Hi, having been trying to give my 9 month old son a sippy cup since he was 6 months. He did it a couple of times when he was 6 months even though it dripped out of his mouth. However, ever since then he doesn't care for a sippy cup. I've tried the ones with a straw and the silicone ones, but he wants nothing to do with it. Most of the time he doesn't want to open his mouth or he just chews or plays with it in his mouth. My first son mastered it at an early age. I know all children are different, but maybe someone can help me with something that I haven't tried yet. Thanks for all the help and suggestions!!!
I agree with others, it seems that he is just not ready for the sippy cup. I would suggest to wait a few months and try again.
Good luck!
There is nothing wrong with waiting. He is obviously not ready at this point and that is perfectly fine.
FYI: Their is recent debate among speech pathologists if infants should even use sippy cups because a sippy can effect speech and palate formation if it ends up replacing a bottle or breast feedings before the year mark (or if used in excess past the year mark). We stopped handing out sippy cups at the 6 month mark and handed out regular small toddler cups with a handle at the WIC office because of the above mentioned detriments. Our guidelines were to put only juice and water in the cup before a year, never formula or breast milk as those should come from the breast or a bottle. The cup is only for practice before a year.
Each child is different. Many children start sippy cups at 12 months. There is nothing wrong with trying it every once in a while, but it could just be that this child is just not ready.
This is what I used as a first sippy at 5 months old:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=165750&...
I have only seen them sold in store at walmart but you can always buy them off the internet. I highly reccomend these!
So why the big rush about the sippy cup? It's obvious that he doesn't like it. Give him time, he's still a baby, and please don't compare him to his older brother EVER!!! They do things in their own time in their own way. Relax. Don't sweat the small things, and a sippy cup at 9 months is a small ting.
Hi there, I am trying to go for the sippy cup a little early too because my daughter has never taken to the bottle. Like everyone says all babies are different. I have tried several different ones as well. A friend of mine told me that after trying many that her daughter ended up liking the inexpensive "keep or toss" ones and I tried them and my daughter loved them too! You might want to give them a try. Good luck!
What worked for me and has worked for others when I suggested it is to put juice in it and take a sip yourself. This will bring the flavor to the spout and he will taste it when he puts it in his mouth. It may make him interested enough to try it. I also started feeding my daughter her formula in a sippy occasionally to help her get the hang of it. I'm glad I did because we had no problems giving up the bottle at 1.
I introduced the sippy cup at 9 months and my daughter had the same reaction.
I started putting the sippy cup on the ottoman when she played. Occasionally, she would crawl over and pick it up. She would play with it and eventually, she would drink out of it.
I never really pressed the sippy cup until her school told me at a year she would be moved to a big girl room and that it was important she drank from a sippy cup. At that time, I converted her milk to the sippy cup and let her drink as much as she wanted and then converted the rest back to a bottle. This actually worked. It took her 4 days to completely convert to the sippy cup. I could not believe it b/c she was so attached to her bottle.
Geez, that sure is early. I would wait til he wants the sippy cup instead of a bottle. Or just try for dinner time only. He still has the instinct to suck for comfort with a nipple....
Kids are picky when it comes to their cups sometimes. My daughter will only use the cheapest ones that you can find at HEB. I hate them! The lids are so cheap I had to throw them away. If I put them back on the sippy it takes pliers and screw driver to pry them back off again. But they have a silicone spout that's easy for her to bite. She hates the harder ones. I think since she was bottle fed with the Avent bottles she prefers the softer nipple. She was like that with pacifiers too when she was using them. Would only use the Avent ones. That and she's teething and doesn't want anything other than soft stuff touching her gums when they are hurting. Just go with the flow. Try different ones. Try juice or his milk in it to get his interest going. Water just isn't interesting enough to make them want to work for it. 9 months is a little early to worry about sippys and plenty of time to experiment with different ones till he gets the hang of it and finds the kind he likes. And remember, sometimes the cheapest ones are the best fit.
Good luck!
Jen
http://www.mommysjoy.com
I got my kids on a "sippy" straw by using a regular straw first. Use it with a drink you know he will like, tea, juice, or something of the sort. Put it in your glass, put your fingertip on the end to hold the liquid. Then put it in his mouth and let a little, just a little go. Then put your finger back on tight to hold it in. Make it a game of sorts. Then let a little more go and laugh like you're having so much fun! Eventually, he will get the idea. Then, when he does that fine -- do not lift your finger and make him suck for it. This will teach him to suck from the straw to get the liquid. Make it a game again like he's winning because he got the juice and beat you. Then you will be able to give him the straw in his mouth and see if he can suck up the liquid - a game again! Sippy cups with straws will be a breeze after this - but so will regular straws at any restaurant and you won't have to bring your own anymore. It's great. Plus*** those sippy cup straws can get very dirty. I use the long bamboo skewer sticks for shishkabobs (sp?) when washing them. They get them so clean! You can also soak in vinegar to disinfect any that have hidden themselves for a long time, ha. Straws are sooo much healthier for the teeth and for development than plain sippy cups.
Wow, you're on the ball! (I wasn't even thinking about that at 6-9 months!) Sorry I don't have any tips for you... But thought I'd mention that my daughter refused to transition to a sippy cup until around 14 months. And then her sippy cup phase was actually short-lived; she went right into plastic cups by 18 months. She just never really liked sippy cups, even though I tried every single one Target and HEB sells!
So yes, every child is different. Just because your 2nd won't transition to sippy cups early doesn't mean he still can't transition to regular cups on time.
