From bottle to sippy cup - what is/was your approach?

[Leanne]

Ben will sip from a sippy or straw cup, but I'm looking towards getting him to drink a greater quantity from them. We started with the valveless Nuby disposables, and are now onto the Nuby silicone spout cups.

Did you just work on weaning one bottle at a time? What age did you begin weaning from the bottle? And what do you think is a realistic goal?

TIA.

[J&Jsmom]

Am trying to move my 13 month old off bottles onto sippys. He'll have water out of sippys but not milk. Basically I just keep trying - although not consistently enough and intend to get a little tougher with it.

[Lªuren]

I used this approach

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=55022.0

[*Kimberly*]

Okay, I went to the link and I still have some questions...

We introduced a sippy cup months ago.  My lo would drink out of it at his solid meals but only a couple of sips.  Then he got some teeth and now he won't drink from it anymore.  He only bites it!  I am continuing to offer it to him at each meal but so far nothing.  My big question is when you want to transition the bottle to the sippy cup do you begin offering the sippy cup at bottle times?  And if they only take a couple sips then do you put the rest in the bottle and give it to them?  I use the Avent sippy cups and bottles so it is not a hard transition for me.  Thanks.

Kimberly

[Leanne]

Ben is taking Avent bottles too, but we didn't have any luck going with the spout attchments for the bottle. I *think* it was because the bottle made him expect a nipple. Sounds like you haven't had that problem though.

I've tried giving Ben his sippy cup when he should get a bottle and I'm planning to do a one bottle at a time approach. I give it to him before he's starving, and he'll take about an ounce out of it, then hunger really sets in and it's frustrating for him, so I give in and get him his bottle. I can't stand to see him hungry and frustrated.

[*Kimberly*]

Leanne- That was what I was thinking of doing, I am just not sure if it is counterproductive.  Is giving him the bottle, giving in and teaching him to hold out for the bottle instead of the sippy cup or not?  I don't want to not give him any more milk if all he takes is 1oz from the sippy cup though.  Does that make sense?

Right now the sprout attachment is on the sippy cup bottle and only nipples are on the regular bottles.  I was just planning on putting the sprout attachment on a regular bottle, but I guess you can do it the other way to and put the nipple on the sippy cup. ??

Kimberly

[*Natasha*]

 Just wanted to add that around 8months i started giving DD milk in her sippy with breakfast and dinner i started with 1oz and slowly increased until she was having 4ozs. She still had her bottles as usually but i cut the amount back due to her having milk with meals. Then at 10months she dropped to 2 bottles only and at 11months i got rid of the morning bottle and replaceded it with milk in a cup and a snack which went well she didn't even miss it. Then the day after her 1st birthday she refused to have her night bottle so i said fine and just added this to her milk with dinner and that was it. She now has 9ozs first thing in the morning and 7ozs around 5pm.
Also remember they aren't going to drink all their milk from the cup straight away as soon as you transition you need to persist and keep trying. They will get the hang of it soon enough.

[*Kimberly*]

Natasha- When you say milk do you mean formula/breast milk or cow's milk?  And instead of introducing the sippy cup during bottle times you gave some during solid's times and then subtracted that from the bottle, correct?  Did you offer it before, during, or after the meal?

Also, is it at about a year that little ones stop having the space between the solids and bottle meals?

Kimberly

[*Natasha*]

We had DD on cows milk at 10months so yes it was cows milk. This is what we did at 9-10months with 3 bottles:

7.15am – Wake

7.30am –Cereal & Fruit mixed with 100mls milk, 50mls milk in a cup   

8.30am – Milk 150mls

9.45am – Sleep 1.5hrs

12.30pm –Sandwich, cheese and Yoghurt, water in a cup     

1.30pm - Milk 100mls

2.30pm – Sleep 1hr

4pm – Snack Biscuit/sultanas, water in a cup 

5.30 - Vegetables, Meat and pasta/rice and Jelly/Custard for dessert, 100mls milk in a cup

6pm – Bath

6.45pm –Milk 150mls

7.15pm – Brush teeth, Story, Bed

 This what we did at 10-11months with 2 bottles:

7am – Wake

7.30am –Cereal & Fruit mixed with 100mls milk, 100mls(4ozs) milk in a cup   

9am – Milk 200mls (7ozs)

10am – Sleep 1-1.5hr

12.30pm – Sandwich, fruit, cheese and yoghurt, water in a cup     

2/2.30pm – Sleep 45mins

4pm – Snack Custard, sultanas, water in a cup 

5.30 - Vegetables, Meat and pasta/rice and Jelly/Chocolate mousse for dessert, 100mls (4ozs) milk in a cup

6.15pm – Bath

7pm –Milk 200mls (7ozs)

7.15pm – Brush teeth, Story, Bed

Slowly the 2 bottles became less and less until around 11months they were only 4ozs each so i dropped the morning bottle and gave it on her sippy cup with a snack. Over a month she slowly drank more milk with brekfast until she was having all her milk with breakfast. Now she wants her milk first thing in the morning and she downs it all 9ozs within minutes.

[*Kimberly*]

Wow, I think that makes more sense then the way I was thinking of doing it.  I am going to have to print that out or something so I have it when I (and my lo) are ready.

Right now my lo is on formula but I think when we go in for his 9mo checkup I will start a conversation with the doc about cow's milk.  So far he has not shown any allergies.  I am only allergic to metal, no foods.  My brother was not allergic to milk but the calcium or something like that, he is totally fine now.  Hubby and his family have no food allergies.  With all that I think we might be good to go on cow's milk earlier than a year, we'll see.

A side question to sippy cups, did any of your lo's start biting the sippy cups when they got teeth.  My lo bites it more than chews on it, almost like he is trying to take a bite of it.  He will bite down and then pull it out of his mouth.  Right now I let him because I consider it time that he is practicing holding it and getting it into his mouth but I don't want him to think that it is for biting and not for drinking.

Kimberly

[calebs mommy]

Kimberly-
   My son started biting the sippy cup too.  I just stuck with offering it and didn't make a big deal out of him biting it.  Now, he will drink from it more, but still does the occasional biting.

[*Kimberly*]

Caleb's Mommy- Thanks, that makes me feel better.

Kimberly

[Leanne]

Thanks for all the words of wisdom! Natasha, I will try reducing Ben's bottle and offering the reduction in a sippy cup. Sounds practical. Wish me luck.