Switching From Bottles To Sippy Cup

Switching From Bottles to Sippy Cup

by

Deborah Williams

If weaning was difficult for you and your baby, switching from bottle to Sippy cup may be just as hard. It is also difficult to determine just when the right time is to make the switch, but most experts say the earlier the better. By the time your baby reaches his/her second or third birthday, he/she will have formed an attachment to the nipple that is hard to break and is based on comfort rather than getting nutrition.

What is a Sippy Cup? A Sippy cup is a training cup with a lid and spout that lets your child drink without spilling. There are several Sippy cup models out in the market today. They come with wide variety of spouts and with or without handles. Sippy cups aid in the improvement of hand-to-mouth coordination. When to introduce a Sippy Cup There is no specific time to transition from the bottle to a Sippy cup. Some babies enjoy a Sippy cup as early as 5 to 6 months, while others refuse to drink from a Sippy cup until they are one year old. However, most babies are ready for the transition around 7 to 9 months. At this age, they usually have the motor skills to handle it. Fill the cup with water and let your child experiment with it until he/she figures it out. Expect a lot of thrown cups during this stage, so make sure you have a baby-safe dishwasher on hand. Work with your baby towards a complete switch to Sippy cup by age 13 to 14 months. How to switch to a Sippy Cup According to experts, if you introduce the Sippy cup to your baby with formula or anything other than juice or other sweet drink, he/she will not be rushing to drink from it. This is because it is a lot easier for him/her to get formula or breast milk from a nipple than from a Sippy cup. Most pediatricians advise against giving juices and sweet drinks in a Sippy cup as way to get your child to drink from it because it can lead cause your baby to only want to drink juice from the Sippy cup and make the transition a lot harder. Here are some of the things you can do to make easier: — You can start your baby off on a Sippy cup with a soft, nipple-like spout. This will feel more familiar to him/her compared to a hard plastic spout. — Demonstrate to your child how to lift the Sippy cup to his/her mouth and tip it up to drink. — Make the switch gradual. You can try cutting down the number of bottles you give your baby and replace them with Sippies. — Give your baby time to get used to the cup and master the drinking movement. — Let your child try different Sippy cup models until you find one the suits him/her perfectly. Some cups feature valves that prevent the drink from spilling so babies have to work to get a drink. — Encourage your baby to drink from a regular cup when you feel he/she is ready.

Deborah Williams is a child care expert consultant on a non-government organization promoting

natural household cleaners

and eco friendly cleaning.

BabyGanics is the manufacturer of natural baby products made with all-natural ingredients for effective and green cleaning

.

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