How to you get LO to drink water???

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

Since I've started feeding solids tomy LO, I've been having a had time getting DS to drink water after he eats.  I've tried putting it in a bottle and a sippy cup and he spits it out when I try to give him water.  I've also tried mixing it with juice and still he wouldn't drink it.

Any suggestion on how I can get DS to drink water? Or should I just forget about giving the water to him? 

[Mum-of-Two]

I agree with Stacy, I've put sippy cups out in the mix of toys and sometimes its a good distraction when I need one.  Sometimes she good with it and other times just chews on it, but I just do it for practice too.

About a month ago I was at a picnic and for fun offered my LO water from my water bottle.  She drank like a big girl!  I couldn't believe it, it was so cute.  AND annoying because it became a game and she did not want to stop!   

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

Thanks for the replies.  I will try and put out a sippy cup with the toys and hopefully, DS will take a couple of sips.  I'm just worried that he may not like water in the future if he doesn't try it now.

[KathrynK]

I tried a sippy cup, a bottle and 2 different beakers with hard spouts before offering water in a beaker with a soft spout- she drank it immediately! That was a month ago and she will still only take water from the soft spout- she has recently had first tooth so I think the feel of the spout in her mouth is important to her. She doesn't have loads of water to drink (I offer it with each solid meal) but like you I wanted to get her used to a little bit so we didn't have issues later on....!

[caf_uk]

kathryn, what cup did you use?  I'm looking to get one for my lo and not sure as there are so many out there.

[mumto5cuddlebugs]

My Lo would not drink from bottles or sippy cups, eventually one day she managed to get hold of ds's cup which has a straw and she discovered that she could drink through a straw so now she has a sippy cup that has an integral straw.

[KathrynK]

Hi caf uk
I use the Avent Magic Cup- the one from 3 months has the soft spout (the one from 6 months has a hard one)
I took the non spill valve out as it was impossible to suck hard enough to get anything out with it in- it's easy to pop out. It has 3 holes in the spout so can pour quite quick all down her front if I'm not careful!
hope this helps!

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

I didn't know Avent had a 3month soft spot cup.  I just recently bought the Avent 6 month cup but it feels like a soft spot.  Gosh feeding solids has become such an adventure. 

[caf_uk]

Now I'm even more confused lol!  DD is 5 months at the moment, I wasn't going to try the cup until 6 months.  How have you found the 6 month one to start off with?

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

caf_uk,
I just started to introduce the sippy cup to DS.  So far he doesn't like to drink out of it.  DS just plays with it (or throws it) when he's in his highchair.  I'm going to start putting the sippy cup out with his toys and hopefully he will try drinking it on own. 

[jumblebox]

We started offering our DS water at about 3 mos, during a hot spell when we didn't have a/c. At first, we just offered a little bit (1-2oz) in a bottle. We've since moved sippy cups and he'll drink water out of pretty much anything (even my water bottle!) if he's thirsty. He seems to like the Nuby valve-less soft spout best. It's skinnier in the middle, and he's able to hold it himself, sometimes.

We usually offer water 2-3 times during solid feeds, and also if we're outside much during the day (warm weather and no a/c in the car). He seems to really like water. Our doc wasn't too crazy about it -- "formula ONLY" -- but agreed that as long as he doesn't get more than 2-3 oz/day things should be okay.

[smileymama]

Hi! I totally agree with all of you in the water is not necessary but a great distraction. We use playtex sippy cups and my ds is able to suck the water out (and sometimes he can chew it out) and it doesn't spill a drop ANYWHERE. I love them. I use the 6 mo. soft spout.

[BabyBsMommy]

Starting at about 5 mos, we started offering a sippy of water off and on and with solids we put it out now at every meal and sometimes on the floor.  He liked his gerber cup at first with a hard spout and valve but it must have hurt his mouth while teething and he got really mad at it and won't have anything to do with a hard spout for now.  We bought a nuby silicone spout sippy during that time and he took to it right away.  He goes through phases where he isn't interested in water and then suddenly downs a 6 oz cup throughout the day.  I really think it's just hit and miss!

[maxysmum]

she managed to get hold of ds's cup which has a straw and she discovered that she could drink through a straw so now she has a sippy cup that has an integral straw.

Max has always been great at drinking water and juice and now we go through 2 or 3 cupfuls a day but we found that he could only drink from a sippy cup if he was laying down bc he hasn't got the hang of tipping yet so we bought him a straw cup and i fill it up and leave it on the floor for him and when he wants it he just goes and helps himself.

The nuby soft spout cup is a really good one for starting out with.

Love

[Mum-of-Two]

I recently discovered a new trick by accident.  We have the soft tip but that just seems to make a mess, LO just chews on it.  So one day I gave her the hard tip sippy and forgot to put in the stopper, it ran all over the place.  But it gave me an idea.  If I offer her the sippy and she doesn't suck, just chews, then I take out the stopper so she can taste the water then I put the stopper back in and sure enough she's sucking on it.  Seems she needs reminded and this works for us.