Weaning from the Bottle to a Sippy Cup

Hi, I'm a mother of 2 girls ages 8 and 6. Just keep doing what the Dr. says. Actually, we took the bottles away altogether, they never saw one again and sippy cups were all that were left. Yes, the kids may cry and you may feel like a bad mom, but they will drink. Kids will not starve themselves. Remember everything they learn is new and they will protest. Mine did and they are fine today.

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Hi B.,

My son is only 10 months. He still takes his breastmilk or formula out of the bottle, but at mealtimes, I make him use the sippy cup. We also use the Nuby. It took about 2 months for him to get used to them and now uses them with no problem. I really like them, and I haven't had any problem with them leaking! I would offer only water or juice in a sippy at mealtime and stick to it. Then you can gradually move to all sippy cups. Also, when they are playing, put sippy cups around for them to hold or play with, maybe with a little water in them that won't stain anything.

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I agree with Gwen and I wouldn't push it right now. I would just offer the sippy cup during the day and the bottle at nap and bedtime(I also used the nubby at first but be careful b/c they leak). Once you think they may be ready for a sippycup(using it during the day) then I would occassionally "forget" to put the milk in a bottle and give him a sippy cup at nap instead. I started with nap and once that was good we moved onto bedtime. I want to say he was 2 or a little bit older than that when he was done with his bottle and trust me EVERYONE tried telling me to just throw away the bottles, dont offer them(even some of my closest friends). I just couldn't listen to my baby cry for his bottle. He didn't have a blankey or teddy bear or binky like most kids. His thing was his bottle. You dont hear people telling their kids to put down the binky or the blaney at 15 months old!! If you are comfortable with your children using a bottle sometimes and they are healthy and happy then I wouldn't worry about it yet. Good Luck and try not to worry about what everone else says. You're their mom..

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B.
When our pediatrician suggested the same thing I wasn't sure how to go about the transition and asked for suggestions. He suggested taking my son to the store and letting him pick out his own "special big boy cup". As soon as we left the Dr's office we went to pick out the cup. My son picked one out and we let him carry it all through the store and we kept making comments about the "big boy cup". He held it all the way home and as soon as we filled it up with milk he was so excited he started drinking out of it. We just stopped the bottles as of that moment because he had prooven that he could drink from it. We kept making a big deal out of it everytime he drank from it and he was so proud of himself. As of that day he's never wanted another bottle. Now 6 months later he is very attached to that cup we have several of the same one. He will drink out of other sippy cups if for some reason his aren't available but he's not too happy about it.
What we've found with every transition is to just do it. Make a decision to do it and don't look back. If they know you are going to cave and give the bottle back then there isn't a reason for them to use the cup.
Good luck!!
A.

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Wal-mart sells this type of sippy cup that has a silicone nipple on it. Its by Nuby. I used those with my second child, to ween him off of it. Its got the same feel as the nipple of the bottle and is spill proof, but it's also a step towards drinking from a regular sippy cup.

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I weaned my little boy, who is 15 months old, when he was about 12 months and it took some time and patience. This is how I did it...hopefully it helps.

I bought a couple different sippy cups and filled them with water. I simply left them on the floor with his toys. He would play with the cups and once he figured out that they quenched his thirst, continued to go back to them. Little sips at a time. I also take them everywhere and offer him water all the time.

I think the key is keeping the cups available to them. They need to figure out what they are used for on their own, not by force. Once he was comfortable with the cups, I began using them for whole milk.

Moving from a bottle of milk to a cup of milk took longer, but he has converted.

Again, I think it is about keeping the cups available all the time. Keeping fresh water in them is a great way to encourage drinking water as well. Everytime he drank from his cup, I praised him and clapped! He was so excited to do it all by himself!

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I am in the same spot. I have found that my son (13 mo.) likes to copy me so I let him se me sip the cup over and over when feeding him and I make funny sippy sounds. He gets interested and grabs it. Also, I will pop in an Einstein CD which mesmerizes him. I sit behind him and give him sips almost without him knowing it. We brush teeth this way also. I bought all kinds of cups and found the best one for us was the cheapy transparent colored plastic one. They don't have to sip hard and can see the liquid. They are not totally spill proof but close. Also Gerber makes one that is clear with handle and the "nipple" part is big so the baby can put his whole mouth on it like a bottle. Best of Luck

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Try different types of sippy cups. There are a wide variety with different types of lids and spouts. Do trial and error and see which ones are their favorites. I had a friend who went through this with her son, she tried the sippy cups with straws instead of a spout, and he loooved them! It can take a bit of money, but in the end you get the desired results. It will be hard at first, but just stick to your guns and they will eventually ditch the bottle all together! Good Luck!

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There is a new sippie cup called Nuby. It is a sippie cup with a silicon nipple. My daughter will not take a bottle, only breast. She will drink out of the cup. It is cross between a cup and a bottle. For weening it maybe a good transition cup.

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I used a playtex straw cup instead of a sippy cup. My daughter loved drinking with a straw so it made it easier. I put her milk in the straw cup and her juice in a sippy. I quit giving her the bottle except for the last one right before bed and she just got used to it. Hope this helps.
Steph

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Skip the sippy cups if your children don't want them. I know this sounds crazy, but really, your 15 month old can easily handle a real glass. And she wants to because mom and dad use them! Get a small, juice glass sized glass and just put a teeny amount of liquid in it. There will be spills! That is o.k. We kept a small pitcher on the table to refill the glass for our daughters each time they wanted more to drink. The 'refill' was only about a teaspoon -exactly the amount I didn't mind wiping up! ;-)

Now, before you say "oh no! I don't think my children could handle that!" let me remind you that until about 30 years ago there were NO sippy cups. Children went from the breast or (less often) the bottle to a regular cup. They just did.

Some things that will help:
Avoid a plastic cup. They are too light when filled with a small amount of liquid. A glass juice glass or a lightweight shot glass will work best.
Take a cup with you when you eat out. Many places don't have any glasses appropriate for children or worse, their 'kid's cup' is a giant styrofoam thing with a straw. Avoid straws and sippys until your children have mastered the regular glass.
It helps if everyone in the family drinks out of the same style of glasses for a short while. Again, you are modeling the behavior you want them to use.

My twenty-one month old has been using a 'regular' glass since she was about a year old and her five year old sister did about the same.

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The best thing that I can tell is to pretend to drink from the sippy cup yourself, or really drink from it. Kids always want what they see everyone else using. YOu can also reward them for being a big boy and girl. It is really hard to wing them from anything, so hang in there it will get better I promise. Mine are 10!

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My son didn't like sippy cups when trying to wean him off the bottle either. We found that he did like the sippy cups with the pop-up straws. He took right to them after a few practices and thought they were so much fun. That made the transition easier. Might be worth a try...Good luck!

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Hi B.,

Try putting juice in the sippy cups first. Once they get used to drinking the juice out of the cups then try milk. One thing that I did was hide the bottles. Out of sight out of mind concept. However, I did keep them as stand by because it may get to you when they whine for their bottles. Try not to give in too quickly.

M.

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I also used the sippy cups that had straws. My daughter loved sucking out of the straw!

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My daughter never got the idea of the sippy cup, instead we used a straw. They have great cups out there with straws. See if that works.

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Try a straw instead... if you hold the liquid in the straw by putting your finger over the hole and teach them that they can get a drink out of the straw, they'll still be able to suck the liquid out. Some of those sippy cups don't allow them to suck out the liquid the same way as they would a bottle... It worked for us, and my daughter is turning 11 :D

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Hi, I think we should let our children be babies,everything happens so fast anyway. Also I believe you will know when they are ready to get rid of the bottle. I have 2 children and it was about 18 months b4 they were totally done with the bottle...one bottle at night. My favorite sippy cup is made by NUBBY it has a really soft mouth peice and handles to help them learn how to hold it. I would also give them warm milk in the sippy. Now a days everyone,including docs,make you feel as if you have to do things strictly by the book. They are your children and you know them best.In the long run they will get it. Good luck

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I would stick with it. Keep water in the bottle no matter what. They need to know mommas not giving in. Make sure they know that milk is int he cup. Maybe pour some in a bottle and let them see you pour the milk from the bottle into a cup. Then fill up a bottle with water. If they still want the bottle give it to em but only with water. Dont back down. Also try the sippy cups with the straws. Those are the ones ive had to use when first switching my kids. They seem to be easier to get the fluid from. Be consistent and dont waver. Dont give them the option to have milk in a bottle. It may take a lil while but they will come around. Just hang in there.

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The nuby's are soft nippled sippy cups. They work well, and once they get used to that then you can go to the harder ones.

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lots of kids still take a bottle at 3 or 4 years old! i know that the pediatricians want us to wean our kids by the age of 2, but why? as long as the parent is brushing the child's teeth and not letting him\her sleep with a bottle, i don't see a problem. i quit drinking a bottle when i was in kindergarten, but didn't have a cavity until i was 23! my oldest daughter stooped at 5, and my youngest at 4. personally, i wouldn't worry about it much. congratulations on your babies!

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I guess my thought is...why do you HAVE to wean from the sippy cup right now? The kids are only 15 months and were premature. My son is almost 3 and we still use a sippy cup, occasionally we use a regular little cup for him at supper when things have settled a little from the day. There is not set time you to HAVE to do that. How do you feel about it? Do YOU think that the kids are ready? I am a Kindergarten teacher and I am sick to death of doctors giving moms time tables. Seriously, you'll know by your children's responses to seeing you use a cup or others using a cup as to when to start. Trust yourself!

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Every child is different. My suggestion is go get 3 or so different sippy cups and see if your children have a preference. I started with the Avents, and my son didn't care for it. I moved to the Gerber ones and he liked those okay. When he's tired or upset, a bottle still works better, but he's gotten used to the sippy cup.

I started introducing it to him at 11 months. Usually I'd just put a little milk and let him drink from it. He resisted at first, so we just gave him a sippy cup when he wasn't terribly hungry/thirsty to play with. Eventually he caught on when we started substituting a sippy cup for his afternoon bottle. Then when he got used to that, we started giving him one in the morning, too. Just a slow introduction. He's doing well with them, but doesn't "glug" them the way he does a bottle :)

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I had the same problem. We found sippy cups with soft tops. Not a "nipple" but a spout. He loves it- I think it feels good on his gums as he is teething. He is now starting to drink out of other sippy cups as well.

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