Sippy cup for a breastfed baby

[afshanmkhan]

My son is 5.5 months old, still exclusively breastfed. From 3 weeks old I had tried giving him bottles of expressed milk but he would fight it a lot. I finally gave up at 3 months. He just never liked it. Now that he is reaching 6 months, i was thinking if i could directly start with a sippy cup. Just so that i can offer him liquids going forward. Has anyone tried this? Any words of wisdom will b highly appreciated. I tried the cup yesterday with some breast milk and he is ok with it. Not angry or rejecting but then he just puts it in his mouth the way he puts anything and everything. He doesnt associate it with feeding.

[TiddlyBears]

Good plan. I have just started doing exactly the same thing, using a sippy cup. I was very impressed with his 'drinking' until he started sucking on the cup handle... We'll get there!

I've read that lots of people just skip the bottle stage for water. Babies under a year don't actually need too much water (can cause tummy upsets) so finding their own way with a sippy cup ought to be fine.

[afshanmkhan]

Oh good i found company! With all bottle feeding babies around me, i was feeling kinda lost!
Do u use the anti-leak rubber valves or not? I have a tommy tippee sippy cup and it comes with a detachable valve. If i have the valve in place, then the liquid will not come out unless sucked like a straw. If i remove the valve, its free flowing liquid and messy. But i m not sure whether my baby will be able to suck like from a straw. How will he figure out what to do if i leave the valve in place? I m not sure what should be done and how to teach him what to do. I would love for him to suck with the valve and everything being clean but will that ever teach him the concept of drinking from a cup?!?

[Pochemuchka]

Don't know about wisdom (!) but neither of my DC would take a bottle so I tried them on a sippy cup at about 6 months. I think it depends on the child how successful you are to some extent as DD didn't really take to it until she was nearer 9 months/1 year but DS took to it immediately and was drinking from a 'normal' cup with no lid by 1 year old. I think let him do it in his own time - keep offering the cup and he'll soon work it out and do it when he's ready (I take that stance on most things TBH!)

[howcomes]

Ds started using a timmee free flow cup when he was about 6 months, he didn't really get on with the no spill ones as they seemed to require heavier sucking.

[TiddlyBears]

I am awake, breastfeeding again - is your baby sleeping terribly or am I alone with that?

We are using the TT cup too, with the valve. It didn't occur to me to remove the valve, I could see him giving himself a shower with the contents! If you help by putting him a little backwards - on his back or reclined in a bouncer/rocker he'll soon find his own way, I'm sure. My baby seemed to be quite delighted when he 'achieved' his teeny stop of water! Best of luck!

[MaliKat]

Dd is the same. Almost 6 months. I have started straight with dippy cup and she will actually take it in her mouth. Using an avent one. At the moment with no valve but when she's used to it I'll add it. This is ow DS learnt to use a sippy cup and he had a bottle.

[ZuleikaD]

You can actually move straight to an open cup. Don't go with a sucky one as it doesn't teach them to drink properly, they're designed for babies who are used to bottles. Get a free flow one if you get one with a spout, but it's definitely worth starting straight with an open cup.

[MainlyMaynie]

My DS has never drunk from a bottle (well, now he's 14 months he likes to pinch other babies' bottles, but he never drank from one when it would have been useful for us . We started using cups at about 7 months. He had one of those valve ones for a while and could get stuff out while the valve was in, but he only ever drank a tiny amount. He also has a doidy cup, which is very messy indeed. He's only started drinking significant amounts of water since we got him a straw cup. I'm not sure what age they're suitable from, but they're great for breastfed babies.

[MumOfTheMoos]

Our ds was bottle fed for the first 3.5 weeks and then once we got up and running with bf he has gradually become a bottle refuser. My husband now gives him ebf with a doidy cup every night. He loves it although get a little enthusiastic and normally needs a change of sleep suit before going to bed. However, we think he's learning a life skill and at happy to go with it. He's 5 months.

[Fantail]

DD now 18 months went straight on to a free flow sippy cup at 6 months - she was also a bottle refuser. Took her about 2 months to get the hang of the drinking and not spilling. She can use open cup as well, but currently thinks it is the funniest thing in the world to tip entire contents on the floor.

[ButtonBoo]

Try the superdrug own brand cup with the built in straw. My DD is 10mo and was ebf up until we started weaning at 6mo. I wanted to give water with some meals as I started dropping bf ready for returning to work.

My HV recommended them to me. Dd never really got on with the TT sippy cups. Supposedly bf babies do well with cups with straws as the sucking action is similar to the action of bf. She took to it really well. Nice and cheap too.

She's bf morning and night and has 2 ff mid morning and mid pm. Water with lunch and dinner. Takes both f and water really well.

Might be worth a try...

[MigGril]

Don't use valve cups they are bad for teeth and some of them require them to bit the top which with DD led to her trying to bite me.

A free flow cup is best even if a little messy to start with. A also used straw cups from about 10 months I had the Tommy tippy ones.

[afshanmkhan]

Hmmm...i have superdrug right under my building. I think i will give the straw once a chance along with trying the tommie tippee one that i already have. Its still 15 days before i start solids but i just wanted to know my options

[MaliKat]

I've just bought an Avent my first grown up cup. She managed to drink from it. At least it shouldn't leak when its in my bag like a normal sippy cup without the valve would. I'm going to give it a couple of weeks and see how she gets on with it. It really is just like a beaker.

[KathMCB]

this is fab

www.amazon.co.uk/Bickiepegs-D-Red-Doidy-Cup/dp/B000RBE6Q6?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[AlCookie]

I have read about straw cups at a number of places. And also how you could teach your child to sip from a straw. Not sure if it will work though ..,,, but its really tempting. In fact a lot more than a sippy cup. I did but a straw cup yesterday and will be trying it out today. Any tips???

[FuzzzyDuckosaurus]

Try to go with a free flow cup rather than with a valve. They need to learn to 'sip not suck' from a cup. Free flow are messy but it's all part of the learning. My 11 month dd leaves her cup alone now unless she needs a drink

[Quip]

My 3 breastfed DCs never got on with any of the fancy valved cups and all had plain tommee tippee first cups at about that age. Doidy cups too but those were messy and not as popular with the kids as the TT first cups. Much cheaper than all the whizzy valved ones too.

[upinthehills]

I found the basic tommee tipee ones great. Still use the cups now as they have measurement on the sides - great for measuring out milk for baking

[nextphase]

We went straight to a doidy cup (found amazon the cheapest), but have a very cheep free flowing lidded cup for when out and about.

Doidys can be messy, but at this age, they don't need much in, and its only water. Better than milk going all over the floor!

[mawbroon]

Mine went straight on to open cups at 6 months. I would offer them water in it at mealtimes and they both got the hang of it fairly quickly

[LittleOne76]

My DS refused bottled from about 12 weeks and I just breastfed him going forwards. When we started weaning at just under 6months, we started offering him water in a sippy cup. He tended to play with it for a good few months but started to take more and more out if it. He was drinking decent amounts out of it by about 8 months. Now he can skull his cows milk and water out of it at 13 months and we don't have the issue of having to get him off bottles.