The transition to sippy cups...Adivce needed!

ladychicago · June 2011

Hopefully this isn't a super repetitive question, since I know we talk about this a lot. So far, DD has done pretty well with the transition to WCM. But only in bottles. She will take 10-15oz per day by bottle, and I am happy with that because she also gets yogurt and a lot of cheese throughout the day.

but WCM in a sippy is always a failure. If she takes anything at all, half of it goes in her mouth and then right back out and down her shirt. She hasn't taken more than an ounce of milk by sippy yet. Add to that a complication that she is very particular about sippy cups (has only really taken to one kind - but she guzzles water like crazy from that one kind), and I am anxious about ditching the bottles. I don't feel like doing a special new "milk sippy" will work because she refuses other cups regardless of what is inside.

so would you recommend replacing one bottle with a sippy of milk at a time? Or just going cold turkey one day? With either strategy, is there a limit on the length of time I should let her go if she keeps refusing the milk from a sippy? I know I can push other full fat dairy sources, but it is hard not to worry at the thought of her getting almost no milk for a few days (or more?) in a row. Will she either get it or not? And I will just need to compensate with other foods if it is a long term trend? Other tips?

charmcitygirl · June 2011

We were right where you are and I was eager to get rid of the bottles.

I replaced one bottle of WCM a week with a sippy of milk. I started with his middle of the day bottle(s). And the last one we gave up was the bedtime bottle because it was part of his bedtime routine and I didn't want to screw that up too much.

There were days where he didn't drink as much milk and so I tried to get him to get dairy in other ways. Eventually, he got the message that the bottle wasn't coming back and he would just have to deal with the change. He actually did much better than I thought he would.

Not sure how this came about, but he takes water from a hard spout sippy and milk from a straw sippy. So it might be worth a shot to try a different sippy cup for different liquids.

Good luck! It was quite freeing to be finished with the bottles!

PhillySue · June 2011

We had a similar problem. Katie never really took all that well to sippys with milk. She ended up doing much better with straw cups.

I would probably try replacing one bottle a day with a sippy or straw cup. When I asked our pedi at Katie's one year he was more in favor or ditching the bottle even if it meant a little less milk (as long as she was getting dairy from other sources) but I think doing it gradually is a good plan.

cheekyali · June 2011

My pedi told us to stay with the bottle, so we are sticking with it for the next couple of months. Maybe at our 15 month appoint I will bring it up again, but I don't see the big deal in having a one year old have a bottle.

shipoopiisforme · June 2011

i don't have much advice because we are going through the same thing, so i can empathize.

i thought i was SO clever never giving them wcm in bottles, but they see no difference between wcm and formula. they both drink juice and water from their sippy cups like champs, and will even take milk at meal time no problem. it's when i try to replace one of their bottles with a sippy that all hell can break loose.

Cheer4State · June 2011

My boys never got on the band wagon of taking their whole milk from their sippy cups. So, we started putting milk into a straw cup and teaching them how to use the straws. Now, they get their water and/or juice from a sippy cup and their milk out of a straw cup. Even today, I feel like if we happen to not have a straw cup at a meal and I put the milk in the sippy cup, they drink a whole lot less.

Also, I did what the pp said and just started to reduce their bottles. I started with the lunch time bottle because I figured that they would get enough food with their meal or they would make up with their afternoon bottle or bedtime bottle. But over the next two months, I then dropped their afternoon bottle, then their morning bottle and lastly their bedtime bottle.

I think that they get the message pretty quickly that the bottle is not coming and they better drink out of their cups! Good luck!

laura1 · June 2011

We are having issues, too. But I just got rid of the bottles cold turkey, and give DD milk in a sippy during meals. The first weekend that we got rid of the bottles, I only offered her milk in the sippy all day (no water or juice). The first day, she barely drank anything. The second day, she downed 2 whole cups of milk since she was so thirsty. Since then, I have added water back, but she still doesn't drink much milk. Most days, it is only 8-10 ounces max (some days less). But she eats tons of yogurt, cheese, etc.

Good luck! I thought my DS was bad with the transition, but it turns out DD is worse

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