Seeking Advice on Sippy Cups

I posted the same question months ago on another board and the one that was recommended the most was Playtex.
I had the bornfree ones and the leaking drove us crazy.
I went bought the Playtex and we Love them!!! Hands down no spill playtex sippy cups.

I started my daughter on sippy cups at 6 months old. I used Playtex The First Years, these are for babies 4 - 12 months. It has handles too. It works great and my daughter loves them.

I started my now 11-month-old son on sippy cups right at 6 months. Since he is breastfed, he only got the cup with a little water in it just to "practice." At first, he just wanted to chew on the cup, but once he figured out there was something inside, he was hooked!

As for the type of cup, we tried the handled, no-spill ones. But the ones he really likes are the "Take and Toss" throw-away kind. They aren't *completely* leak-proof, but they are great for first-time cup users. Plus, they are usually a bit cheaper than the other kinds!

I know I have read that people say that Dr. like for kids to be off the bottle at a certain age, but it really depends on the kid. If they can you a cup/sippy cup and still want the bottle for comfort that is totally developmentally normal as children have the desire to suck until well past two even if they aren't nursed or nursing. And for brain development sucking is important. But as a mother it is your chioce to do what is right for your child. My daughter uses all three bottle at nap/bed or when she is not feeling well/teething and needs the comfort, a cup if she is at the table/someplace that if there is a spill it is okay, and a sippy when I don't want spills. She has learned to take lids off so now twisting lids are very useful. I like the sippy cup with handles for the first cup because they can use both hands and hold on like a rattle. Then I like the gerber cups with lids when their hands get a little bigger and they are really learning how to drink from a cup because then you can take the lid off and there isn't a lip or anything to make drinking directly from the cup difficult. We also use the disposeable ones that have pictures on them, but again they have a lip. Hope you find something you like!

I second the Playtex-I've tried them all and they all have leaked except the Playtex. Yes, you can go with handles at first.

Good luck!

I tried Gerber, Nuby, Avent, Playtex and even the expensive Born Free. Playtex is the ONLY brand that does not leak. As the previous poster mentioned, it comes in stages (with handles to start with, etc). So that has my vote!

practice is the best way to get them using the cups. I like the disposable throw away type First Years ones for the first teaching phase.

N.

Hi There!

You can start sippy cups whenever you feel your baby is ready....but keep the bottles for regular feedings until your baby is at least a year. I started both of my babies with the Playtex sipster....they have handles, a soft spout, are easy to clean, don't leak, and are BPA free!

I have 3 year old and have tried all types. Eventually they all leak which becomes a pain. I like the playtex cups the best though. Any of the cups that have the flexible plastic insert in the top will leak the worst. So when shopping for cups open them up and check to see if they have the hard plastic white insert that you have to twist a little to get out. Those cups will not leak if you wash the lid and insert and dry them completely before refilling. As far as what cup to start with i started at about 6 months at lunch and dinner time with the nuby cups that have a nipple like top. She figured them out right away and no problems easing into the regular cups. But beware, she figured out that if you tip them over and bang them on something that they squirt everywhere. She thought it was hillarius the first time she did it. Good luck.

When my son started with sippies, I liked the Nuby w/ the handles. All baby has to do is bite the nipple part and liquid comes out, so they get the idea. But once he got it, I liked Gerber, but I think they all had BPA (which I just recently found out) so I now use only Playtex. I think they are truly "no spill".

I'm not sure why some people have been having all the leaking with sippys! My twins are two now and we have an assortment of brands in the house now. (Nuby, Playtex, Avent...) They were never on bottles, as we breastfed until 13 months, but when they were first learning (trying a little juice or water), I think it was maybe 9 months or something?, I liked the handled ones too. I did have trouble with all of the ones with flexible straws leaking, but if you can find ones with straws that don't leak, those are great because then the baby doesn't have to tip the whole cup to get the liquid out. I think the ones I finally found were Rubbermaid, and were not in the kids aisles of the stores, but labeled as juice boxes with the other Rubbermaid stuff. Good luck!

Hey!
I am a first time mommy of a 9 month old baby girl. So I feel you. I found one with no handles it contours in the middle so she can hold it with her little hands. It also has 3 different tops to help her convert. The first is a nipple, the second is the sippie thing and the last is a straw. It also has a no spill feature. It is made by Nuby. It has worked well for me.

Hi M.!
I started my son when he was 6mo old. I tried the Gerber one w/ the handle, but I don't think he liked the spout. So then I got the Born Free 7oz. training cup w/ handles and he LOVES it. Then in a couple months take off the handles. When he gets older (like 12mo) you can just get the drinking cup spout and use the training cup. Why spend the extra $ for the 9oz sippy cup. They have them online at Babies R' Us and about a couple months ago they started carrying them in the stores. But I have to say although my son loves it and hasn't gotten use to any other sippy cup, it is not by far the best for non-spill. That's the only downfall. I just supervise him when he drinks. Now that he's 13mo I'm going to try to transition him to the Gerber Graduate spill proof sip cup.

Good luck to both of us....lol!
A.

We use the playtex cups. They have them all based on age and I just followed the spectrum from 6 months or so all the way till now at 2 1/2.

http://www.playtexproductsinc.com/infant/CupsByStage.asp

For my oldest and my youngest, I tried sippy cups and it didn't work. I taught them to drink from a straw using a juice box. You put the straw in there mouth and squeeze the juice box until a little juice comes out. After a couple tries, the baby will get the idea that he has to suck to get anything out. Good luck!

My children went directly to cups since I breastfed for the first 12 months, but I would definately recommend the no spill type. Handles make it easier for little hands to hold, but harder to fit in a diper bag. Also, don't get too discouraged if your child doesn't like the sippy at first. It could be the sippy. With my youngest we had the hardest time finding a cup he liked. We finally ended with the playtex variety (no handles), because it was what HE liked in the ned.

OMG.. this is such a great question and i wish I would have read it about 2 months ago! I just went through the same thing, trying to find a sippy.

For my son, it seemed like it was hard for him to get the idea to tip the cup back (at 6 months) so I tried a straw-type cup and he figured it out right away! The take and toss ones are the best to start out because they have no valve (so they leak) but it is easier for the child to get the fluid out because they are not pulling against the suction of the valve. I would try those first. The ones with the straw have a hard straw, so they cant walk/crawl around with them, but we used them at meal times and it was perfect.
I have tried them all, (nuby, born free) and while he really liked the born free, they do leak, which sort of defeats the purpose.
Hands down, playtex works the best. Most are bpa free now. You can go to safemama.com and check out her list of bpa free sippy cups and just print it out and bring it with you to the store and look up every cup you look at so you can be sure to get one that is bpa free.
Good luck!
B.

I would go straight to a small cup. Look at the Michael Olaf website. Also you can get small cups at Scheepe's on Rt. 64 / just off 355. Going straight to a cup will help your child with independence.

Unfortunately I didnt discover the Nuby until my 4th and last child. They are inexpensive and indestructable. I especially like the soft top as opposed to traditional hard sipper cups. Check out the product line, www.nuby.com

I got my son on a sippy at 14 months. We use the Gerber tossables only available at Target. That was the only brand that worked! I just reuse them and put them in the dishwasher...they have a nice lid that screws on. My son's speech therapist reccomended those cups to me after we did not have success with several other brands. She claimed that those worked with several of her patients...I wouldn't rush the sippy- as long as they are on it by 15 months, I think that is fine. I think kids are too rushed to grow up today! Those cups also never spill and are very affordable!

Before those sippys, I used a NUBY with a soft sippy spout for a month- the speech therapist said to get him off that fast since it was still much like a bottle. Though, they were a good transition to an actual sippy.

I started with the handled ones both times. After that, I like the insulated ones, Playtex or Gerber are good.