My Child Wont Hold Her Bottle and I Am Trying to Introduce a Sippie Cup...Help!

I wouldn't worry too much. My daughter never held her own bottle, and was able to transition to the sippy cup fine. I think my daughter enjoyed the cuddling that went with bottle feeding (I breastfed her, so I think she liked the cuddling from her caregivers).

I think you should keep offering the sippy cup, showing her how to use it, but not doing it for her, then she'll eventually catch on. Just keep trying - there's no exact timetable or standard she has to follow. :)

Thanks goodness for Angelas response! I was kind of feeling like a looser. My daughter is almost 16 months old. She can use a sippy cup if she wants...she just chooses not to. Most of the time she just wants to dump the contents on the floor and run her fingers through it. I still bottle feed her/nurse her quite a bit...so I have not pushed the issue at all. She is my first, and might be my only child, so I am just loving on her all I can. BTW....She does not hold her bottle either....aren't I making you feel better?(ha)

I personally think they need to know how to hold their own cup or bottle by a year old, because once they reach that age and are at daycare they have to know how, no one will hold it for them at that age. I have worked at a daycare and do home daycare and things change at 1, they have to become more independent. In fact I have done daycare for about 5 years now and have 2 kids of my own and have never dealt with a child who couldn't hold it at 1 year.

My 11 month old will not even let you hold her at bottle time. SHe wants to do it all herself. I started giving her a 6 ounce bottle instead of the 8 ounce one. She has never been a big "drinker" so the 2 less ounces has never been an issue. It is not as long and much easier for her to mess with. I have given her a sippy cup since about 6 months and she is not a big fan of it.

I have been through 2 babies and they both were good at holding there bottles. At first just put there hands on the bottle and say your going to hold your bottle. Try laying them in there crib and doing this and if there hungry they will
hold the bottle. If they can role over they will get the bottle. Just repitetion and she will catch on.

I wouldn't worry about the sippy cup, they will get it.
You first do need to let them be able to hold a bottle
before worrying about the sippy cup.

I would try not to worry about it and not push it too much. I thought it was always more important to hold my baby and bottle-feed him to help create bonding and give comfort than to get them to hold their own bottle. They're only babies for a short time. She may get to a point someday when she doesn't want you to hold her at all, so I say to cherish the time you have. My son didn't learn to hold his own bottle/sippy cup until like 12 or 13 months. I started him learning on the sippy cup at 9 or 10 months and just encouraged him, but I didn't push it hard and tried not to get frustrated (hardest time is in the car). I don't see why they need to hold the sippy cup to be able to learn to use it. My son was weaned entirely from the bottle by 13 months. It's not pointless to switch them over to a cup if they can't hold it, just hold it for her. Like I said, soon enough she won't want you to do anything for her (my son is now 2.5 years). Enjoy the time holding her and helping her now. They become independent little beings so fast. I'm not saying to discourage independence, always encourage it, just don't push it- it's best for them to learn in their own time.

i personally think it's ridiculous that people say they should do this or that by this age. you are a sahm so just enjoy the cuddling that comes with giving her a bottle. there are still times where i'll hold my 3 1/2yr old and 2 1/2 yr old while they drink out of their sippy cups.
now my 1st daughter finally started holding her bottle when she was about a year because her sister was born so she really had no choice. she would not however give up the bottle for the sippy cup until she was about 17 mo. she just loved that bottle and i think it was a comfort thing for her. i really wouldn't worry about the whole bottle sippy cup thing and don't let other people make you feel that your kid isn't up to standard.
we have many other things to worry about as parents like how to teach our children to respect us as parents, and to eventually become a positive influence in society. i hope this encouraged you. we all have to do what we feel is best for our children and try not to put our standards on others. good luck!!! and God bless!!!!

You child might be telling you she just wants more time with you. I nurse my daughter and get frustrated when she just wants to sit there and play instead of nurse. I figured out that she just wants to be close to me. So I pick her up and let her lay close to me without nursing. She seems to be very content doing that. She may just want more mommy time. Even though you give her alot already.

Trish,
I have a 19 1/2 month old son who does not hold a bottle. I still give him milk in a bottle for his nap and night-night times. We started doing sippy cups before he was one year and took to it great. I started with the Gerber sippy cup with handles, and now we use a Nubby with no handles. I would not stress about it. My son would play with his bottles and milk would go everywhere. I did not want to deal with the mess. And since he is my only child, and I don't have to worry about other kids' needs, then I have not had the need for him to hold his own bottle. Now, if/when #2 child comes along I am sure that child will be learning to hold his/her own bottle pretty fast. But for now I figure he's not going to be on the bottle much long, so I just don't stress about it.
-A.

I would not stress it. My daughter transitioned from the bottle to the sippy cup at 6 months but would never hold it on her own until she was almost a year old. She is a big cuddler so she liked it when we would hold the cup for her. Now she holds it on her own (14 months), but I still like to hold her every once in a while (If she will let me)I would not worry about it, she will transition when she is ready.