How Can I Transition My Breast-fed 8-1/2 Mos Old to a Sippy Cup?

Play outside. Let him work up a thrist. Then give him the cup. 8 1/2 in my opinion is to early for just the cup alone. You need to gradually work that in.

Hey R.! I have four breast fed kids (all much older now) and ran into this with nearly all of them. I found that if I let them "play" with the sippy cup with water in it they got comfortable with it fairly quickly. When I was working in the kitchen, getting supper ready or cleaning, was a great and convenient time to do it. Also- using a begginers sippy cup (no valve in it) makes it much easier. You might have water every where- but he will be getting used to it and will have fun getting wet in the process. Hope this helps!

Hi R. and congratulations on nursing your son for so long! He's much better off for it!

I'm a professional nanny and have been for 25 years and have had a couple of little ones who refused to transition from breast to bottle/cup. My best advice is first, to let someone other than you give him the cup/bottle as nursing babies are typically reluctant to take anything but the breast from the mom. Secondly, get several different bottles and cups with different textures of nipples/lips and see if he takes a liking to one of them.....often nursed babies are very particular about which nipple/cuplip they will use. There are bottles that can be held by himself if he wants to that come with sippy cup tops to them so they can be used for a bottle first, then a sippy cup. He may not be physically ready for the sippy cup and needs to transition to bottle first. It's more important that he get full feedings from whatever he drinks from than it is that he start a sippy cup so young. Most doctors will keep your baby nursing or on a bottle until he's 15 months old or so as he relies on those calories until then.

Good luck! L.

I found they don't like breastmilk in a sippy cup in the beginning but juice is a winner. IF you are only gone for a few hours he would be fine without breastmilk as long as he'll drink the juice. I took the valve out and helped mine drink at meal time from the cup. That was it was a fun meal time activity and not the sitting down cuddling is for nursing kind of activity.

Congrats on nursing. I bottle fed the first two and nursed the second two (13 months!) and I prefer the second.

S.

I am currently pregnant with my 4th. So, I've had to transition 3 children from nursing to sippy cups. I found that they didn't realize that they needed to suck on the cup to get the water/milk out. So, I would take the valve out in the beginning. This, of course causes the water to flow out quickly (make sure to use water because of the mess), but it also helped them make the connection that their was something inside the cup.

my 4 kids all went from being breastfed to using a cup. a bottle isn't necessary at all. have you tried a cup with a straw? it sounds strange, but if you gently blow in his face then immediately put the straw in his mouth, he will suck on the straw. 2 of my kids did this before they would use a sippy cup. good luck.

ok, i know that the juices have no actual nutritional value but you might try mixing some of the gerbers banana yogurt juice into the cup of breastmilk. It will be something that taste a little different so maybe it would get him interested. I bf my first two for nearly a year but had to pump and use bottles while I was at school or working. So I never had that problem. I wish you the good luck. Oh, yeah, also try having someone besides you give him the bottle or cup. He associates you with bfing and therefore he might be more likely to take it from someone who isn't his food source.

Hi R.,

I have had the same issues with my 10 month old. She has never wanted a bottle, or pacifier. Around 9 months we tried the sippy cup, and it didn't go over so well. A couple weeks later while at the store I noticed a new type of sippy cup, with the rubber nipple/sippy portion, just like a bottle, but a sippy instead. She took to it right away after playing with it for a while. I didn't realize those kinds of cups were out there, but it specifically made for the transition from breast or bottle to sippy and it worked great for me. The brand is Gerber, but I'm sure there are others out there as well.

Good luck!
Tara

Someone else besides you needs to offer him the cup. You shouldn't even be in the room and it would be best if you are out of the house. If he senses you are near he is going to insist on the breast over any cup or bottle. So, leave the house for a little while and let someone else give him a cup. Also, definitely go with the sippy cups. I had the same problem with my daughter - she refused a bottle. When she started day care at 6 1/2 months, they had to give her milk from a sippy cup. Have patience too. It may take a while, but if you are not around and he is hungry he will give in and take the cup eventually.

R.,
Skipping sippy cups/bottles is the best thing you can do for yourself and your child. I would try giving your son an empty cup to play around with "pretending" while you feed him food. Then try putting small amounts of water, juice or whatever you think he will go for in one. I would also make sure you have a small cup, one with handles works great. Have you had someone else try giving him a cup/sippy cup? It may be he knows you have the real thing and is resisting because of the comfort you bring him while nursing as well. Another thing you could try is straws. I had my girls drink from straws from 6 months old. They have to use that same sucking motion to get the drink out and you don't have to carry/clean all the special cups around.
I hope this helps. God Bless you!
No matter what you end up doing, he will be fine and will eventually drink from a cup.

My kids (both breastfeed as well) wouldn't ever take a bottle or formula/breastmilk from a cup. They would take water from a straw cup and baby food at that age. I think that they liked the cold water as opposed to my trying to trick them with formula (they just wouldn't have that!)

Just Stop!!
He is big enough to be able to walk and talk
Just tell him
Sorry Son I Love you , It's time to start having solid food
You are a big Boy now!!