Sippy Cup/ Doidy cup for 4m old

[RishMum]

Hi Mums,

Desperately looking for some success stories. My LO just turned 4m old couple of days ago and has been refusing bottles. So EBF at the moment. I really want to start giving some formula and was wondering if anyone has successfully done so using a sippy cup or open cup at that age completely skipping the bottles? If so which cups do you mum's recommend? Thanks!

I introduced a free flow sippy cup at 5 months. She needs a bit of help with it but it feels like more progress than a bottle.

Tommee tippee first cup is a free flowing cup with a lid

Thank you both! @RubyRoss did you use it for formula or just water?

I've been using it with water until now but back to work tomorrow so I'll put milk into it. Although I'm also putting milk in a bottle just in case

@RishMum have you tried this yet? I’m in the same boat - 4mo that I want to start giving formula/expressed milk but won’t take a bottle. Doidy cup arrives tomorrow and we have a TT First Cup to try too…

A free flow cup will be a work in progress at 4m so I'd get going with water first rather than jumping straight to milk with it.

We still only use the doidy at the table at 18m as he's still great at over tipping the cup so

He has the 360 for drinks throughout the day and a doidy at the table.

All of mine had sippy cups from 10 weeks old, no bottles at all. Water and watered down apple juice for the one who didn't like just water, eventually milk in it when old enough. Breast fed til about 10 months. I'm old & my three all grown up so can't advise on what's around now other than find one with very small, finest holes to start with so that the flow isn't overwhelming for them and puts them off.

@EloiseMidgen I tried the Tommee Tippee free flow and the 4m+ valve one. No luck! :( I don't know if it's coz he hates the formula. Have not tried expressed bm though. Will get it a go. Did your doidy arrive? Did it work?

@Milkand2sugarsplease @Mossstitch I thought no water until 6 months. I will try boiled cooled water and see if it works.

@RishMum as I said I'm old 😩 all three of my boys are in their 30s, and recommendations have changed over the years so I'm not recommending what I did just trying to reassure you that bottles aren't needed. In my day weaning was advised from 4 months, three if desperate. Mine were all hungry boys and I didn't want to give them formula so started weaning early. My first was two weeks overdue so thought well he would have been 3 months if on time and he really showed he was desperate to try food grabbing at ours, so I did🤷 by 3 months he was on three meals a day, loved his food! (I was into healthy eating cooked from scratch, started with cereal from the health shop mixed with breast milk). i'd tried a bottle with water at 8 weeks on GPs advice but he just chewed on the teat and got wet down his front so I gave up and just breastfed him but shortly after introduced a tomee tippee spout cup which he took to. After that I just did the same with the others, they even had baby ribena😱I know totally against all advice now, but all grew up normal weight with perfect teeth👌😁

@Mossstitch hahahaha thanks so much for such wonderful and fun insight! I did not know tommee tippee existed back then. Tbh my mum has been telling to wean him saying exact same thing that he is a boy and probably hungry and she did the same with my lil brother (who is well in his 30s now and grew up quite well ;) ). I would really love it if I can skip the bottle altogether as weaning it off my elder DD was a task and I never wanted to put her on a bottle then in the first place 🙄🤪 (such is life haha)

I guess I will just try sippys again later or just give up start the food eventually and free flow cups! No big deal I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Thanks a lot!!

@RishMum the cup arrived today. I’ll start trying it from tomorrow and let you know! Tbh I’m not expecting miracles - just hoping that I might be able to speed up the process by starting early.

@EloiseMidgen good luck! Let me know how it goes ☺️

@EloiseMidgen did you try the cup? Any luck? DC is 6 months now and I really want to try the formula somehow hoping he will sleep a bit better compared to horrendous nights we are having!

Munchkin Miracke 360 cup. Got ours from Tesco though that was 3 or 4 years ago now. Was the only cup that both my bottle refusers drank from. Think they say from 12 months on the label but both mine had them from 4 months-ish, for similar reasons to you.

And neither of mine ever took formula. Just to say it, in case you think you are doing something wrong. They would drink water only when away from me.

@RishMum hiya, I’ve NC but yes - he now takes milk from a sippy cup! I think what really helped was giving him water in it and then it broke the milk/boob association. Also means he’ll drink milk cold from the cup as obviously I hadn’t been warming up the water. He will be 6m next week for context

Also, I think it’s easier for other people to give him a sippy cup than a bottle (if he took one lol) as I think there’s a bit of a knack to bottle feeding

@MistyFrequencies thank you! I have the 369 which my elder one never managed somehow but will try with this one.

@EloiseMidgen sorry whats NC? Great to know you have managed with sippy cup. Which one are you using? Also how do you measure the water for formula coz I believe sippy cups don't have the oz/ml on them? Making in a bottle and then transferring seems a hassle when out and about? And what you do mean cold milk?

Sorry for any questions which might seem obvious just want to make sure I get it right!

I have the TT first sippy with the valve and the first essentials or whatever free flow one too

NC = name changed :)

so he’s using a Tommee Tippee First Cup. I started him on the Doidy which was great but he became a little too enthusiastic and only wanted to feed himself with it! Which mainly meant a lot of milk being thrown over his shoulder haha so I swapped to the Tommee Tippee to give him a degree of accuracy!

i’m giving him expressed breast milk currently, haven’t tried him on formula yet but when I do, I think I will start mixing it with breast milk and slowly changing the ratios til it’s 100% formula.

normally people advise warming milk to 37 degrees as that’s what they’re used to with breastfeeding. But because he’s been drinking cold water from the cup he doesn’t seem fussed about that temperature the milk is. Which is great when out and about!

my Tommee Tippee does have measurements printed on it - they’re just embossed into the plastic so I normally need to use my phone torch to read them!

@EloiseMidgen thanks so much! All makes sense. And ha! The cup does have measurements after all. Just checked after you mentioned, had totally missed them. Thanks a ton!