Transition from a Bottle to a Sippy Cup

Updated on January 11, 2008
C.H. asks from McKinney, TX
10 answers

My daughter will be turning a year this weekend, and I am trying to introduce the sippy cup. During the day, I sit her in her highchair with a sippy cup and some milk and she knows to put it in her mouth but thats about it. I even squeezed the nipple a little bit so she can taste what is inside. She likes it, but I dont think she knows that she has to suck. I got her one that has a soft nipple like the bottle. I introduced the cup alone with nothing in it around 9months to see how she would react to it, and like any other child she just played with it. If it is time to give her milk, I give it to her in a cup and I still hold her but she refuses to take it. When she starts screaming I get her a bottle and she takes it. I dont want her to go hungry because of me trying a sippy cup. I am not trying to rush it, but I dont think she is going to be ready anytime soon. Please someone give me advice on how it worked for you. She is due for her 1yr ckup on the 15th and I know that the doc will ask if she is off of the bottle and on whole milk. My sons never gave me any problems. Grrrr! LOL

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So What Happened?

I want to thank all of you for all of the advice that you gave me. I think I have bought almost every different sippy cup out there that you all have recommended. I guess she just isnt ready. I will continue to give it to her during the day, and a bottle before bed if needed. She is suppose to go for her 1yr ckup tomorrow, so we shall see what the doc suggests also. Thanks again everyone!

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T.T.

answers from Dallas on

I tried several types of sippy's what worked for me are the Nubby's with out the handle the nipple is soft like a bottle. They are about a dollar and you can find them at Walmart.

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C.S.

answers from Amarillo on

My daughter did the same thing. Just give her time. Your pediatrician will ask, but will probably not be real upset about her not being on a cup with whole milk by her birthday. Mine just told me to start working towards a cup when she turned 1. Yours may be different, but don't be h*** o* yourself about it. Just keep trying and it will come to her. Good Luck!!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Dallas on

I went thru the same issues with my daughter who is now 17 months old. Unfortunately the only thing you can do for the stubborn ones is take them off the bottle cold turkey. I actually put all the bottles away in the top, top shelf of our cabinet so I couldn't get to them easily and started her over to the sippy on a Saturday. Anytime she was thirsty, I gave her a sippy with milk. The Nuby works really well for the transition. It took my daughter about 3 days to full transition. You may even try adding a few drops of chocolate syrup to sweeten the milk a bit. My daughter went crazy for that when I realized that she really didn't care for whole milk. Good luck and just remember, she can hold out a LOT longer than you can - so stay strong!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.

answers from Dallas on

I had the same issue with my son and with him it was the cup and not him. We tried 2 or 3 different cups until we found the right one. Once we got the cup that he like he forgot all about the bottles. I hope this helps.

P.s. the cups of his choice were the cheap little ones from walgreens that are 2 for $3.00.

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E.B.

answers from Dallas on

When my son was approaching his first birthday I started substituting a sippie for a bottle. At first he just put it to his mouth and played with it but eventually started realizing what it was for and how to use it. I don't think the type of cup played a significant role, he just needed time to figure it out. Personally I prefer the cups with the hard lids not soft ones because they have rubber or plastic spout inserts that control the flow and prevent the liquid from spilling over when it was turned upside down. I think sometimes we don't realize that it takes babies a while to learn something that seems so obviously simple for us. I just gave my son many opportunities to use the sippie like at meals and for drinks of milk and water in between meals. I also don't think there is any reason to go cold turkey on the bottle but only use it when it's time to give formula; I think using a bottle for anything other formula gives the child an excuse not to use the sippie cup and can lead to a struggle later on when you finally decide to take away the bottle. With my son we never put milk or juice in his bottle and just faded out the bottle gradually. Also, it is important to remember that children develop at different rates, especially at this age; no matter what your doctor or other mom's tell about where your child should be, unless the delay significant, your child we develop at her own pace and forcing her to go faster will just end up in frustration for both you and her.
Hope this helps.

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J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

When my boys were a yr old i threw away all bottles in the house, and just gave them the sippy cup, if they are thirsty they will drink it eventually (is what i was told), but i do have to say though i didnt have any problems. have you tried the one with the straw, my 2nd kiddo likes the straw one better then the reg. sippy cup. Hope this helps and good luck, dont give up she will get it eventually, just give her time.

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M.B.

answers from Houston on

Not sure if this will work for you or not, but when my son was about 6 or 7 months old we were at a restaurant and he grabbed my straw when I went to take a sip of water. I decided to let him try to drink from it and he did it. I then started him on straw cups. He still used the bottle at home, but when we were out and about he would use the straw cup or drink water from my glass. I then decided to buy these sippy lids that fit on water bottles. Gerber used to make them in a size that fit on standard bottles, but they discontinued them. I was lucky enough to find them on ebay brand new. Anyway, you can buy a pack of 4 different sizes on www.onestepahead.com. To use them, you have to suck like you would on a straw and it is roughly the same diameter as a straw. My son is now 14 months and he still uses those sippy type lids. We have done away with the straw cups for now because he gets confused and tries to turn them upside down to drink. I hope something I said helps you!

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C.R.

answers from Dallas on

Hi C.,

I had the same problem with my little guy...What we did was give him a sippy cup with a soft nipple and let him lay on the floor with it first before we sat him up in the highchair.

I have to be honest, it seemed like it took forever before he caught the hang of it. There was several times, we just gave up and gave him the bottle back.

He did eventually get the hang of it!

Best of luck!

C. Roeschen
The Trinity Group
Keller Williams
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.TheTrinityGroup.org

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D.M.

answers from Dallas on

I haven't tried them, but Dr. Brown's now has a training cup. It looks like a sippy cup, but according to their website it simulates drinking from an open cup (i.e. the child doesn't have to suck to get the liquid). It seems like the liquid flows more easily, so perhaps that will work better for your daughter. I saw an ad for them in a magazine and it looked interesting. Here's the website: http://www.handi-craft.com/bottles/TrainingCups.shtm

P.S. - If you do try them, let me know what you think! :)

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L.T.

answers from Dallas on

My little one refused a cup. The night before her 1st birthday I got rid of all the bottles. When she woke up I gave her a cup and she looked at me like I was crazy. She didn't srink anything for about a day and then she gave up because she knew I wasn't going to give in. Now I just need to get rid of the paci!! Have you tried a straw cup? Mine loves them.

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