Switching to a cup please help

[Vmama]

Hello my 10 month old DS is happily drinking water from a Tommee Tippee cup but refuses to drink milk from it. i did have some success getting him to do it for a few days but then his teeth were bad and he has since refused and cries whenever I put it near him. Any advice? I keep beating myself up that he's not doing it and don't know if it's best to skip the feed when he refuses or revert to bottle. I don't want to deprive him of his milk but think he really needs to learn this. Also i keep wondering if it's worth it as the amount of milk he needs will drop soon anyway (not sure when and to how much though)

It's so frustrating as he was doing so well for a while but then DH gave him a bottle and it's back to square one. Any tips? Should I give him milk at mealtimes instead of as a separate feed? Would this help? I had been hoping to get it sorted over Christmas so I could do it myself rather than expecting nursery to cope with his tantrums but obviously now he'll be having bottles at nursery and I'll be trying him on a cup on;y at weekends so he'll prob continue to refuse.

Anyone had similar experience -what did you do? Would love to hear any success stories please!

Don't beat yourself up about it. It took me a year of been very consistent with one of my past charges for her to start drinking milk out of a cup!

At 10 months he can still be having bottle at the times of days you want him to. And I would offer him milk at meals, although try a real cup as drinking milk from a sippy cup is really plasticy tasting. If you offer him milk from a cup to not change to a bottle just so he can have it, as then he'll expect that to happen each time.

I would also ask the nursary to try milk at mealtimes as well.

How many bottles is he on, most of my charges have only been on a morning and bedtime(perhaps one other) at 10 months and on solid food for rest of meals.

Good luck and make sure everyone is consistent and he eventually drink it.

thanks for replying -he's having 4 bottles a day -4oz at morning, mid morning, mid afternoon then 8 oz at bedtime. I don't tend to give him snacks really but he has breakfast, lunch and tea and is a good eater. I wondered about trying a non-sippy cup as i have tried a couple of times and he seems to like it better. Maybe I could cut out mid morning and mid afternoon feeds then and give milk with meals instead? I want people to be consistent but I don't want to be cruel and refuse him milk just because he won't do it 'my' way. So you think still give bottles but offer milk at meals to get him used to it?

any other thoughts?

Is he hungry for the milk? He's only having little bottles during the day so you could always replace one with a cup drink and have snack(fruit) with it. If he really wants it then definetly give it. THe more experiences he has with it out of cup the more receptive he will be.

Also the older they get the milk needs decrease. I always go for three servings of dairy a day over age 1, so a milk, cheese and yougurt serving a day should cover the dairy needs.

Also I think non sippy cups are the way to go as the earlier they learn to drink out of one the easier it is, and also sippy cups are very much like bottles.

funny my DH has just said almost exactly that -he's not that bothered about milk at those feeds so going to try with the morning one and see how that goes.

By non sippy cups do you mean cups without a spout? I'm using the basic tommee tippee one that everyone recommends as best for their teeth

Yes, non sippy cups are just normal adult cups. The more years I've nannied the more I've found it useful if children drink out of proper cups from a young age. It makes it much easier when traveling/eating out just to order a water for them or even get them to drink out of a water bottle. And I've found that the younger they've been introduced the less chance of spilling happens.

Good luck with getting him to drink out of a cup, just keep trying and one day he will take it.