When Do We Transition to Sippy Cup Only?

You know, my daughter is 7 months old and has been using a sippy cup since she was about 5 months old. I didn't want her to rely on a bottle only. I give her several sippy cups throughout the day, only because I know she spills half of i on her shirt.She has one wth every meal and another in the afternoon. They make sippy cups for very small children, they kinda have a nipple-like thing on them. Just start looking around.

My daughter started solids around 9 months. This is also when we introduced a sippy cup. We gave her water in the sippy cup. From that point on, we would always have a sippy cup with water around to get her used to the idea. Around 11 months, I gave her morning milk in the sippy cup. She was confused and didn't drink it. So we just continued to give her milk in a bottle and water in a sippy cup. At 12 months we tried again and something clicked. She drank her morning milk in the sippy cup, no problem. A week later we switched all of her milk feedings to a sippy cup. She did not complain. My daughter drinks about 10-12 oz of milk each day in addition to yogurt and cheese. This is what worked for her. Every child is different. So I would suggest you try and if he doesn't accept it, try again.

I agree with Thea S said. My babysitter had a lot more time to read up on kids than I did. Her daughter was only two months older than mine, so she could transition them about the same time. At around one year, we tried to get changed over to regular milk (a huge cost savings to you as well). She continued to have formula in a sippy cup and bottle until she had the sippy cup down. If you have any problem transitioning, let me know. Our method worked within 24 hours. Once she had the sippy cup down, she got regular milk.

Hi,

My little one is 2 and 1/2 and still has a bottle of milk at bedtime, but drinks out of a regular cup or straw cup throughout the day. He loves his bedtime bottle; it's a comfort to him and it certainly isn't doing him any harm.

Most people say to get rid of the bottles by about 1, but as we know, our children are not 'most people'. Do what feels right for you. Your little boy can certainly get enough to drink from a sippy cup (or similar). My son will have 10 - 12 oz of water in his straw cup if he's really thirsty - after swimming for instance.

My advice is to take it slow and see how he feels about it. If you don't feel he's getting enough fluid (particularly in this heat) give him a bottle occasionally. I think the most important thing is not to worry too much about it and let the transition happen naturally.

Take care. D..x

I'm not sure how old your little one is, but my youngest, now 15 months, stopped using a bottle at 12 months. He doesn't take 8 ounces at a time (cow's milk now) but also doesn't need it. You can get sippy cups that flow as much or as little as you desire, and mine will drink about 6 ounces of diluted V-8 Fusion at a time from a sippy cup.

You don't say how old your child is. At about 1 yr old throw out the bottles and use sippy cups. You can give as much as your little one will drink but most nutrition should be coming from solids at this time.

My daughter is 18 months and we just started transitioning her to milk on a sippy cup this Saturday. The pediatrician wanted us to have done it sooner (between 15-18 months) but I was having a hard time with it. The bottle is her only "comforting tool" so I always ended up breaking down and giving her the bottle...
We were miserable on the weekend since she kept asking for the bottle but I hope it gets a little bit easier by the end of this week.

Mind you she knows how to use a sippy and will drink water and juice on it. She just refuses to drink the milk. However, the doctor said that even if she refuses to drink the milk, she can still get enough calcium by eating lots of yogurt and cheese.

Good luck!

I am not sure how old your little one is, but I would just try one out and see how it goes.. My pediatrician just gave me a good piece of advice that I thought I would pass on... She said to start giving both milk and water to my little one in the bottle, and the same for the sippy cup. That way there is no confusion, as someone mentioned below. They need to get used to different liquids coming from the same cup or bottle. Good luck!

Hello,

We transitioned to a sippy cup around 12 months and at 18 months transitioned from sippy to regular cup. Both transitions were really smooth and easy though my son never liked the bottle (straight from the tap kind of guy). Born Free makes a sippy cup that has a soft tip which can be great for the initial transition. Personally, I wouldn't worry about him not getting enough to eat b/c it's a cup vs a bottle. :)

Best of luck to you!
T.

My oldest and now 10 month old will be off the bottle at a year. I have introduced the sippy cups now for a few months and have been offering it more than the bottle lately. Kids will eventually drink when they need to.

I never gave my son anything but breastmilk or formula in a bottle, so when he started drinking cows milk that came in a cup. The bottle was gone completely by 13 months then it was just sippy cup or nursing. I think he got plenty out of the sippy cup but, no, I never gave him 8 oz all at once. By then he was eating mostly table food and didn't really need that much milk.

Every kid is different. My son's little friend did a lot better with the straw cups than sippy cups, you might try that if it seems like he's not getting enough out of the sippy.

Hope this helps.

T.

At a year. At a year they should be getting most of their nurtitional needs from regular foods. You can keep him on a bottle longer but why? A sippy cup is like a bottle, just a different container. Think of the sippy cup as how you think of a cup. Give him a sippy cup if you think he is thirsty, with meals and snacks etc. You can fill the sippy cup with formula or breast milk, or whole milk if over 1 years old. My 14 month old has a sippy cup of milk in the morning before breakfast. A sippy cup at lunch and dinner. If she is thirsty throughout the day I give her a sippy cup of water or 1/2 water, 1/2 juice.

We began giving our daughter the sippy cup w/ water at around 9-10 months old. And when she turned 1 yr we started giving her whole milk via bottle. She hated whole milk so we begain experimenting with goat milk, half breastmilk/whole milk etc.. all in the bottle and none of it worked. So I decided to just start giving her whole milk via sippy cup. I didn't want to have too many "adjustment" periods or transitions. Our good friend who is a dentist said that by 1 yr they really should be drinking from the sippy cup and not the bottle. It's bad for their teeth. Our daughter had a lot of teeth by the time she was one. So we just did it. She didn't take milk from the sippy for a couple of days so we just supplemented w/ cheese, yogurt etc.. She eventually started drinking whole milk from the sippy. 8-9oz in the morning and 8 oz before bed. Hope this helps!