Won't Drink Milk from a Sippy Cup!

Updated on September 04, 2008
B.M. asks from Boston, MA
30 answers

Hi there,
Since she turned 12 mos I have been trying to transition my now 14 mo. old daughter from the bottle to a sippy cup. She loves to drink water out of a sippy cup but refuses to drink milk from it (spits it out!). I give her one bottle in the morning when she wakes up and one at night, but in between only sippy cups and so she is not getting enough milk. I have tried to mix drinkable yogurt with the milk to entice her but that isn't working either. If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it!
Holly

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So What Happened?

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! My daughter has a new sippy cup that she seems to like to drink milk from and also she likes the "real" open cup approach (though messy!). She still isn't drinking as much as I'd like but it has definitely improved. Also I have increased dairy products and she loves the drinkable yogurt. I really appreciate all of your advice. Thanks again everyone!!!
-Holly

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A.C.

answers from Bangor on

Hi B., The best way to get her to drink out of sippy cup is to take that bottle right away from her. Big girls drink out of sippy cups and that means morning noon and at night. she will get use to drinking out of the sippy cup or she won't drink. it is going to take her a bit to catch on but she will do it. I promise

Good luck
A.
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J.F.

answers from Boston on

I know you've already received a lot of good advice, but I had the same issue with my daughter and someone suggested the NUBY cups. They are sold a Stop & Shop or CVS and have a soft top similar to a bottle nipple. For some reason she immediately would drink milk from these cups so she has NUBYs for her milk and regular sippies for her water. Kind of a pain to have two different types of cups but I tried to make the transition and she went 4 days with no milk so felt this was a fine alternative.

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D.P.

answers from Boston on

Have you tried a straw cup. My 17 mo. old has always preferred those and transitioned to a straw cup (take-n-toss) before a sippy cup.

Danielle

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A.W.

answers from Boston on

A few questions .. What did you have her on? Did you Breast Feed, use Formula, Etc. ... You might need to find a cup that she will drink from, maybe she wasn't ready for the type you have and she can't figure it out. Try a cup that doesn't have a rubber spout on the inside so it free flows. She might be mad at you for taking the bottle away so soon and you might have to supplement with one during the day. It's so important that babies are drinking Whole Milk until the age of 2 OR does she struggle with dairy? Maybe she has developed an allergy to milk that you don't know about .. I would discuss with your Dr. -- make that call it won't hurt.

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L.C.

answers from Springfield on

Holly,
Have you tried warming it up? My daughter won't drink it from a cup unless I warm it up, and I figure do what works, right?
Good luck!

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J.S.

answers from Boston on

Hi Holly,
we actually had the same problem. My daughter loves water from her cup and didn't like milk from it. I bought her a "special" milk cup. Just one of those playtex sippy cups. I brought it home and made a very big deal of it, and now we use it only for milk. So she never has water from it and her water cups are different. I think with her the problem was that she always expected wayet from certain cups. Worked for us...so good luck.

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

Hello holly try giving her a reg cup in a high chair she will spill im sure but just give a little each day she will take it soon try it it works

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A.F.

answers from Boston on

Holly-

Both my kids were the same way, they would drink it from a bottle but once we got rid of the bottle they would not drink it in a sippy cup. You just have to find other ways for them to get calcium. My kids both love the drinkable yogurts(Dannon) and sometimes have up to 3 or 4 a day. Or I would mix a small amount of Ovaltine in the milk, it is somewhat nutricious and they LOVE chocolate milk. I would do about 1/2 of the suggested amount so that it isn't too much chocolate. they also like the cheese sticks or just plain slices of cheese. Good luck!

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L.S.

answers from Boston on

Holly:
My son is 15 1/2 months. He was the same way. He stuck with that bottle in the morning and if he didn't take a cup during the day, I, like you, gave him another bottle at night. According to his pediatrician, he only needs 16-24 ounces of milk each day. It sounds like your daughter is getting that much.
I ended up buying 4 or 5 different styles of sippy cups before I found one he would drink from. It seemed so expensive, but he finally chose one and stuck with it, and I'm proud to say he's been off the bottle for almost 2 weeks!
Just stick with it and experiment. She might not be "ready" yet, but she could change her mind in another month or so. She's not "too old" to have a bottle now and then. I would say 18 months is a reasonable goal since she's only having it twice a day to get needed milk.
Good luck!

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S.M.

answers from Boston on

My daughter refused to drink milk out of a cup until we completely took away her bottle. It took about two days then she started drinking milk with no problem out of a different kind of cup than her water cup. As long as she had a milk cup and a water cup she was happy.

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C.B.

answers from Boston on

I'd say relax and wait. She won't go to high school drinking from a bottle....

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D.A.

answers from Boston on

how about milk you can buy in juice box form?

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L.B.

answers from Boston on

Hi, have you tried bringing her to an older friend's home or relative with slightly older children? When they see other children doing some thing sometimes they will do it too. Use peer pressure to your advantage.

Something else you could try is perhaps the milk tastes strange to her in plastic. Can you try a little chocolate or other flavoring?

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S.K.

answers from Boston on

have you tried buying a new cup JUST for milk? My son was the same way and now that he's 18 months he still has a certain type of cup for water and another one for milk. Just keep offering her a little milk in a cup at each meal and eventually she'll try it. Have her pick out the cup with you. I use a tupperware style cup with a clear top that isn't a typical "sippy" cup but that doesn't spill all over if it's tipped. I got it at walmart.

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K.K.

answers from Providence on

Hi Holly. I have the same issue with my 16 month old. My pediatricain said many children don't develop a taste for milk until they are 2 and sometimes later. She recommended that I offer milk in a sippy cup with snack time but to be sure to always offer water or juice if she isn't drinking it...eventually she will come around. My 5 year old didn't drink milk until she was 3.5. Hang in there she will eventually come around. In tghe meantime stock up on the yogurt and cheese sticks.

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J.I.

answers from Boston on

Hi Holly,
I had the same problem with my oldest. Although I tried to transition him from the bottle to sippy when he turned 1. I ended up by just going "cold turkey" with the bottles. I threw them all away and told him that there was no more bubba's. If you have to warm up the milk in the sippy cup, that's ok too. She might just not like it so cold.
There is a sippy cup made by advent that the spout is flexible. Similar to a bottle, so it is easy for them to adjust to. That is the only cup that worked for us.
Good luck Holly.
J.

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A.W.

answers from Boston on

Will she drink it from an open cup? My daughter did the same thing but she would drink it from a small open cup (yes even when she was that young). Sure it's messy, but you can help her hold it and just be prepared to change her after lunch.

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R.H.

answers from Boston on

Morning! Same thing happened to me, my baby wouldn't take the cup till she was "ready" @ 16 mos..she was nursing though..so thats what she wanted from me- she'd THROW the bottle OR cup across the room at 14 mos! Imagine.. Point is she'll take it when she's sick of the bottle. As far as milk @ the teeth etc. its exactly the same from a cup as a bottle for the teeth and the sucking motion. I say let her be the baby with the bottle for another year and then give her a pretty princess sippy cup, she'll probably just surprise you one day. Kids move at their own pace. My dd FINALLY weaned and stopped playing Greek Wedding throwing dishes on the floor. Now she LOVES her warn milk in her hard plastic sippy cup. Course she throws it if its NOT WARM ENOUGH !!! hahaha Again, Imagine !

Have fun :)
R.

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B.D.

answers from Boston on

We tried making the milk from the bottle less enticing than the milk in the sippy cup by watering down the bottled milk. "oh honey, is that yucky? Try the sippy cup milk." It worked with both of my girls! We also took them to shop for their own special sippy - having that choice made their cups more fun to use. Good luck!

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M.C.

answers from Hartford on

Are we talking about breast milk that you've expressed or cow milk? I wouldn't be concerned if she doesn't want to drink cow milk: It's made for cows and it's kind of normal for kids to resist it, especially at her age, as her body is not yet ready to process it. If it's breast milk, that's another story, and I would refer to pp who have experience with kids and sippy cups.

D.B.

answers from Boston on

Is there a specific reason that you need her to do this now? Maybe she just isn't ready. There are some things that are tough to do on a predetermined schedule - I think kids eat, give up a bottle, sleep and potty train on their own timetable. You can try introducing different styles of cups, which you have done - some kids like the type with a built in straw, others like the type you just tip up. Both have different aspects of a bottle but you won't know without experimenting. Otherwise, I'd let it go for now. There's no rule about when they have to give it up.

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J.D.

answers from Boston on

Hi Holly,

We are in the same boat here with our 15-mo-old daughter! One thing that HAS worked...heating up the milk. She seems to despise cold drinks in general, and when we give her bottles we always warm up the milk. So spoiled! (I put 6 oz. of milk in a Pyrex measuring cup; microwave for 30 sec.; pour into sippy cup) Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Boston on

Who says she is not getting enough milk. I have a 2.5 year old and 17 month old twins and all three of them did the same thing. I spoke to the doctor and he had no problems with it. 16 ozs of milk is plenty. She will eventually drink milk from a cup, just keep trying but don't force her. She will not go to school drinking from a bottle is what I was told

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J.H.

answers from Hartford on

hi holly!
perhaps your little one could get the calcium she needs in other ways... yogurt, sliced cheese, macaroni with shredded cheese, a dab of butter and a splash of whole milk...
i have a 17 month old and a 3.5 year old.
you could find a "sweet" cracker (cinn. or honey) and show her how 'yummy' it is with YOUR milk and perhaps she will follow your lead.
try a straw and a big girl glass!!!
taste it yourself and make sure that the cup/plastic doesn't taste funny?!!
good luck :) J.

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B.W.

answers from Boston on

Try sugar-free chocolate syrup or powder. I know it sounds bad, but my friend (a nurse) did that with her 1 yr old to transition. Her baby wouldn't take anything even remotely like milk out of anything but a bottle or breast. She started out with some chocolate, and then gradually reduced the amount until it was just milk. She now drinks milk with no prob at all -out of anything. Sometimes we moms have to get creative! Good Luck!

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L.P.

answers from Hartford on

Hi Holly - I would suggest a sippy cup with a straw. At least one company makes a cup that has a really soft flexible straw that retracts under a cover for cleanliness that my second son LOVED. Something about the sucking reminded him of nursing I think (we didn't use bottles and he still resisted the sippy cup for milk.) The one we used had handles on both sides to make it easier to hold and could be completely taken apart to clean (milk in a sippy always made me nervous.) One other suggestion might be those open cups from Babies R Us that come with the sippy tops - I am not describing them well, but we use them without the tops now but for a long time my kids needed the security of the tops for spillage reasons. Hope that helps.

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S.S.

answers from Boston on

I have a 17 month old and am still working on the bottle to sippy cup transition. But what has worked for us so far is trying all sorts of different cups. We are fans of Nuby. It has one cup that has a top similar to a bottle top.
-S.

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R.K.

answers from Springfield on

I had the same problem with my son turned out he has a milk allergy among a few others. He drinks rice milk and loves it. Perhaps your daughter doesnt like the taste of milk or maybe the cup she is drinking from. We use Nuby soft spout sippy cups and my son loves them. Milk isnt something they need to drink all day. They can get the nutrients from other foods like yogurt and cheese if she'll eat them. When we found out my son cant have milk or soy and too much rice milk constipates them I was worried about his nutrition but his dr. reassured us that milk is not neccesary you can give them juice fortified with calcium and they can get a multi vitamin with A and D in it. Just push other fluids like diluted juice and water during the day because keeping her hydrated is the most important things and offer her foods that will give her the nutrition she needs.

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J.D.

answers from Portland on

Hi Holly! If you would like your daughter to stop using the bottle for your own reasons then what your trying to do makes sense to me. I think consistency with what you offer is key and eventually your little girl will get use to the idea.
However, if you are trying to wean her off of the bottle and milk habit because you have been pressured by people to do so I would say this; every baby is different. When my son was a baby I was given a lot of advice about when to do aor not do certain things. I realized that I didn't always need to listen! Even if that advice was from my pediatrician. I believe that too much emphasis is placed on this timetable that someone made up for babys. My son wanted his bottle a little longer too. When I stopped trying to convince him otherwise he gave it up himself within a couple months abd it was a non issue. I think that as long as a baby is sleeping with a bottle stuck in it's mouth things are okay! Maybe if you let her do what she want for a little longer your problem will fix itself. Good luck!

Jen D.

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B.G.

answers from Barnstable on

Sorry no suggestion but maybe she just isnt ready to make the switch yet. I wouldnt force her but definately keep encouraging it. My daughter wont drink milk at home period. She doesnt want to. (she gets it at daycare 3 or 4 times a day so I dont stress over it) But I still offer it to her everyday at every meal (not snacks) just only give her 2 oz at a time as to not waste too much milk (especially since we drink soy and it is $4 for a 1/2 gallon!).

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