Breast to Sippy Cup

I breast fed all my girls, still am with my youngest. With my oldest I gave her sips out of a real cup with no top on it. This seemed to help her realize that a cup was filled with juice, and that is a good thing. After helping her with a normal cup for a while (about a wk) she started taking sippy cups because she was familiar with the shape. Soon after that she was on her way to cup freedom! My middle girl just wants to be like big sis, so she was a lot easier. Good luck!

I have three children ages 16,12 and 2 1/2 and in my honest opinion she is too young to start any kind of cup. I would just offer it to her in between feedings but not worry too much about her not accepting it right now.
K.

I don't think that it really matters what kind of sippy cup you use, just pick one kind and stick to it. My three kids have all taken a while to get used to the idea of a cup(breastfed until 1 year). Just keep offering it to her every day with different liquids inside! A couple of things that helped my kids was letting them use the sippy cup in their high chair with no stopper inside, and also watching other kids drink out of cups seemed to inspire them. Don't worry, if she is really thirsty, she will drink! LOL

I also am a breast feeding mom and my daughter gets very few bottles other than the few days a month that I work. I have just started working on her with a sippy cup, she is about 8 months old. Anyway I had two that failed miserably. Most recently I got the Gerber transitional cup. It seems to have a softer spout than most. Anyway I have been giving it to her with meals and she seems to like grabbing at in her high chair. Initially I had a hard time getting her to take it, but she seems to like the watered down juice combo to rinse down her meals. Maybe your daughter would like it too. Good luck and don't worry if she wont take the cup well yet. She will get it eventually.

Hi H..
You might try giving her a regular cup. I have nursed my daughter, 7 mo, and she never ever would take anything out of a bottle. When I tried to give her juice or water out of a bottle, she didn't want it. I tried a couple of different cups, but she just doesn't know how to deal with it, how to get anything, etc. So I tried a regular cup. Yes it is messy and I have to give her a drink rather than let her handle it herself, but she seems to be doing well with it...and she loves water. I think the regular cup allows her to see that something is coming to her mouth so she knows it is coming anc can swallow and she usually does really well...except when I let too much get to her. I agree with you...why create another situation that you will have to take away. Good luck and I hope this helps.
A.

my daughter attends a montessori school, and through their teaching, they do not use sip cups. our daughter has learned how to drink from a cup and from bottled water with our assistance. we have sip cups at home, but they really haven't served a purpose. you may want to try just giving her sips of water or breastmilk from a small cup. good luck!

Hey,

I know what you are going through. I bought every size, color, brand and style of sippy cup that they made!! I wanted so badly for my son to drink juice out of one. I was like you and didn't want to start the habit of juice in a bottle. He would have nothing to do with it!! He would take maybe a few sips at best. I offered him juice anytime he was in his high chair and at other times during the day. I even took the attachment out of the lid so he wouldn't have to suck on it as hard and he would realize how yummy the juice was. Just be prepared for the messiness! He eventualy started drinking out of a cup like a champ but it took a couple of months. Everyone told me to get the nuby cups too and my son doesn't really care for them. He likes the playtex and gerber sipsters the best. The gerber ones are tilted wo he doesn't have to bend his head back so far if it's not full. I hope some of this helps and I hate to say just give her time because I know how annoying that is to hear over and over.....but she will pick it up.

S.

I would not worry to much about pushing a sippy cup until she is closer to a year. How is she about holding things on her own? If she won't hold a sippy cup and try to put it to her own mouth then it basically defeats the purpose of the sippy cup. Neither of my kids would have anything to do with a sippy cup until they were about 13 months old. Btw, I love that your hubby first proposed to you at age 7, that is SO incredibly sweet!

I'm a 25 year old SAHM too! My baby girl Isabella Mariana is 14 1/2 months old. I don't really have any suggestions as far as a sippy cup. I started giving Isabella a sippy cup about 6m old to give her water. She hadn't had the bottle much and I also didn't want to fight that battle of getting her off the bottle, so I went straight to the sippy cup. The mouth part to the ones I used were actually hard. She didn't use that long at all, she then went to the tupperware sippy cups that aren't very spill proof but she did very well with them. Now she just steals my cups with straws!(don't worry, I only drink water)hah I hope you find a sippy cup your little one will take!

Hi H.! My son is 10 months old and loves his sippy cup, but he didn't at first. We use the Avent brand on everything so you may want to buy one and try it. I gave my son the cup just to play with for a few minutes everyday and put just a small amount of liquid in it and he finally figured it out! I would not try breastmilk in it, she associates that with you. So try juice diluted with water. I also breasfeed and my son has never had a bottle so the transition can be hard. Don't get discouraged, she will learn what the sippy cup is for. Just try letting her play with one and examine it. Don't make a big deal out of it and if she gets frustrated take it away and try again later. I wish you all the best and good luck!!!
Sincerely,
A.

I started my kids with a "sippy cup" of some sort by taking out the stopper and putting water in it. I let them sit on a blanket and play with it for awhile everyday. It helped them get the hang of it and start to like it instead of being pressured by it. Then I added maybe a teaspoon of water and juice to it without the stopper and let them get a taste of that--who doesn't like juice? After that, they both wanted their cups, because they saw it as the place where the juice came from. Then I could put the stopper in and put a normal amount of juice in it diluted with water and not have to worry about the stickiness all over the place. I had both of my kids using their cups by the time they were at one year. One was breastfed, and one was not. It didn't seem to make a difference. I hope it helps.
J. W.

I breastfed both of my girls for one year. i introduced a sippy cup around 6 months with both. My oldest took to it right away, she used the nuby. My youngest took it about 9 months and she prefered one made by Gerber. I would put a little juice in it and sit it by them when they ate. it is just a process that you have to be routine about...have it there for them every day at every meal (does not have to be juice) At least this is what worked for me.

H.,
Have you tried just giving her an ounce or two at a time in a regular cup?
My oldest daughter really "liked" the playtex cups with the valve in them - she had to really suck on the cup to get anything out. I also liked them because they NEVER spilled.... But it took forever for her to be happy and mess-free with a regular cup. We also had the side-effect of her developing the habit of walking around with a drink in her cup all the time... now she has weight problems.
My second daughter only ever had a regular cup, with a swallow or two at a time in the cup. She did much better and spills were small....
When she feels the need to walk around with a beverage, she has a sports bottle and water.
L.
Just an idea. ( months is plenty old enough to hold a small cup with a small amount in it.

CONGRATS. ON STILL BREASTFEEDING. I STOPPED AT 5 MONTHS. I AGREE THE AVENT SIPPY CUPS ARE GOOD I ACTALLY STARTED MY SON ON IT THIS WEEK WITH JUICE ONLY..HE IS LEARNING.. YOU CAN GET THIS STUFF AT TARGET OR KMART.. DON'T BLAME U FOR NOT WANTING TO START WITH THE BOTTLE.. AND YES SHE WILL LOVE THE JUICE...

First, try giving something really yummy such as juice in the sippy cup. She associates milk with you so something that tastes completely different might work.

Second, my kids liked the Avent sippy cups. They come with a soft nipple but you can change the nipple as they get older to other types.