Sippy Cup - Philadelphia,PA

I have 4 children and have introduced the sippy cup at 6 months for all of them. I put a mix of water and juice, 2 ounces of Gerber juice and 2 ounces of water.

You are going to have to be very patient. In the beginning they don't get anything out of it. It is mainly to introduce the new item. They will chew on the spout, etc.
I would even suck just enought to get some juice right at the very tip, then put it in their mouth. Just to kind of let them know there is something good inside. When they were ready to actually drink out of it, that really helped. I do have to say that it can take anywhere from 1-3 months to really get it.

I would suggest the avent sippy cup. That was a good one for my son this time around, he had a little more trouble then the others.
After all of my children have mastered the sippy(around 8-9 months old), I only gave the sippy cups. They had no need for a bottle and didn't even miss it. Believe me it is WAY better this way. My friend's children were all hooked on the bottle. It is so hard to take it away once that happens.

Good Luck!!

My doctor gave us great advice for my first son and it has worked for all three of my children. Give your daughter the sippy up with juice. Only put juice in the cup and not the bottle. Lift it up to her mouth and have her take a sip. If she likes the juice and wants more, she will figure it out within a couple of weeks. I started all of my kids on this at 6mos. and they were sippy pros by 7mos. YOu are not too early, and I had NO problem weaning them off the bottle by 12 mos. I have found that if you wait until after 12mos, it is so hard to wean the baby from the bottle.

I started both of my girls with sippy cups around 5 months with tap water. If I had formula fed, I probably would have put that in there, but my girls were breastfed. Since it was just water, I'd just give it to them whenever they weren't nursing. If she seems to have trouble with a traditional sippy cup, Nuby makes a soft tip one that works well, but is messier if she decides she just wants to lay on the floor and chew on the tip! Good luck!

D., I started my son around the same time with H2o in a sippy cup. He didn't get too much and we tried it mostly at snack times. I think it did make that transition better around a year for him to give up the cup. By around 9 months or so I guess we started giving him his formula in the cup at meals. Good luck

Hi D.-

When I trasitioned my son to a sippy cup, I used a cup by Nuby. The sippy part felt the same as a bottle but was on a cup. I felt this was a nice transition for my son b/c it was partly familiar. As he got older, we just used regular sippy cups. We liked them! Just put her formula or some water in there and let her give it a shot.
Enjoy her:)

Until she is over 6 months, you should give her cooled boiled water. You should also still be sterilizing her cups/bottles until then.

Hi D.
I always started my kids with the Gerber double-handle sippy cup. It is easier to grasp. You could put her formula in there and offer it to her while your feeding her the fruits and veggies. I always do apple juice and mix it with spring water. Just make sure you have a vitamin with flouride for her teeth when she is off formula in a few months. Good luck! She will be off the bottle before you know it, so don't rush it. Treasure those moments feeding her a bottle. You won't get them back.

I gave my boys a sippy cup at 9 1/2 mths. and they were fine using it after like 3 tries. My daughter just turned 9 months and has been using a sippy for over 2 weeks now. I gave them all formula in it. My children did not get much juice or water before a year because they do not need them. My children did not have any problems switching over to a cup because they really love their milk LOL I think they would have drank from anything! I do believe transitions are easier when you start before a year. However, I noticed that my children wanted or needed some sucking and the bottle helped with that so I didn't try a cup when they were as young as your daughter. My boys didn't use a pacifier much and my daughter never took one. I think sucking soothes babies.

I started my kids on sippy cups at about 5-6 months. I can't remember when we started water, etc., but whatever our kid drank (other than nursing) was from the sippy cup from then on. Good luck!

5 1/2 months is the perfect age to start the cup! At this age they are more malleable and will accept new things more readily. I wouldn't go for the Nuby quite yet, as we found the liquid gushed out a little too fast. I'd go for Avent (soft spout) or find out if the bottle brand you use makes cups, as they may make the spout similiar to their nipple.

As for the spring water, it isn't regulated for quality. A friend pointed out to me once (when I asked the same question), "God knows what poops in those springs" and ever since I've avoided it! lol I'd say ask your Pediatricain if the tap water in your area is safe, or go for "Nursery Water" atyour local grocery store.Good luck!

My daughter has introduced a sippy to her son at 5 months & she breast fed him & he wouldn't take a bottle she offered him some fruit juice bou did he like it .One suggested i would make is make sure nipple end of sippy is rubbery & not hard plastic

I would say there is no rush. If your goal is to have her off the bottle by a year you can start right before then. I really think 5 months is too tiny, they need their bottle still. I guess i am mean but when mothers proudly have them off that early, i look at their baby like they were jipped :(

My son was seven months old when he did the sippy cup. i would wait a few more weeks when she turns six months old. i really like the playtex sippy cups with the handles on the side. they are easy to manuver and are pretty spill proof. you can buy them in target,walmart or kmart for reasonable.put some formula in her sippy cup to start. sounds like she is doing great. it is all common sense. go with the flow.

5 1/2 months is probably a little early to start the transition to be completed by a year.

We started our 10 month old daughter on a cup about 3 weeks. She has only cups during the day. Her only two bottles are her nighttime bottle before bed and first thing in the morning.

Sometimes, like when she's sleepy before nap, she really wants us to hold her cup for her as if it were a bottle. Other times, she'll just happily drink from the cup.

In the next few weeks, i think the morning bottle will be replaced by a cup. Then the nighttime bottle will be the last to go and i'll probably do that at the same time she stops having formula at 1 year. I never put other beverages besides formula into a cup with my son - so once the formula was gone, so was the bottle.