby sippy cups. They have silicone on the part where they would suck.
I had a hard time getting my son to take a sippy until I tried these. I just told him these were his new babas.
And he didn't want a bottle after that.
The silcone has the same feel as the nipple did. And these aren't as hard to suck as are some of the sippy cups.
I got them at Walmart.

Good Luck

My son was a preemie. He wasn't quite as early as yours but he was still early enough to be considered a preemie. He didn't like sippy cups either. I used the containers that had straws on them. Rubbermaid makes one that looks like a bear. I had a bunch of those and he did really well with them. After a while, I tried the cup again and he took to it just fine. One added bonus of using a straw is it helps with speech development. Good luck!!

My son didn't "get" sippy cups at first because it took too much effort for him to get the liquid to come out. So he just thought they were a fun toy to play with. I then tried the old fashioned sippy cups--the ones with the flat lids that do not have valves. These are messier because the liquid just comes out, but because the liquid came out so easily, my son liked it. Once he got used to those than I could switch to the easier spill-proof kind. He liked the "Nuby" brand ones and now uses the Playtex.

Hi, my daughter would not drink from a sippy cup either. She was still too young to really drink from a cup, so I decided to try using a straw. After a few tries, she caught on and has been using straws ever since. They make "sippy cups" that use a straw instead of a spout (got them from walmart)Just make sure the straw goes all the way to the bottom of the cup! hope this helps! good luck