Anyone trying cups yet?

unaveragejane

I have read that 4-5 months is a good time to start letting LO drink little sips from a cup. I kind of want to go for it with a regular cup b/c I kind of feel like sippy cups inadvertently teach kids to be a bit careless b/c they don't get the cause and effect of tipping the cup = spillage. Anyway, is anyone else trying regular or sippy cups yet? With water or milk?

Danaz1

My two year old still doesn't drink from a cup without spilling. They don't have the eye hand coordination nor the oral skills to drink from a cup alone I use a straw sippy cup. U will need to carry sippy cups with you as they get older. Dd started around 6 months

thatoneredhead

For some reason, I adore Motts for Tots (fruit juice)- dont ask me why- but LO was really going for it, so I let him have a little sip from my cup. I was really careful not to let him get too much, but he really enjoyed it.

He is getting an ounce or two of really watered down apple juice in a squishy top sippy cup. He can hold it by himself and gets excited to see it. 

khill86

Yes, for the last month maybe? It's literally a few drops in the cup maybe 4 or 5 times. I doubt it's even a quarter of an ounce.

I don't believe that by 2 they still don't have the coordination to use a real cup. They need to practice it just like anything else. Which means there will be spills to clean up.

All we do is let DS hold the top of the cup with his hands, but I pick up the bottom and pour it in his mouth, which he has open and waiting. I let him hold the cup without water to see what he does, he brings the top into the mouth and crudely raises it with both hands. He understands the idea of using a cup. I also give him the cup with a few drops of water in all by himself. Of course he spills it, but that is part of learning.

I use a children's cup, but I just read that getting a small, shot glass sized cup is more proportionate to a baby and they might be able to manage that better on their own. I think I'll try that and see how it works out.

I honestly think practicing with a cup is probably one of the most exciting parts of his day. As soon as I get it out he kicks his legs, squeals, and grabs it right way, mouth open. I'm not in a rush to get him exclusively on a cup or anything, I just think practicing with it is just fine. How else will they learn to do it?

Oh, I have tried both water and expressed milk. All of my milk is frozen in 4 to 5oz bags, so it's kind of a waste to thaw one for a few drops. I just stick with water right now, but once he's good with the cup, I plan on giving him expressed milk in it with meals. Which again, I'm not rushing, I plan on extended BFing and not offering cow's milk to drink. We'll do cheese and yogurt instead. I figure why bother giving cow's milk when I can make the best milk for him and have no problem doing that for a couple of years.

Gismo123

unaveragejane:

I have read that 4-5 months is a good time to start letting LO drink little sips from a cup. I kind of want to go for it with a regular cup b/c I kind of feel like sippy cups inadvertently teach kids to be a bit careless b/c they don't get the cause and effect of tipping the cup = spillage. Anyway, is anyone else trying regular or sippy cups yet? With water or milk?

DS is a booby boy so he only gets his milk from the tap hehe. I don't plan on giving him juice or water for a while yet. But he does like cups....when we are drinking something he wants to drink too so I just give him an empty platic cup and he actually holds it himself and acts like he's drinking lol

acbfreire

I will try closer to 6 mo. I hate sippy cups. Why are we letting kids run with cups anyway? If I do that I will spill too and I have good coordination.

I am inclined to try a straw.

SweetHurricane

No. I'd like for her to get a better grip on solid food first. When we do introduce a sippy, it'll be the straw kind (Munchkin flip cup) that we already use for DD1.

sam19

Not really. I'm not concerned with the hassle that comes along with cups. I'm sure she won't be taking a bottle or sippy cup to high school. It's just not something high on my list of concerns.

unaveragejane

acbfreire:

I will try closer to 6 mo. I hate sippy cups. Why are we letting kids run with cups anyway? If I do that I will spill too and I have good coordination.

I am inclined to try a straw.

This is why I don't really care for sippy cups! I know we will use them some, but I would rather not let DS get in the habit of toting a sippy cup around like a security blanket or a toy.

acbfreire

unaveragejane:

acbfreire:

I will try closer to 6 mo. I hate sippy cups. Why are we letting kids run with cups anyway? If I do that I will spill too and I have good coordination.

I am inclined to try a straw.

This is why I don't really care for sippy cups! I know we will use them some, but I would rather not let DS get in the habit of toting a sippy cup around like a security blanket or a toy.

I know, especially if they are having juice, it is bad for their teeth. My friends let their 3.5 yr old go to bed with a sippy cup full of juice. It drives me nuts!!!

EMOmamma

j.d.gal:

my DS has been drinking from a regular cup for a while, but he still spills when he is not paying attention. nbsp;he also regularly walks into people and walls. nbsp;it's distraction, not confusion, that causes spilling at least in his case. nbsp;he also used sippy cups and uses a straw cup now when we're out and about. nbsp;i don't really think there is a way to avoid spilling or sippy cups.all that said, i'll start offering a sippy cup with water at 6 months old at meals, like i did with DS. nbsp;i never offered DS formula in a sippy because I wanted him to understand that formula was only offered in bottles. nbsp;i think it helped him drop bottles cold at 1 year old when he switched to milk in a sippy.nbsp;

Pretty much the same. We give K a Nuk sippy with a tiny bit of water while we're eating. She gets really surprised when she gets some out.

Sawyerplus1

We havent yet, but we will when we start DS on food at 6 months. I'm not a fan of sippy cups for  a few reasons, so we'll go to open mouth cups and straw cups. 

My 2 older LOs still spill b/c they're just clumsy kids, but I still think that's preferable to  prolonged sippy use. It's easy enough to minimize spills when you give them small amounts at a time and make them sit still/at the table to drink.

Daisy22

I will give him a sippy of water at meal times when we start solids at 6 months old. I did it this way with the other two. It's just to play with and figure out. At 10 months I start transitioning to sippies from the bottle by putting formula in sippies. By 11 1/2 monhhs both the older boys were totally on sippies and whole milk. I plan to do the same with ds3. 

 Around 12 months I started doing small cups. I actually got our kid cups from ikea. They make the perfect size little cups for small hands. I put a little bit of whole milk in them at meals and helped them. By 18 months of age my older ones were on regular cups. I don't think sippies are evil or bad. They serve a purpose when little ones do not have the hand eye coordination to actually do a small cup.