Seeking Sippy Cup

Updated on July 26, 2008
M.H. asks from Lucasville, OH
48 answers

Hello! My baby girl is 7 1/2 months old. We've been trying to teach her to drink from a sippy cup for over a month. Unfortunately, she just hasn't gotten it yet! She just chews on the spout and never drinks a drop. We do give her liquids from a regular cup with our help, and she does okay. But we want her to be able to hold and drink from her own sippy cup. The brand we currently have is Nuby. I finally tried to drink from it myself and discovered that it was difficult to drink from. The sucking required to get any liquid seemed hard even for an adult. So, I'm wondering what sippy cups are the easiest to drink from and for babies to learn to use. She does still take formula from a bottle, and she eats baby food with no problem, by the way. Any advice would be greatly appreicated!

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F.K.

answers from Charlotte on

I had the same problem. When my son had difficulty with the sippy cups, I tried to drink out of them and all the ones I tried (including the Nuby which was highly recommended) were difficult to suck any liquid out of.
Eventually we gave up on the sippy cups and just gave him the plastic Take and Toss cups with a flexible straw. Try those, they are really inexpensive and you can just wash them and reuse them. I hope this helps.

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P.H.

answers from Louisville on

She may still be a little young. Give her time, she'll get it. I don't know too many 7 1/2 month olds that can drink from a sippy cup. They usually can do better around 9-10 months.
Nuby cups are actually some of the easiest for them to drink from. They others are way harder to get the drink out of.

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D.M.

answers from Raleigh on

Born Free is what we used. They have different types of nipples to transition them from bottle to sippy cup.

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J.H.

answers from Lexington on

I have started all my kids out on the disposable kind. I think by The First Years, you can get at Wal-Mart. They seem to be the easiest to get started on.

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R.B.

answers from Memphis on

the playtex cups with the hard spout are great and easy to dring from. trust me i have tried them myself. when she gets bigger playtex makes a big kids sippy cup and the are great to.

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K.J.

answers from Louisville on

We used the Gerber sippy cups withboth of my kids. When they started out drinking from them, we would take the stopper out so that the liquid would just come out when they put it to their mouths to drink. It may get a little messy but it never did come out too fast and make a huge mess. She probably wll still chew on it some. It is something new and she is just trying to figure it out. My son (2) still chews on his when he is playing with his cup. Good luck. :)

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J.B.

answers from Charlotte on

When my daughter was transitioning to a sippy cup, she did well with the Avent brand. You can get them at Target. Hope that helps.

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H.K.

answers from Huntington on

Hi! My son uses the Nuby sippy cups and it took him a while to figure out how to use them, too. I would fill it all the way up with water and let him nibble on it until he figured out how to get the liquid out.

Once the spout part was in his mouth I would push on the top until a little water would come out into his mouth. That made him want to try to get more. It took a long time - maybe a week or two of him "playing" with it but eventually figured it out.

It just takes practice!

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L.

answers from Charlotte on

We had the same problem. Most of those "spill-proof" cups are also "drink proof"! We couldn't drink through them either. Our ped recommended that we get the kind with handles and a straw and that worked really well for our son. Hope this helps you! Blessings.

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C.L.

answers from Knoxville on

I don't think my daughter, Olivia, actually got the hang of the sippy cup thing until she was around a year old. She drank formula & breast milk from them as we weaned & got her off the bottle. Once she learned to hold a bottle, the cup holding came pretty easily. As I recall, she started out lying on her back & as she got older, we encouraged her to tilt her head back. We started with the nuby cup as well (the 1 with the handles), but we had to hold it for her much like a bottle for months (we started @ 6 mos). Gerber makes great cups with handles & soft spouts, & they actually have stoppers which worked better for us. I found that the nuby cups leaked & the spouts wore out very quickly. One of them actually came apart & would have been a choking hazard had I not checked them regularly. Playtex also makes good cups for the little guys. The nuby cups are cheaper, I know & they seem easier because you don't have stoppers to keep up with, but I found over time that you really get what you pay for where those types of cups are concerned. We now exclusively use playtex & gerber cups which have lasted over a year. Playtex also sells their stoppers in packs by themselves so if you lose 1 or 2 you can replace them w/o having to buy more cups.

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M.N.

answers from Nashville on

My daughter who is now 21 months had NO desire to drink from a sippy cup. We tried at least 6 or 7 different brands/ kinds of cups without success, including the Nuk.
Because of all the traveling we were doing around the time, she caught onto using a regular straw - one part desperation, one part imitation - this was a Godsend to us.
I ended up buying Playtex cups from Walgreens - heres a link:
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod959&amp...

Before trying these ones I had tried a Gerber Straw cup that was just too hard for her suck.
Hope this helps!

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S.G.

answers from Raleigh on

My son didn't take a sippy cup until he was 9 months old. I found that the Gerber cups work best, they have a soft spout. We tried at least 4 different brands. They come in red and blue, green and blue or pink and purple. They seemed to be the easiest to suck. The Nuby ones have to be bitten and then sucked. They are soft but seemed harder for my kids to use. Take your time! I'd let her keep playing with it.

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T.M.

answers from Nashville on

Hey! My son refused to hold a sippy cup or learn how to use it. Finally our daycare owner told us about the straw sippy cup. Its also made by nuby but its the kind that has the straw and they just suck and juice/milk comes up. My son is now 15 months and we still only use this kind of cup. You might want to give it a try. They usually come in two in a package at walmart.

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D.F.

answers from Clarksville on

We started my daughter out on the Gerber Nuk Cup (the one they can start using at 6mos). The part you drink out of looks like a regular sippy cup but it's very similar and from drinking out of a bottle nipple. We started giving her the cup about 7 mos. and for about a month all she did was play with it and chew on it. Occasionally I would tip it up to her mouth so she knew how to drink from it. After about a month all of a sudden she just started drinking from it. After a month with that cup we graduated her to the Gerber beginner cup (the ones with the sailboat and flower on them)because the spout was less rubbery.

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C.B.

answers from Louisville on

We had the same problem with our son(our daughter had no problem at all). The Gerber soft spout finally did the trick. Now any cup will do.

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J.A.

answers from Goldsboro on

My daughter who is 2 1/2 is drinking from the Playtex cups. She likes them much better than the Nuby and the Munchkin kind. My oldest liked the Playtex as well when she was drinking from a sippy cup. The Playtex ones are easier to drink from. This is just me saying this, I look at it this way, if your baby is having a hard time with the sippy cup at this time, maybe she isn't ready for it just yet. Doctors and such want my 2 1/2 year old drinking from an open cup like big kids and adults drink out of, but she just makes a mess and she doesn't quite know how to hold her head upwards to drink from it. That's how I know she's not ready for that type of cup yet. I'm not worried, my oldest didn't start drinking from a regular cup until she was 4. I know the doctors around here would have a cow if they knew that. I never started my kids on sippy cups until they were off the bottle. Good luck and I hope she takes the sippy cup soon. J. A.

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K.G.

answers from Raleigh on

I would try a few different ones and see what works best for you.

My daughter never took a bottle and had a hard time learning to take a sippy cup. After trying several different kinds she finally took a Take n Toss. Once she had that one down we were able to switch to other kinds. We have another friend that had the same experience with Take n Toss.

Personally I prefer the Platex Sipsters. They are easy to clean and easy for her to use. They have a rubberized hard spout so it doesn't encourage chewing on the cup but isn't h*** o* her new teeth.

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H.M.

answers from Raleigh on

We have had a lot of success with The First Years Take N Toss ones. They can be disposable, but we use them over and over. And they are BPA free. What I like about them is that they are light and have no handles. My daughter had a hard time with the handles on other cups, but took to these just fine. And I know the liquid comes out of these easily.

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D.C.

answers from Fayetteville on

I used Dr. Brown's. I'm sure you could find it at Babies R Us or Target. My son loved starting out and you don't have to suck too hard to get the liquid out - great first time one. Then once they get the hang of it, you can use others you have.

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B.H.

answers from Nashville on

I had the same problem with my son! We tried LOTS (like 10 different kinds), and ended up with the Sesame Street and Cars cups from Walmart! Just keep trying different brands.

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N.G.

answers from Fayetteville on

M.,
What's the rush? You really don't have to introduce a sippy cup until she can hold a bottle on her own. She'll let you know when she's ready. Just relax and enjoy her being a baby. My kids are way past the days you're enjoying now. I miss it terribly! God bless.

T.C.

answers from Lexington on

We started our daughter on an old fashioned sippy cup...the kind that DOES spill. Once she realized there was something in it she wanted it was all up hill from there!
But then again, maybe she isn't ready for a sippy cup!

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C.C.

answers from Raleigh on

i had the same issue with my son arouind the same time - I was only nursing him at this time - which can be part of the problem as they are not used to bottles.
I tried the nuby straw cup - has 2 handles with an easy to use straw - this way they don't have to tip the cup to get the drink - they just suck. I have read that breastfed babies do better with straw cups early on versus trad'l sippie cups. my son still uses these and loves them - they sell at Target for sure. can't miss them - nuby cup with 2 handles and straw - come in colorful colors etc.
these should work

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S.H.

answers from Raleigh on

At 7 1/2 months, there is a very strong chance that she isn't developmentally ready for a cup yet. I introduced them to my children at this age, but didn't expect them to take to them. You do need to experiment with different cups to see what works best for her, but don't expect perfection any time soon. She still has several months before she needs to be weaned from the bottle; the 12 month milestone is in place for a good reason, and if you try to push her into something she is not developmentally ready for the you both just end up frustrated.

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K.D.

answers from Knoxville on

You won't beleive this, but our favorites are the take and toss disposables (which I wash and reuse.. they're sturdy). The lid snaps on tightly and there's no gasket, which mean when they left unattended and upside down, they do ultimately leak, but we just have a no-walk-around policy. I always know they are clean because I feel like the lack of a gasket allows me to get the soap in and out of the crevices, and my daughter, who also chewed on the fancy ones, holds the cup by the tiny rim with ease. Go figure. when upright, I've found they leak much less than the expensive ones.

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E.M.

answers from Louisville on

i used the gerber brand sippys. i think any are ok but try taking the stopper out for a while until she gets the hang of it... it can be hard and they get mad when they arnt getting a drink! good luck!

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K.H.

answers from Chattanooga on

I kind of skipped some of the sippy cups and went to one that was a cup that had a top with an opening but didn't have any holes in it....just a plain slit with no plastic behind it...that probably doesn't make sense but the only place I really found them were at Babies R Us.

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C.D.

answers from Chattanooga on

We used so many different sippy cups! Nuby were terrible for us The Nuk cups with the flexible, soft spout are pretty good, but they seemed a little too much like a bottle for me, but that might actually be good for a little one your daughter's age. We ended up using The First Years disposable cups with the spout lids. We re-use them, they're very cheap, you get many in a package, and they're really the only ones that we've loved.

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B.T.

answers from Charlotte on

You should try the Nuby soft spout sippy cups from walmart. There are two different types that have a soft plastic spout that helped my son transition from bottle to cup. One has a straw like spout and the other has a normal sippy cup spout. THey are soft plastic like a nipple, so ur baby can suck like he does a nipple, but its really a sippy cup spout. They are durable, and they dont leak until after a few months they are cheap too, but they were the best cups i found when my now 21 month old wouldnt use the take n toss cups (i swear by these) i used them on both my kids. And they dont use valves. I went to walmart.com but i couldnt find them, but im sure they are still there i bought a one a few months ago.
Just remember nuby soft spout cups! hope that helps

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S.S.

answers from Lexington on

if she likes to chew on the spout, you might try the born free trainer cup. that is how the liquid comes out, the baby bites the top, and only has to suck if she wants to. they were the first cup my son could figure out. they are a little pricey, but they are also made out of the safe, non leaching, plastic that the world is all talking about now. i love tham, and my son has moved up to the stage two drinking spout.

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M.H.

answers from Louisville on

My daughter like advent....

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J.

answers from Nashville on

I used playtex ones with handles w/ a hard spout and took the stopper out until they got used to using it.

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L.D.

answers from Asheville on

When I introduced ds to a sippy, I took the "sippy" part, the little piece that stops the leaks, out so he knew there was water/juice in it. After he figured it out I put it back in.

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T.

answers from Chattanooga on

I used the Avent cups. They have soft spouts (white or green) and hard spouts (yellow). As the child gets better at it, you can move up to a different spout without buying a new cup (just a new spout).

Whatever kind you use, try taking out the valve. Put the juice in the cup with the lid on but no valve. This will make it easier for her to get something and to realize there is something there. Once she gets the hang of this, put the valve back in. Good luck.

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G.M.

answers from Raleigh on

i'm a firm believer in "When she gets thristy enough, she'll figure it out" We used the Nuby cups that you get at walmart and they were about 1.50 a peice but the spout, -- all you had to do was bite it a little to open the little slots. It didn't require much. But when my son really got the hang of it, we had to toss them because he would leave them laying on the floor and they do drip. Maybe start with those. We now use the Platex cups adn they're awesome.

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P.G.

answers from Raleigh on

Hi Momma D~
My little one was doing the same thing. Try taking out the plug that keeps liquids from dripping out. You will have to supervise her and help her hold it, but if maybe it is hard for her to know that she has to suck to get the liquid out. That's great that she will drink from a regular cup, maybe she will just bypass the sippie altogether. I honestly think the sippie is more the convenience of parents rather than a stage in a baby's life. It does help prevent spills but it may confuse the kid as well. What I do is at home I use a regular cup and offer him sips throughout the day, then on outings I'll take the sippie, because it's convenient. Good luck, you will find what works best for your little one.

Paula G.

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H.E.

answers from Knoxville on

I had the same problem with my son ... he eventually just learned to drink from a regular sippy cup (although my hubby and I agree with you that they are really hard to get liquid to come out of)! Poor guy, we had him off the bottle just after a year old, and it took him quite some time after that even to really get any good liquid from a sippy cup! ;)

With our second (a daughter this time), we didn't worry as much or try to make her "conform" to a regular sippy cup. We use the Nuby straw cups (I think someone else mentioned them, too). She's always been better at drinking out of a straw than a traditional sippy cup. The straw Nuby cups are a bit harder to find ... but they sell them most places (Target, grocerie stores, Wagreens, etc.). Good luck!

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E.C.

answers from Charleston on

Hi M.! Playtex has been wonderful for us! But Nubby was what we tried first as well. Does she by chance still wake in the mid of the night for formula? If so, have u by chance tried giving the sippy to her then? When I introduced the sippy to my son (he was 6 1/2 mths when he started the sippy) he seemed to have a hard time as well-so I tried giving him his formula in that when he'd wake in the night instead of his bottle. It worked! We haven't looked back since! :) I fig he was maybe being a bit lazy b/c he was so use to the flow of the bottle The Nubby was the 1st brand I tried as well, for it was recommended to me. However, he didn't care for it too much. Playtex has been wonderful! They are leak proof and have removable stoppers-my son is now 21 mths old and we still use the stoppers most of the time so that it won't leak.
Good Luck
E.

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S.K.

answers from Fayetteville on

I was always particularly fond of the playtex brand sippy cups, they have the ones with the handles clear up through the ones with straws on them. Of course that was a few years back though.

A.D.

answers from Austin on

NUK LEARNER CUP!! I swear by it. They come in blue, green, and red. They run about $6 and you can only get them from walmart. They have the soft spout that is shaped like a sippy but its longer so they have more room for their tongue to thrust against like a nipple. It also has handles so they can learn to hold it. The flow is slower then the nuby brand but gives them a chance to learn how to use it. But also remember that babys have a stronger suck then us. Ive used them for 4 months and I love them! Get one and try it!

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H.M.

answers from Raleigh on

I liked the Gerber cups with the handle on each side so it is easy to grip. With our first daughter we used that cup, just put a little liquid in it and took the valve out so she did not have to suck to get the drink out. Once she realized how it worked and got a little more motor control we put the valve back in and she was able to do it. It still takes awhile though before they are really ready to drink without assistance (at least that was our experience!)

Holly

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W.C.

answers from Lexington on

I think each child will choose the trainer cup they want....there is no "one" good option or one that's better than another - except for the one your child chooses. My suggestion would be to buy several off ebay and see which one she likes the best....also, try different styles with and without handles.

My children both preferred the avent cups for drinking, tho my duaghter has an easier time with cups with handles. The gerber cups have a valve piece that both my children could easily shake out. The Nuby ones leaked EVERYWHERE. As a mom, I hate washing the Avents bc of all the little pieces, but a nipple basket has helped. We've just recently gone to the Playtex stage 2 cups, tho, as she's ready for a bigger cup, and she threw her Avent cups to ground so often adn with so much force that the weak spot on the bottom started leaking in all of them.

Avents are still my favorite trainers, tho.

Good luck!

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L.C.

answers from Raleigh on

Be careful with sippy cups as they are some that are not safe as well as some bottles.Our youngest could never drink from regular sippy but learned the srtaw kind very fast(Munchkin straw cups are on the safe list)They are a pain to wash though:(

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L.W.

answers from Johnson City on

We have success with Playtex. They have the removable stopper inside to keep from spilling and are very durable. Easy to drink from and last forever.

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A.M.

answers from Charleston on

You might try waiting a few months. Sometimes babies don't have the motor skills to handle a sippy cup til they are closer to a year. The times we tried to start my kids on a sippy cup at six months it didn't make a difference. They picked it up the same time as the kids who started on the sippy cup at 9 or 10 months. ( They all picked up on it by a year... which is when they were supposed to)..

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J.H.

answers from Lexington on

we always like the playtex sipsters. they have a size appropriate for that age, and on up. we've used them in every size and stage. the gerber ones are good too, except that the valve that makes it spill proof fell off into the cup a couple of times, and we would have to get it away from her before she choked on liquid coming out too fast or made a mess. i remember having the same problem you are-- how do you teach a little one to drink out of a cup when they have such limited communication skills?! i think we just kept at it, like you're doing. good luck!

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B.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

There is a sippy cup by Dr. Brown that I think is great for teaching a child to suck out of the sippy cup. The liquid comes out of it much easier so they learn the process. But fair warning, they also do not hold the liquid like other sippy cups will. If you turn it upside down, a short stream of liquid will come out. I would only use this cup for a training period and not let her carry it around.

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