Do you want to chat about transitioning to a sippy cup??

[* Paula *]

If your lo is drinking milk out of a sippy cup well, how much is he taking during the day without his bottle?

HAve you thought about starting the evening feed off in a cup, and what ever he does not finish to put in a bottle and let him finish it off?

We are in the same predicament at the moment.  My DD is 15 months, but refuses to drink any milk out of a beaker.  She just spits it out.  We are persavering, but what ever she does not drink we give her in the bottle to keep her calcium up.  We have not even tackled the bedtime bottle.

[suzannemoore]

Well he WAS drinking milk from a sippy cup very well, but he has decided that he would rather not anymore!!  I really cant get him to drink much milk at all unless it is in a bottle.  I still offer the milk in a sippy, but I do the same, whatever he does not drink I put in the bottle.  Is is almost 16months old, and how many bottles should he be on during the day.  Right now he has three, because he will not eat table food yet.  The therapist at the feeding clinic told us to drop the afternoon bottle before nap, but I am not sure how to do this yet.  Any thoughts?

Suzanne

[* Paula *]

How much milk is he drinking before his nap?

Too much milk can interfere with his appetite.  Is he having formula in his bottles or are you only offering cows milk?

At this age they should be getting about 20 oz but this needs to include other calciums like yogurts, cheese, custards etc.

[suzannemoore]

Sometimes he will drain 6oz before nap, and others he will take about 2-3.  He loves yogurt, and he will eat it for breakfast.  He will not eat cheese, or anything else like that.  SHould I continue with the nap bottle until he eats more solids?  Should I still offer milk in the sippy?  He is still getting formula in his bottles, because if I mix it with cows milk he will spit it out.

[* Paula *]

I would probably stick with just a few oz in a sippy cup before nap.  That way it should not interfere too much with his appetite.

And keep the morning and night time bottle and see how your lo does from there.  We ended up dropping the milk int hea fternoon cold turkey as it was affecting our dd's appetite.
.

[lilac83]

My DD has been using a sippy cup for over a month now. However, I'm finding it really difficult to maintain any sort of bottle routine now that she's taking more from the cup. This is what she's currently doing:

7:00 - breakfast 2-4oz from sippy cup
9:00 - bottle 4oz
12:00 - lunch 2-4oz from sippy cup
anywhere from 1:30 - 3:00 she wants another bottle, usually drinks 5oz
5:00 - dinner 2-4oz from sippy cup
7:15 - bottle 5-8oz, depends on how much she's drank throughout the day

She only averages about 21oz of milk per day. Does that look about right? Also sometimes a 4th bottle gets squeezed in somewhere if she seems like she needs it. The problem is, I feel like she's just snacking on milk all day long, never taking a full bottle. Is that normal at this age during this transition?

[* Paula *]

As long as he is having about 20 oz a day that is fine.  This can include milk in her cereal, yogurts, cheeses etc.

[JBsMommy]

Hello All! I have read through this thread and found a couple stories similar to mine, but I am still in need of some advice.

My dd is 10.5 months now and still doesn't hold her own bottle. Developmentally, she's right on the mark for everything else. I stay home with her and she's my first, so it's never been an issue for me to just hold the bottle for her. And she's never shown any interest in holding it on her own, or I would have let her. This past week I tried to encourage her to hold her own bottle but she would get so upset with me and start crying (which is not like her at all - she's very easy going).

Now, trying to switch to a sippy has been quite difficult. The first one I bought was the straw type. I know that those are suppose to be best for breastfed babies, but I thought since she doesn't know how to hold up a bottle, that the sippys with straws might be easier. I have given her the cup with water for a couple months and she does know how to get small amounts of water out of it, but doesn't seem too interested. I also tried it with milk, but still no big interest. This past week I bought a different type of sippy that more closely resembles her bottle nipples. She seems to like that cup much better and will put the cup to her mouth to drink, but she doesn't understand why the milk won't come out! And when I reach over to help her tip it up, trying to teach her how, she just lets go! I did manage to get her to drink 1.5 oz from her new cup, but I had to hold it up for her. 

Any suggestions on how to help her with this transition? I am SOOO confused as to whether I should just stick with the straw sippy or try to teach her how to tip up the other sippy. Is it something she'll just do on her own when she's ready?   I know I should probably just stick to one cup so I am not confusing her. Please help.

Thanks in advance!

[lilac83]

When my DD first started using the sippy, she would do the same thing. She wouldn't lift the cup and as soon as I lifted it she let go. I started tilting her high chair back and that way the milk would get into the spout of the cup while she held it. It didn't take her long after that to figure out how to tip the cup back. Now, sometimes she will "forget" and I just gently push her forehead back and she remembers what she's supposed to do.

[legend_018]

beat this one "lol".
almost 19 month chaunda drinks ON  HER own water from ANY sippy cup I give her.
SHE REFUSES!!!! to drink milk from a sippy cup (tried them ALLL) and also makes me hold the bottle. If I try to be tough, life gets very miserable as the day goes on and she will refuse to drink milk.

[* Paula *]

I would not worry too much about your lo holding the bottle.  My DS never held his own bottle, and my DD only started holding hers about 2 -3 months ago.

With regards to the sippy, I would help her with it tilting it for her, but also give her a chance to play around with it - perhaps during her A time you could give it to her with a drop of milk in it and just let her bash it around, bite it etc, she will soon start getting the hang of it.

[JBsMommy]

Thanks for the advice and support. I am just going to have to be patient, I suppose.    She still really seems to like this new sippy better and actually took a few sips of milk from it at breakfast this morning. BUT since she had her morning bottle already, I suppose she wasn't really thirsty. And last night she drank 1/2 oz from it with me holding it. Baby steps, right?!

Should I start offering her breakfast with a sippy full of milk first thing in the morning to see if I can get her to drink more from it? And then just give her what she doesn't drink from the sippy in a bottle? I have been doing bottle first thing in the morning and then breakfast 1 - 1.5 hr after. Maybe it's time to start transitioning to breakfast first. Any thoughts or advice?

Lilac83, I noticed your DD is a little younger than mine...how long did it take her to get accustommed to drinking milk from the sippy and tipping it back?

Thanks again ladies!

[lilac83]

DD actually picked up on the sippy cup very quickly. I would say about 1 week after I introduced it she was drinking like a pro. This was when she was around 8 months old. She's never held her bottle either, I've never encouraged it. I actually read somewhere it's easier to transition from bottle to cup if they don't hold their bottle. They then see the cup as something they can control (which is what they want) vs the bottle that mom/dad control.

I've been alternating back and forth for about a month giving bottle first or breakfast first. It's just been the last week that it's been completely breakfast first.

Paula ~ You had mentioned they only need around 20oz of dairy per day. Since then, this is what I have been doing. Just wondering if it's enough formula though?

7:00 - breakfast, left over milk in bottle right after (4oz)
9:30/10:30 - snack, slice of cheese (3/4oz) and cheerios
12:30 - lunch, left over milk in bottle right after (4oz)
2:30/3:00 - snack, yogurt (4oz) kix
5:00 - dinner, I give her 2% milk in sippy cup (2-3oz)
7:15 - bottle (7-8oz)

So that's about 22oz dairy but only 15oz of that is coming from formula. Is that still okay? I should add that she's getting water at snacks as well, so the formula isn't the only fluid she's drinking.

[* Paula *]

JB'sMommy, that is definitley a plan, you can offer breakfast first, and offer milk in a sippy with breakfast and then any left over can go in the bottle.  You can only try and see how your lo gets on.  Good Luck  Keep us posted.

Robin, your DD is sill very young, so would try and aim to have at least 3 bigish milk feeds.  So perhaps try to have a morning, afternoon and evening bottle.  Try to keep the evening one the biggest, so perhaps aim for 6oz in the morning, and 6oz at say 2:30ish and then your 7-8oz before bed.

That way your lo is still getting about 19oz of formula.  You could spilt the morning one to say having 2oz of formula in the cereal and 4 to drink.  I would aim for the 2:30 snack to be formula of say 6oz.

With regards to the 2% cows milk.  It is advised that any fresh milk given should be full fat, as it is full of the fatty acids for brain development etc.

Hope this helps 

[lilac83]

Thanks Paula. Unfortunately there's no way I'm going to get 6oz of formula in her in the AM. Even with bottle first, it was a struggle to get 5oz. If you think she should have more formula though, I'll give her another 4oz at her 2:30 snack. So that would be 4oz with breakfast, 4oz with lunch, 4oz with snack and then she'll probably only take 6oz at bed. But that would bring the total up to 18oz.

About the milk, I had always thought whole milk as well. However, at her 9 month appointment, when I had asked when I should start switching her to whole milk, the doctor said she could have a little milk now but to use 2%

This morning she drank 2oz out of her sippy cup with breakfast! I'm excited because I had changed her cup type and it had taken her about a day to get the hang of it. I had been using the Nuby cup, but the spouts were cracking from her chewing on them and the formula was discoloring the plastic. It looked gross even when it was washed.