What’s the best sippy cup for a baby just transitioning from breast or bottle?
Of course, every baby is different (I know we say that so much it’s like our mantra, but it’s TRUE!!), but here are some general guidelines that may help you find and introduce the best cup for you…
1. Soft spouts are generally better accepted than hard ones when first starting out. Once they have the hang of it either is fine.
2. Start out with just water in the cup, as most self-respecting little mess makers will figure out how to throw it, shake it, and dribble it before drinking it. You work too hard for breastmilk or formula to have it suffer such abuse.
3. Some cups have valves in the spout that require a lot of suction and some moms have reported that after use their infants tried that level of suction on the bottle, or worse on them (the very tender part of them…). You can pop these valves out pretty easily with a butter knife. This reduces the no spill factor a bit, but we refer you back to point 2.
4. For an older baby, sometimes the flip up straw works better. If baby doesn’t get the concept of a straw, then show them how to blow bubbles with a fat, hard plastic straw in a cup first. In all the blowing and giggling, baby will inevitably surprise himself by sucking, get a mouthful of water, and voila, an idea is born. Then they can transfer that skill to the sippy cup straw.
5. Minimize mess by making the introduction in the bath tub. Who cares how wet you get if you’re already wet?
6. Have fun and have patience. Nobody was ever rejected by Harvard for being slow to adopt the sippy cup. If baby doesn’t get it just wait a couple weeks and try again.