Help re Sippy Cup

[IndiaRaine]

Hi, my daughter is almost ten months old. She's a fantastic eater, we don't do BLW but she gets plenty of finger foods and seems to manage fine. She gets three 7oz bottles of formula a day (morning, late afternoon and before bed).

Issue is with the sippy cup. Health visitor and nursery bang on about offering water with meals and how this is important. She has absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. I've seen her sip out of her cup once or twice, so I know she can do it. But if I offer her water or milk in it (I don't want to give her juice just now) she will either ignore it completely or wave it around, throw it to the floor etc. she won't voluntarily drink out of it. even if I hold it to her mouth, she sometimes takes a very small swallow then pulls away.

Nursery saying this is something we need to work on at home. She just seems unbothered by it.

Any thoughts?

[knittingbee]

FF DC1 was very attached to his bottle and at 10mo was definitely having most drinks in them, as well as using a bottle with a flip-out straw for water.

BF DC2 went straight to sippy cups for water and was a bottle refuser.

I think with FF they really do love those bottles! Keep offering cups is all you can do. I love those Tommee Tippee things with straws too, and they're mostly leak-proof.

[CultureSucksDownWords]

I would just give a cup with a small amount of water at each meal and leave her to it. Don't try and get her to drink from it, just let her explore it on her own. She'll get there eventually if you offer it consistently and without any pressure.

[Bohemond]

Mine is exactly the same - in fact I have 5 different sippy cups as he hasn't managed to get to grips with any of them. He has a nuby one now which has a soft teat that is the closest to a bottle so I am hoping that he will take to that. Will probably need to give him something nice in it to get him going!

[SueGeneris]

With my DS (11 months) I have just tipped a bit into his mouth each mealtime, several times. If he takes it he just waves it about but he has slowly started to take more water from the cup and will now suck at it sometimes. I think gentle persistence will help - but the only drinking he does is when I hold it.

[chumbler]

Try a doidy cup?

Or drink from the sippy cup yourself making a big show of how nice it is!

[Sleepyfergus]

Don't worry about it. Just keep offering it and she will eventually show more interest, especially if the rest of her peers at nursery start using them. Ignore health visitors in this one - all kids are different and just because she's not doing it according to their time line does not mean it's a bad thing. But please don't give juice in it, that is not a good habit to get into! (And that is me talking from bitter experience)

[IndiaRaine]

Thank you everyone, your advice is much appreciated I shall persevere but not stress about it.

Re doidy cup - we got one this month in our first Sassy Bloom box (and last - what a bloody waste of money that was!) but we haven't used it yet. Looks like it'll make an almighty mess! Can they really use them so young??

[chumbler]

Personally my DD likes her sippy cup but I've heard theyre great from 6m+ so could be worth giving a few tries to see if she gets used to it. Means that they are weaned straight into an open cup so gets that messy (and inevitable) job out of the way

[superbfairywren]

I've found an open beaker or doidy cup better. I let DD drink from my glass of water often and she now prefers open cups. She also likes the tommee tippee straw cups. When you lessen the milk I'm sure water intake will increase.

[chumbler]

I should say my DD likes her doidy cup too, but it was a bit messy so we went back to beaker, but with some practice your DD would get better at using it and might be worth some mess if it means she's getting more water

[ODog]

I would second trying different cups. My DS would only drink out of the really basic free flow tommee tippee cups at that age, but I know other babies who preferred doidy cups or straw cups. Also try leaving a couple of beakers of water about during the day so not just at meal times as she might be more interested in the food.

[LuluJakey1]

I have been trying DS - almost 11 months- with a nuby cup. He takes the odd swig but flings it everywhere.

[Only1scoop]

At about the same stage I literally had a sippy type cup of every description falling out the cupboard doors.

I found the free flow really simple ones where the spout folds into the lid were the ones I kept defaulting too. Some of them were very complicated contraptions I seem to recall.

At this age dd would through it across the room or tip it on her head all really normal. Just keep persevering and eventually it will just happen.