Ok, we have a Sippy Cup issue

MrsMcJamie

I'm admitting it. We're big, fat lazyasses about giving Margo the sippy cup. We dabble... as in maybe 3 or 4 times a week we'll give it to her with a meal, but she doesn't drink from it. For a while, we were doing it without the valve and she could drink from it, but it got everywhere. Now she just chews on it and doesn't quite get that you need to suck to get water, she just thinks its a chew toy (or a throw-toy)  I'm also admitting that I'm majorly lazy about doing extra dishes and often just say "we'll give it to her next time."

So, how do we get serious about intro'ing a sippy? Does taking out a valve component help, or does it just not teach them the right way to do it?

Also, is a sippy 100% necessary? She does drink from a cup. Not by herself, of course, but when I hold up a glass of water she takes sips from it. Is going sippy-free totally irrational, or is it possible we could just skip it? 

tracelini

I put some water in one and leave it out with his toys during the day now and he'll crawl over and start playing with it and has started to figure out how to drink from it on his own some. Maybe doing something like that would help give her a new approach to it? Just an idea...worked well for us! GL! (although I will admit now he'll roll over and drink from it then spit it out, so be prepared for a bit of a mess for a little while with this)

dbertagni

tracelini:

I put some water in one and leave it out with his toys during the day now and he'll crawl over and start playing with it and has started to figure out how to drink from it on his own some. Maybe doing something like that would help give her a new approach to it? Just an idea...worked well for us! GL! (although I will admit now he'll roll over and drink from it then spit it out, so be prepared for a bit of a mess for a little while with this)

This. We started at 4m and just gave it to her and left it out all the time. I would say yes, a sippy is necessary unless you want her toting an open cup around in the car, at play dates, classes, etc. Jocelyn can drink from a cup but more than half the time it gets dumped. We started with the Nuby soft spout and then progressed to the playtex rubber (but harder) spout. We don't go anywhere w/out a sippy of water so I could not imagine not having one. The other option would be to try a sippy with a straw instead and see how she likes that!

ETA: I missed the part about the valve. Yeah, don't do that, I can sometimes barely suck water out of the ones with the valve. We used these.  And handles are a must at first.

MrsHughesNC

I wouldn't use a valve cup as a starter cup, personally. I'd use one with a silicone spout that mimics a bottle nipple. Our favorite starter cup was this one. (The only place I found it in-store was WalMart). Once she gets that, I'd move to the hard valved spouts.

And as far as them being necessary, no they really aren't necessary. But they sure are convenient. :-) Holly's been using a small open cup at daycare and at home since before she was 1. But we still use sippy cups often, like when we're out and about, in the car, etc. She's great at using an open cup all by herself, but there's no way I'm ready for her to have one in the car. I barely trust myself with that. LOL.

HTH!

MrsMcJamie

Dangit! I was so hoping someone would be all like "Yeah, you don't NEEED to do it, just skip it. And have a glass of wine, while you're at it."

I had only been trying at mealtimes too, so maybe we'll try some of the non-meal scenarios you guys suggested. Thanks for the ideas & tips, and keep them coming. 

Oh, and thanks for not being judgmental that my 9 1/2 month old doesn't use a sippy. Or at least not conveying that judgment in this post.

cmbrown

We started a straw sippy at 10 months.  It works better for Allie.  Taught her how to drink from a straw quick, and that's the only ones she'll use.

I think going without a sippy would be tough. 

dbertagni

MrsMcJamie:

Dangit! I was so hoping someone would be all like "Yeah, you don't NEEED to do it, just skip it. And have a glass of wine, while you're at it."

I had only been trying at mealtimes too, so maybe we'll try some of the non-meal scenarios you guys suggested. Thanks for the ideas & tips, and keep them coming. 

Oh, and thanks for not being judgmental that my 9 1/2 month old doesn't use a sippy. Or at least not conveying that judgment in this post.

I was picturing Margo in her car seat with a nice chilled open cup of milk and then you hitting a speed bump! 

cate1119

We introduced the sippy cup around 6 months, but she really did not get the hang of it until she was 11 months or so.  For us - it was trial / error.  We tried handle / no handle / valve / no valve and we finally settled on the cheap take / toss ones.  I have a cabinet full of unused sippies.  Hopefully #2 won't be as picky!  GL! 

AnneNC

Ditto pp's.  It took a looooooong time for DD to 'get' the sippy.  I was worried that she never would!!!!  Now she loves it! 

feistyred23

I don't have any personal experience, but we have friends whose little boy has never used a sippy cup and has no idea how to use it or sip through a straw at this point. He's 2 1/2 so I definitely think it would be helpful for Margo.

BackthePack

AnneNC:

Ditto pp's.  It took a looooooong time for DD to 'get' the sippy.  I was worried that she never would!!!!  Now she loves it! 

Ditto. I didn't think he'd ever understand how to use one, but one day he just got it and hasn't looked back since.

Personally, I don't ever remember not using the valve b/c they spill. I do think we had one that looked sort of like a bottle nipple at first and then transitioned to cups w/ valves. How quickly we forget these things! 

erin_aaronsbaby

Wesley only has one with a valve, and he seems to dislike it more than the others. I intro'd a sippy at 4 months, but he didn't really use it then. I just left it out for him to teethe on and maybe drink from if he could. At 7 months, I sent a sippy with him to daycare, and my DCP worked with him on using it, but he didn't become a pro until he was about 9 months. Like Hughes, we like the Nuk sippies best...they're Wesley's faves. But he also uses the Born Free and Nuby sippies also.

kimilane

Frankie preferred the straw sippy cups. Once she figured out that mommy and daddy's straws had yummy stuff in them, she was raring' to go at the chance with her own straw. We have the Nuk one with the nipple top, but she didn't go for it. We also have the "normal" topped ones (Gerber, I think) and she didn't get the tipping it back part and was sucking a lot of air. Now we're using all straws and they work well.

veronicacorningstone

Obviously I have no clue, since I am just starting this whole mommyhood journey, but I was just reading about this in my Baby 411 book I got today. (I quickly skimmed the whole thing)

According to the book, sippy cups are not necessary and in fact, the author doesn't much care for them, nor do some pediatric dentists.

Of course, this is a ways off for me so there's no telling what I will do when the time comes.

luckygirl0818

We started with the Nuby cup--mainly to get C used to the idea of a drink not in a bottle. 

We used the hard spout sippys a little, but C did not care for them--taking the valve out was a mess, and sucking the hard spout seemed to frustrate him.

We have a couple of these for when we are out and about (but not in pink :

 

https://www.amazon.com/Foogo-Thermos-Leak-Proof-Straw-Bottle/dp/B000O3JTDM

But at home, C uses a glass like this and sits at the table:

https://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/bar-and-drinking-glasses/rings-7-oz.-juice-glass/s213748

We got them from C&B for .95 each.  they are thick glass and they do not chip easily.  I love them! 

I don't like plastic cups--I feel like whatever beverage is in them tastes weird, so I wanted munchkin to be used to using glass right away so he'd learn to be careful from a young age. 

luckygirl0818

luckygirl0818:

We started with the Nuby cup--mainly to get C used to the idea of a drink not in a bottle. 

We used the hard spout sippys a little, but C did not care for them--taking the valve out was a mess, and sucking the hard spout seemed to frustrate him.

We have a couple of these for when we are out and about (but not in pink :

 

https://www.amazon.com/Foogo-Thermos-Leak-Proof-Straw-Bottle/dp/B000O3JTDM

But at home, C uses a glass like this and sits at the table:

https://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/bar-and-drinking-glasses/rings-7-oz.-juice-glass/s213748

We got them from C&B for .95 each.  they are thick glass and they do not chip easily.  I love them! 

I don't like plastic cups--I feel like whatever beverage is in them tastes weird, so I wanted munchkin to be used to using glass right away so he'd learn to be careful from a young age. 

So basically I'm saying that I don't think you need sippy cups full time--just for in the car and at other houses, etc.

elizabethswan

maybe try a straw cup instead. I admit that daycare pretty much took care of intro-ing the traditional cup for us, but we did the straw one & she never had problems. Maybe that is because my mom let her have some milkshake early on which obv came out of a straw!

mrsNnearly

We started giving DS the sippy around 6 months and he didn't really ever drink from it until after he turned 1. It took him a loooong time. But then, he never even held his own bottle, so there you go. She'll get it eventually! It's frustrating but just keep trying. And definitely have that glass of wine.