I started trying to give juice and water, sporadically, to my daughter in a sippy cup when she was around eight to 10 months old. I was not successful and, sadly, my woes continue. I now am trying milk and still am not successful. Usually the sippy cup becomes a ball which she tosses around. Sometimes she loves to just squeeze the nipple and watch the liquid come out, which for some reason always makes me shudder (probably cause I remember how much she loved to torture my nipples too).
Yesterday I went to a sing-along at the Pottery Barns Kids store in Burlington Mall and then to lunch with three other great mommas and their babies. All their babies, younger or older, were drinking from a sippy cup and I felt like the biggest loser mom for feeding my near-13-month old a bottle. Why can't I get this kid on a sippy cup? I'm not sure, but drastic changes are coming for this little one now.
I have been Googling and here are some tips as to getting your kid on a sippy cup (like I said I've failed in this aspect so far so maybe these work, maybe they don't):
1) start super young, about 6 months by introducing a soft-tipped sippy cup
2) Try lots of styles (we have four different types here and so far the straw is winning as it actually did a couple sips taken out of it the other day).
3) Buy an extra sippy cup for yourself and whenever your baby is set to drink from the cup, you do it too to show her.
4) Try juice or water if milk isn't working. Sometimes the association of milk with the bottle or breast won't compute over to the cup.
5) Remove the lid and put a little bit of water in the cup. Show your baby how to drink from it without any lid and skip the whole sippy process all together (that one from our pediatrician).
There are lots more tips at BabyCenter.com and WebMD.com.
Today is the start, for us, of not offering her a bottle anymore except at bedtime. We'll see if this does the trick. Good luck to us and all the other parents out there trying this!
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