Switching to a Sippy Cup - Houston,TX

I know it's hard to watch our children cry. It hurts to watch them cry, but doing the right thing for them should give you the strength to follow through. My advice, just make the bottles disappear. I had to do that with bottles and pacifiers. They just up and disappeared one day. My oldest cried for a little while but then he decided he wanted the milk more and just started drinking from the sippy cup. Some are very hard to suck from. I like one they sell at Wal*Mart. It doesn't have a hard suction, it doesn't leak and it has a plastic flip top to cover the spout. It's cheap too, only about $1.00 for each cup.

I know you have probably gotten alot of advice. The fastest way is usually the hardest at the beginning. Take all the bottles away while he is watching. Tell him he is too big for bottles now and he needs to drink from a cup.
He will eventually do it, but he may not drink much formula the first couple of days. He won't starve, just keep giving him the cup. It took my son about 3 days. You suffer through alot of crying and complaining, but all is over in a few days. My sister decided to do it gradully and her daughter finally gave up the bottle right before age 2 but not after months of crying and going back and forth. Kids can be very stubborn, but when they get hungry that overcomes most complaints.

Hi M.
Don't worry. You will not starve your child. Unfortunately you have been setting yourself up for failure by giving him a bottle when he cries. Today he cried for a few minutes and you held out, maybe 15 minutes. Then tomorrow, it takes 20 minutes until you give in. The next day, it takes 25 minutes. Each day, you resolve to not give in but your little one knows that if he hangs on just a little bit longer, you will give in. I suggest you "lose" all the nipples and tell him the bottle is broke. Then let him see you throw one away and offer him the cup. When he cries, show him the broken one and offer him the cup. You can also put them away where he can't see them and have him help you pick a cup to drink his milk from Believe me, when your little man gets thirsty enough, he will drink out of the cup. Make sure that he gets nutritious snacks while doing this. I dont' know if you have tried peanut butter yet but they taste great with milk. Maybe he needs to see you drinking out of one for a day or two to catch on. Make "yummy noises" while you drink milk out of the cup. My kids always wanted my drinks. You might even try a cup with a straw and see how he does with that. Of course that will take a bit more supervision but think outside the box. Your little man should pick it up in no time. Just remember, he has been "shaping" your behavior. Now take a lesson from him and turn it right back around on him. You and your husband will have to stand firm on the no bottle issue. Be a team and know that he may be fussy for a few days but that will pass.
Good luck,
C.

My child didn't have a problem with this that I remember so my advice may not work but just in case it does....You could flavor the milk that goes into the sippy cup. While I wouldn't give him chocolate at this age, my mother used vanilla flavoring from carnation for my nephew. Its a powder. She would just add a teaspoon to his milk and he loved it. The only thing is that I don't remember what age she would do this. I'm not sure if you would want to give it to him at his age. I'm sure there is something out there that you could use for flavoring though. You could also try having him help you put the milk into the sippy cup. That way he really knows what is in the cup. Start out with the milk in the bottle and then have him help you transfer it to the cup. You could also change the nipples on the bottles he loves so much to nipples that are a completely different shape and texture. Then he may not like the bottle so much. Good luck!!

Theres a truth we must learn to help our children. They are only as strong as we allow them to be. So its tough but your child is not going to starve himself when he or she sees that we are not going to bend they will get with the program. So when you see what works best for you and your child whether go cold turkey or full force. Myself it worked best getting the sippies with the straws and going cold turkey and making the best of it. It took like 3 days and my kids got with the program and moved on. The neat thing is when you see your kids go thru a change you also get the award of seeing how they matured thru the process. When my daughter let go of her pacifier that she called a sassy she seemed to mature and play with others in a more direct way. Its really neat and at the same time sad to see them growing up. It will be okay just keep to your guns and your child will make the transition. Kids have to see what they can control. Kids feel more assured when they know were in control. Very important to remember. Goodluck

When my son was about 6 months, we were at a restaurant and I was taking a sip of water from a straw and he leaned toward it trying to do the same thing. I let him try to see if he could do it and he did. The next day I purchased a few cups with straw-type valves. I started by giving him water, then when he mastered it, I started giving him milk in it when we were out and about around town. He took to it great because it was easier for him to hold than holding his bottle up high. Since then, he could care less what we put his milk, juice, etc. in, just as long as he gets it! So, my advice would be just to put some milk in it and offer it to him when you are out at the store, park, etc. When he sees there is no bottle available, he might accept that the only way he can get his milk is through the cup.

WELL THIS IS A TOUGH SITUATION, AND IT TAKES TIME. WITH ME I JUST SWITCHED TO WHOLE MILK AND THE SIPPY AT ONCE. oF COURSE IT IS NOT EASY AND IT DID TAKE TIME. BUT MAY I SUGGEST TO JUST USE THE BOTTLE ONLY AT NIGHT AND USE THE CUP DURING THE DAY TO START. THIS WILL HELP AND HE WILL NOT STARVE IF HE HIS HUNGRY HES GONNA EAT/DRINK NO MATTER WHAT IT COMING FROM. GOOD LUCK AND HOPE IT HELPS

We had this same problem when my daughter turned 1 year old. Her doctor also encouraged giving up the bottle as soon as possible. She would also drink water from her sippy, but not milk. I tried to take it slow and mixed her formula with the whole milk a little at a time, but it just wasn't working. Her doctor said to try to just give her the milk in the sippy (no water or anything else) and that she would eventually drink it when she was thirsty enough, but she just went on a little strike and wouldn't drink anything, so I had to give in and give her water. I eventually started trying to give her milk from a regular cup (with no lid). I held the cup and tipped it for her and she thought it was novel enough to give it a shot. It was pretty messy, but she would get some milk this way. I did this for a few weeks and then tried the milk in the sippy again and she eventually drank it. Unfortunately, this will just take some time. Keep offering it to him and if you can avoid it, don't give him the milk in the bottle anymore. Try a regular cup. If he doesn't get the bottle anymore at all, eventually he won't care about drinking the milk out of the sippy. Good luck! These kids are tricky little stinkers sometimes! :-)

Try putting something that your child likes on the sippy part of the cup for awhile so that he can get used to the new feeling in his mouth. For example smear some of his favorite fruit on their like peaches. My son liked a little dab of cool whip. Once he got used to a new feeling in his mouth and that it had a pleasant taste and a good experience for him he picked it up pretty quickly. He learned to suck on it to get all the good stuff off of the mouth piece, after awhile it became familiar to him. Then he had a favorite cup which we lost a lot. So I punched a hole in the handle and tied a shoe string to it and the stroller arm, or high chair whatever so it wouldn't keep hitting the floor and so we wouldn't loose it again. There is also a holder that is really nice on babyburdick.com Anyway, I hope that works for you. It may take a little while though. As I have found out with my 4 year old son- boys tend to do things when they are good and ready! The other thing you could do is let him pick out a cup on his own since he is a big boy now- and collect the baby bottles and give them to someone who is having a baby or- in my case we gave it to babies that didn't have any bottles. Then no matter what kind of a fit he throws he doesn't get his way. If he wants the milk he can have it in a sippy. I know it sounds harsh but he will realize he can still have the milk-just in a sippy. No bottles - no choice. Little kids can't control much in their lives so they try and control what we let them control. (Advice I got from a mom with a lot of children) You will know when the tim is right to take away the bottle. :) LOL Take care and good luck!

Your son knows that if he cries with that sippy cup, then you will give him the bottle. You just have to keep giving him the cup. When he is thirsty enough, he will get the cup. This may take a few days, but in the end, he will drink from the cup. As long as he is drinking water, it's not hurting him to do without milk for a couple of days. My advice is tell him, I'm sorry, but if you want something to drink you have to drink from the cup. I understand that he is only 1, but they are a lot smarter and they know what they are doing.

I actually kind of tricked my son into drinking from a cup. I first taught him to drink from a straw. He thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then I gave him a cup with a straw in it. But the kind that he still has to suck from, so it's spill proof. After that now he drinks from anything, bottle, sippy cup, straw cup or even regular cups and glasses. Of course I help him drink from a glass, not by himself.

Try making a game of it. Fill two sippies with milk (let him watch you fill them both so he knows yours has milk too). Don't give him his sippy, just set it by him. Then you make a big deal about how your milk tastes so good and wouldn't he like some? If he doesn't try, don't force it, leave it next to him and then play with him for a little while. After a few minutes try again with siping from your own and saying how it tastes so good.

It may not happen the first day, but give him time.

Is your DS still on formula? My DD1 would only take formula from a bottle, but when I put whole milk in a sippi, she transitioned without any more problems. With DD2, she had problems with sippi cups in general. I found one that she liked water out of and another type she would drink milk out of. I don't know what the difference was, but it worked for me. Good luck!