Help with Cups

When my son was younger I purchased a cup that had a lid but it was like drinking out of a regular cup (they are spill proof). I bought ours at Target.

the cup did not have anything sticking up that they can chew on. I know this is not clear info you can email me at ____@____.com

My son just turned a year and he is just now liking sippy cups. He drank out of a straw cup for months, though. I taught him to use a straw with a juice box. I squeezed the juice into the straw until he took over. He's been drinking from a straw ever since. I have a friend who taught her son to drink from a sippy cup by holding him like she was giving him a bottle, but using the sippy instead. He finally got it when she did that. Oh...my baby was tongue tied, too. The ped just snipped his frenulum at 2 weeks. It was a very easy procedure. I would suggest you get it done before he starts talking, or he will have to relearn how to make certain sounds.

My daughter preferred a straw at that age over a sippy cup. To teach her to suck the straw, I put the straw in the drink and put my finger over the top end to hold the juice inside. Then put the straw to her mouth and let go of the top end slowly as the juice dribbles into her mouth. She eventually picked up on the sippy cup technique; however, her ability to drink from a straw is very convenient. Her independence in eating created some chanllenges and she loves to drink yogurt tubes and yogurt bottles from a straw! It also helps with those restaurant visits without a sippy cup.

Until my daughter was 8 months old she refused most sippy cups- the only one she would use was by Nuby- it had a silicone straw. If he can suck pretty well then that might work for him. They are a pain to clean, but he'll get used to the other kind when he is older probably.

I'd say stop and try again in a could of months. My son is 10.5 months old and tongue-tied as well (we'll snip only if it effects his speech) He wasn't interested a couple of months ago, but now he has no difficulties. Could it be that your son is teething as well?

My son took a while too. I was worried, but he just took to it eventually. Our pedi just told us to keep water in it during his meals and let him try, try, and try again. I started sweetening it with just a little juice to give him more motivation and that helped too. He did best with the Playtex cups. He never liked the transitional ones at all. Maybe try a few different kinds. I wouldn't start the juice just yet though. It's just one of those things. Don't worry.

My youngest brother was tongue tied, it was corrected by a dentist when he was around 1 yr old. Have you taken your son to see about having his tongue fixed? If you wait too long he will develop bad speech habits which are very hard to break, better to fix it early. The procedure is simple, they just cut or release a little of the skin under his tongue. I'm not sure about the sippy cup problem, it could be from his tongue, maybe it's hard for him to suck that hard. Maybe you could try a sippy cup that isn't spill proof, one that just pours out in their mouth.

Two things to try -
My son used a straw cup instead of a sippy cup.
My daughter would not use a straw cup but just chewed on the straw. She also chewed on all the sippy cups with soft spouts, so the ones that she finally used are the sippy cups with hard spouts. I also did not put the valve in so it flowed into her mouth faster and she realized what to do with it.

It's great that you're trying to get him to transition over already ~ but give yourself some time...he may not be ready just yet, but just continue to give it to him and I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough. Did you try the Nubby cups w/ the soft silicone spout? That is what I've been using. I also have seen some that look like a giant bottle, but I don't see the point in that, but I guess that works for some people. So, sorry I have no real "suggestions"s other than just give it some time and keep trying ~

My eldest daughter refused to use a sippy cup until I got her the straw variety. We used the straw cups for 3 or 4 months and then she finally got the hang of tipping a cup and would entertain that idea. The straw cups can be a little messy. They do have valves in them, but the straws dribble a bit from time to time. My youngest daughter won't use a sippy cup unless it has a soft spout like the Gerber Transitions cups or the Wal-mart soft spout variety that are typically about $1.00 each. Now that she is older, she is willing to use any sort of cup at meal time, but she is still particular when it comes to naptime. Good luck with your little guy!

Will your son be having surgery for his tongue? I would wait to introduce the cup until after he has had the surgery. At eight months, it is not a big deal that he won't take a cup as long as he takes the bottle or breast.
Talk to your pediatrician about this.

Give it a rest and try again in a month or so. Why the rush? Some kids will take readily to sippy cups at an early age, others don't. My 15-month old would drink water out of a sippy cup, but only recently would she drink milk from one. Yet my other two kids were very easy to switch to sippy cups. What I've learned is don't force it . . . less traumatic for everyone.

I am not sure what all you have tried to use at this point but I can tell you what worked for me. My older son (3) switched from a bottle the 'ribbed' Nuby cups. If you look and feel the nuby nipple, you will see it is as soft and flexible as a regular nipple on a bottle. Those were the ONLY sippy cups that he would take for a long time. Hopefully this helps.....Good luck!

Being tongue tied should not have an effect unless he can not lift his tongue at all. In general having a short frenum will not affect you unless you can not touch your lower teeth with your tongue. Many children less than a year can not handle no spill cups since they are generally desgined for older children. You can take the no spill part out to make it easier but it will spill.

We didn't start sippy cups till my child was 12 months old. Even then it was difficult to get him to use that then. Your child may still want the bottle. Were you told by your Dr. to start the sippy cup? Maybe that is your baby's way of telling you he doesn't want the sippy cup right now. Maybe try the soft kind of sippy cups, if you haven't tried those. I would definitely check with your Dr on this issue, if you haven't checked with him or her.

I found that NUBY sippy cups are the closest thing to a bottle's nipple so it's the easiest to start with.

I tried a hundred different kinds until I found the NUBY. Then, after she used the Nuby, she figured out the other kinds. She still much prefers a bottle but I'm trying to encourage a sippy more.

Good luck. Mine didn't start on sippy's until closer to 12 months... they all have their own pace I guess :)

Don't worry about it! He'll get it. My oldest was already on a straw by 12 months, but my youngest has just started the sippy cup at 14 months. She just wasn't interested before.

I agree that it all takes time. Also, you might want to try a plain old cup :-) My 9 mo old seems to be more responsive to the small child's cup than to a sippy cup. He's got a long way to go with either, though ;-) (My first son liked the Nuby sippy cup and then went to the the sippy cups with the hard rubber spout and handles - but it took him until about 10 months old to get it).

Best wishes,
M.

He's a little young for a sippy cup... Why not let him drink from a bottle for awhile longer? My younger daughter preferred a bottle until she was 4 years old! I told her that 4-year-olds are too old to drink from bottles and she willingly gave them up on her 4th birthday. (I let her start chewing gum then.) It doesn't seem to have done her any harm.

Hi there... both of my kids are tounge tied... it came from their father's side :(. My son, who's 6 has it worse than my daughter who's 3. We've never had problems, and neither did my husband and his brother who had it. Maybe your son is just teething? If he's drank out of a bottle, then a sippy cup really isn't that different. Only in shape. I kinda freaked out when we saw Alex had one, but my hubby said he lived with his just fine up till he was 16; he got his clipped when he was getting his wisdom teeth out. You may consider getting your sons clipped if he ever goes in for any kind of surgery; we're doing Alex's when his tonsils come out this summer. Good luck with everything!!!
C.

Hey there, my baby was tongue tied too but the dr snipped it when he was about 1 wk old. Teaching baby to use a sippy cup, at least for me, is a lot of work. It doesn't happen overnight, and we're still working at it after 2 mths. A friend told me that her son caught on about age 10 mths, and that's kind of what happened for us too. Just keep offering sippy cup to baby without the valve so he can find out what wonderful juice/formula or water is in it. Of course it's messy this way, so keep an eye on him. Eventually it will get better, and then you can put the valve back in it. My son will take juice now with a valve but still will not take milk/formula with valve, so I have to leave valve out with milk. My 11 mth old son still has moments that he'd rather play and chew on the cup instead of drinking from it.

I would not worry too much. My second child would not drink out of a sippy cup until he was a little over a year. He is fine now and does great. He just needed time to get used to the idea. Once we took bottles away at 12 1/2 months he started doing it. One thing to try is to take the stopper out of the sippy cup and let him drink that way. He will then see that milk/water will come out of it. I had to do that with both of my younger kids!

i don't believe his being tongue tied has any thing to do with his not likeing the cup, first i think hes teething,and then i would advise another type of training cup.

have you tried the gerber transitional cups? the blue ones with the blue rubber spouts? i tried 5 different kinds when first introducing them to my twin boys and those are the ones they finally took to.