Bottle to Sippy Cup - Wichita Falls, TX

My pediatrician recommended transitioning from a sippy cup to a straw cup completely by 18 months. I did this with my 3 year old and he transitioned easily, really loved the straw cup. My 18 month old has been drinking from sippy and straw cups since before he was a year and I think he prefers the straw. As for switching from bottle to cup, the sooner you do it the easier it will be. I've know some kids who went straight from bottle to straw cup. My absolute favorite is the Foogo stainless steel cup with straw and hinged lid. I also saw that the Safe Sippy (also stainless steel) came out with a straw cup and I absolutely loved their sippy and plan to get the straw cup soon. Hope that helps!

I breastfed each of my kids for just over a year and they went straight to sippy cup and did just fine.

This seems completely normal. I just asked my doctor at my daughter's 15 month appointment and he told me about his "21 rule". How many kids do you know that take a bottle, pacifier or sleep in their parents' bed at age 21? :-) Your daughter is fine. I still give my daughter a bottle at naptime and bedtime. I even hold it and put her on a boppy just like I was breastfeeding her, as we've already weaned. Listen to yourself and your gut--you know best what your daughter needs. (I guess the only rule is to not let her take the bottle to bed for teeth.)

any pediatric dentist will tell you not to give a bottle after 12 months old. They can also show you pictures of what can happen if you do and your child is one of the kids affected by it. Some kids can continue using a bottle without developing a problem- some can't and develop terrible dental problems. Thing is that you don't know how your child will develop until there is a problem so simply put, it's safest to get rid of the bottle.

K.,

Great question!My doc told me my daughter should be using a sippy cup and NOT a bottle.She told me the best thing to do is to introduce her to a sippy cup, and put her milk in it. She also said that don't give her the option of the bottle, and eventully she will take the sippy cup when she's really thirsty! My nephew and my daughter are both a year old and live with me. This worked GREAT for my nephew. He was mad the first hour, then he liked his cup. This has NOT worked for my daughter...she's 16 months, and still uses her bottle. She will drink out of the cup sometimes, but she's not consistent......Maybe it will work for your daughter, like it did for my nephew! Good luck!!

K.,

YES, it is okay!!!! Don't force your 1 year old baby (yes, I said baby) to start with sippy cups! Babies take bottles b/c that is what they do! I think 1 year old is way too young for a baby to take a sippy. Nothing bad will happen if your baby still takes a bottle for the next several months. Your baby's teeth will be fine, as well as everything else! I can't stand it when people expect a baby to take a sippy cup. You or your baby will NOT get an award for drinking out of a sippy at one year! This will not happen! Some babies are ready for a sippy at 1, which is fine, and some babies are not ready for a sippy at 1, which is perfectly fine!!! Don't succomb to everyone's pressure!! You baby is NORMAL!!!

I've talk to other moms about this and I've been told that there is a sippy cup that has a bottle nipple on it. This maybe a good transitional cup. I don't know the brand, but Buy Buy Baby in Plano on 75 has a huge selection of cups and bottles and I found them to be cheaper than Babies R Us and they take Bed Bath and Beyond Coupons and competitor coupons like Babies R Us.

My husband and I are currently going through this transition with our 23 month old son. I've been trying off and on for the last 4 months or so and he's been stubborn so i don't force it. I too believe that it's not worth the fight, let them be babies because they WILL grow out of it when it's right for them. We recently started using a Nuby sippy cup, it's called the 3stages cup. You start using the cup with a bottle lid, then transition to the next kind of nipple that is similar to a bottle, but a little different, then switch to the sippy cup top. So far, it's working great. I would recommend trying it and if she doesn't take to it, give it a few weeks and try again.

Kids grow up in their own time and at their own pace, but they always grow up. I ask myself, what does it hurt? I don't see any real harm inletting your baby stay a baby if she wants to a lite longer. When was the last time you saw a bottle at school? She'll lose it eventually, so I wouldn't worry about it right now.

my best advice is to put what you normally put in the bottle in her sippy cup, and ONLY that in the sippy cup. Once she takes to the cup, then gradually adjust the types of liquid that go in the sippy cup. We started putting our son's formula in the sippy cup before he ever drank anything else out of it, and he didn't make that mental association of "bottle = milk" "sippy cup = juice".

I will suggest trying to have your daughter drinking from the sippy cup withing a couple of months. It really can affect teeth and even speech if you let it go to long. You could try a sippy cup all day and a bottle before bed until she gets the hang of it. Good luck!
A.

My two oldest weaned straight from breastfeeding/bottles to sippy cups by the time they were 12 months. My last child really enjoyed the nursing at night and we didn't completely wean until he was about 14 months. In general, I agree to get rid of it by 12 months, but they are still babies at 12 months and if a nighttime bottle is comforting to your child, I say let her have it a bit longer. Don't give her the bottle to walk around with, don't give her a bottle to keep in bed with her, but give her a few more months and then try again.

I think that is perfectly ok. You do what you feel is best for your child. I think taking something away all at once like the bottle or paci is kind of cruel. I believe it is better to gradually do it. It is easier on everyone especially your child. I started taking a bottle at a time away from my children at one. I took away a bottle every couple of weeks and it went very smoothly. My 2 year old still has his night bottle before bed and that's ok with us. We tried a few nights without it and he had a hard time getting to sleep, so we gave it back and will try again in a few months. What's the rush? Good luck!!

I think it's perfectly okay. My 14 month old takes bottles occasionally (when I can't be there to nurse her, about 2-3 times a month), but sippy cups all other times. I'd been using the Avent sippy cups, but she never would hold them herself. I knew she liked drinking out of straws, so I got her some straw cups made by Munchkin (which truly are leak-proof!) and she loves them. Basically, you just need to do what's best for your baby. All babies are different!

My son was close to two. I know the doctor said one, but it took him a little longer than that. We just slowly replaced bottles with cups, then eventually threw all the bottles out. He has his own pantry so when he went in there to bring us a bottle, all he had were sippy cups.

It's absolutely o.k. Why do we tend to think that all children are stamped out of the same cookie cutter? We think they should all walk, talk, read, etc. at the same time. Children are all individuals with different personalities. They should be allowed to do things when they are ready instead of by some pre-determined schedule that adults have created. Your pediatrician's advice is a wonderful tool that can be very helpful to you as you raise your child. In the end, however, nothing can replace your motherly instincts, so be sure to always use them. No one knows your child as well as you do. Also, I never really did understand the difference between sucking on a rubber nipple and sucking on the plastic nipple thing on a sippy cup. Why is one so much better than the other? I guess it's just more socially acceptable for your child to suck on a piece of plastic than a piece of rubber.