Operation sippy cup is in full swing in our home, but trying to wean a baby from the bottle is not an easy task. I’ve conducted numerous “how to wean” internet searches, and well… every baby is different. I know, we hear that all of the time, but it’s clearly true in this situation with Corbin and Lynley.
Corbin is becoming a pro sippy cup drinker, and Lynley turns her nose up at it, and will not even attempt to drink from it. Some babies just take right to it, and this seems to be the case for Corbin. It had become difficult to get him to drink his milk, and he would push the bottle away. My mom witnessed it when we were visiting a couple of weeks ago, and she mentioned it may be time to try weaning him from the bottle.
I completely agreed, so over the last two weeks, we started giving him the cup first. For the most part, he would drink the milk, but we did have to transfer it to the bottle a few times. This last week, he drank all milk from a sippy cup! I am so proud of him. However, it’s tough getting him to drink all of it. Once babies get interested in food, they just don’t care for milk, so I’ve had to let Corbin eat a little, drink a little, eat a little again, etc. But isn’t that the goal anyway? For him to decide when he is thirsty and when he wants food? I think we’re doing great, but part of me is worried about that “food talk” we had at the last well check. You know, the one where their doctor told me that I needed to feed them more! She also still wanted both babies to drink a certain volume of liquid, and for Corbin that’s just not happening. Doctor advice, is just advice in my opinion. I feed him food until he tells me no, and he drinks what he wants to drink. The end!
As for Lynley, weaning her from the bottle and encouraging her to drink from a cup is a bit of a challenge. She will not tolerate it at all. She may take a few gulps, but then she just bites at the sippy nipple and plays with it. I have tried mixing in some drinkable yogurt/smoothie, which she loves, but after an ounce or so, she just screams at me. So, I give her the bottle. I am not at the point yet where I just let her cry about it until she accepts the cup. I thought I would focus on getting Corbin weaned first, and then really work with Lynley. So, here are my ideas on how to wean Lynley from the bottle.
1. In between feedings, put juice in the cup, and let her take sips when she wants during play time.
2. Give half of the formula to Lynley before food, feed her food, and give the rest of the formula mixed with the smoothie in a sippy cup.
3. Start drinking from the sippy cup myself, so she wants to do the same.
Do you have any other tips or ideas on how to encourage your baby to drink from a cup? Please share them in the comments!
11 month update
I feel you on the sippy cup front! It took us a while to find a cup Molly would drink from and not play with. But the funny thing is that once she figured it out with her Nuk Learner Cup, she would take ANY sippy! It’s like a switch was flipped! Good luck!
PS-We love the Nuke Learner Cup! The spout is soft like bottle but shaped like a normal sippy. It makes the transition so easy that ALL the kids at in our daycare class use it! And I am not exaggerating!
Thanks for letting me know about the Nuk Learner! I will definitely try it. We are using the Nuby right now, which Corbin seems to like really well. The other cup pictured with the handles, neither one of them likes. I think it’s a Playtex one, but the spout is super hard. They can’t get the milk out, and if I take out the spill-proof plug, it just pours out all over them. Bad design!!
I completely sympathize with trying to find the right sippy cup. We tried playtex like the one you have and tommee tippy, we finally had success with munchkin. We are still working on breastfeeding weaning, so I am not pushing a sippy yet, just offering. I will stay tuned for tips and tricks! Thank you.
I will definitely pass along any ideas that work for us! I have read that it can take a couple of weeks to a couple of months for some babies. Gosh, I hope not!!!
Reagan is now in the conversion of sippy cup to regular cups. Your tips are exactly the same — it’s just trying not to hover for fear of spills. That’s the hard part
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This is interesting. I tried giving my son the sippy cup for a while and he just plays with it :-(. He is 17 months now, a good eater, still nursing and drinks only water from a bottle or regular cup with my help so I won’t complain :). Thanks for linking up to Mommy Monday!
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Brittnei
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Aww. so sweet! (i’m so glad my girls took to the sippy pretty easily!)
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We had to try a few different sippy cups with Violet. V has never been a big drinker. Even with her bottle she only drank about 5oz at a time. She has never met the fluid suggestions but she is healthy. Do your best and don’t sweat what the doctor recommendations. I also found also having a sippy cup for V helped increase her drink intake.
Thanks Leslie. Lynley is a small volume drinker too. She takes 6 ounces max otherwise she spits up everywhere. We are trying a different sippy and a new staggered eating schedule, so hopefully things will work out better.