Wondering How Other 11 Month (9-12Mo OK) Old Babies Drink Milk from a Bottle

My daughter only drank her bottle in my arms. She never held it on her because she liked to twirl her hair while she ate. When I started her on a sippy cup, I tried all the expensive brands like nuby that said they were great transition cups, but she did best with the cheap disposable sippy cups that you can buy at the grocery store. I think they were easier to handle because they were lighter. She needed help at first with the tipping, but she caught on. I started her with a sippy for water I think at 7 or 8 months.

I think you should try a soft straw sipper cup with handles if your worried about the air. He won't need to lift it and will still get a drink so you don't have to worry about too much air. My son was off the bottle completely by this age but i had started weaning him at three months when he got his first trainer sipper cup (the only one ok for three month olds. don't remember the name but its on the label.). Their are straw sippers that have a no spill piece that also regulates the flow. Good luck with the weaning!

The Nuby cups worked really well for both of my sons at about that age. It has a soft silicone spout that makes it easier to transition from a soft bottle nipple to a sippy spout. They have short cups with handles so it may help your little guy to lift the cup if it's smaller and therefore not as heavy when full. :) http://www.nuby.com/en/nuby/cups-spouts/9645

Does his bottle have the right flow of nipple on it?

There are some bottles out there that have handles you can add onto them.
Also, you might try giving him 2oz to start with, so it's lighter and easier on his arms- and build up the amount of fluid in his bottle over a little bit of time so he can feel more comfortable with the sitting up position for bottle feeding. It'll also allow him to strengthen his arms.

Sippy cups are a lot like jeans for women.... Everyone likes something different. You just have to experiment to find the right cup.... If you're worried about cost- buy them at wal-mart, keep your packaging and receipt, and if a cup doesn't seem to work, take it back and try something new.

My girls both drink from Nuby cups. They're great- but- if your baby is a biter or chewer, they are silicone nipples and you'll end up replacing them a lot.

Good luck-

My son held his bottle pretty early, but he was a really good eater. As far as the transition sippy, I would suggest Gerber Nuk. They have a soft spout that is very like a bottle.

DS never really held his bottle much. He would lean back with it, but that's about it. I switched him to sippys and whole milk at 11mos - we have no allergy issues in the family. That solved the problem completely.

My son will drink his bottle or sippy cup sitting or standing or in a chair. But he does this funny thing with a bottle and holds it up in the air with two fingers so he often drops it. He does not have this problem with sippie cups though. I've actually put all bottles (except 3) away in order to get him off the bottle sooner. We did start a sippie around 7 months and I've found he does best (and has less mess) with the hard spouts with the valves. With my daughter, she used the soft (Nuk, Nuby) forever but with him, he bites on the nipples and milk ends up all over the place!

I switched my 11 month old to a sippy cup at eight months old. My little guy can suck down 9 oz. in two minutes flat....no joke! I found out that with my first two kids when I waited to introduce the sippy at around a year old, they were more resistant to it. I read on Mamapedia to introduce the sippy as soon as possible to avoid resistance later on. It might be tough at first, but if I were you, I'd give him the sippy. He will learn. It may take a few days, but he'll figure it out especially if he has a good appetite.

My 11 month old usually takes his milk while laying propped up on his boppy pillow ... even when he is using a sippy cup. However, as I leave his sippy cup out with water throughout the day he occasionally will grab it while he plays and will hold it up to drink while sitting. As he is still a little unsteady to do that all the time, I usually still just lay him down on the boppy for regular feedings so as he doesn't tip over backward! :-)

All 3 of my kids would tip the bottle up properly until they were around 14 months , the same for sippy cups aswell , it's quite normal and they will get it in the end , I just think that under 12 months is too young to expect the majority of babies to do it.