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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

convincing a 7mo to drink out of a cup

15 replies

StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 13:20

For various reasons i need to convince my 7mo to drink water and the odd milk feed from a cup.
We've been giving her one with most meals, but she just tips it up / chews the spout without tipping it / knocks it off her high chair. If i try to feed her she understandably gets annoyed at me trying to shove something in her mouth, protests and turns away.
Any tips? Should i let her have an empty one to play with as a toy or will that just confuse her?

OP posts:
Original poster
StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 13:36

bump

OP posts:
mamaduckbone · 02/05/2010 17:38

I'd say just persevere - my 9 mnth old ds has only recently started sipping water from a cup, after several weeks of just banging it on the highchair. What type of cup are you using? I found with ds1 that any of the non spill valve types were a non starter, and ended up with the basic tommy tippee sippy cup, which is what I've gone for from the start this time.

As for milk feeds, no advice to give I'm afraid...my ds was happily taking the odd bottle here and there, so I complacently thought he would continue to do so...now I need him to do so more consistently (back to work in 4 weeks) he's decided to spit it out. I'm now thinking of trying a cup but not confident that he'll take anything close to a full feed from one, so will read advice given here with interest.

Good luck!

Undercovamutha · 02/05/2010 17:48

Unfortunately for us (but luckily for the cup manufacturers!) what cup works best I really think depends on the child.

My DD would only drink from a tommee tippee hard plastic sippy cup. However, my DS would only drink from a cup where the spout was made out of the same type of plastic as a normal bottle teat.

Both of them took about 2 months to get to the point where they were properly (ie. a full cup per day) drinking water out of a cup - as opposed to just sipping, biting and then throwing the cup!

As for milk, DD drank milk from a cup from 1yo as soon as we tried it, whereas DS took a few weeks of trying and then resorting back to bottle, before he settled into it. It's trial and error IMO!

bibbitybobbityhat · 02/05/2010 18:09

I got mine to do this by giving an Avent bottle with a drinking spout as opposed to a teat. Then progressing on to a sippy cup. Then a non-spill type cup.

Original poster
StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 18:32

dammit, think i've left it too late probably, then
found with ds that all he'd drink out of was the basic tommee tippee, so that's what i'm trying her on.
Mum has an avent i think so will borrow that just in case
i'll probably have to leave her for most of a day on 1st june - will she be ok??

OP posts:
Original poster
StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 18:34

thanks bibbity, but she's never had a bottle either - well they gave her one in hospital and she had great fun chewing the teat & throwing it on the floor
would giving her one to play with be good or bad idea?
shall the whole family start drinking out of them?
shall i persevere trying to feed it to her, or just let her get on with it?

OP posts:
Lionstar · 02/05/2010 18:34

Try an open cup, it's messy, but they do love to copy what you are doing. My 7 month old DS started with an open cup, then a straw, and will now happily chug water from anything

Original poster
StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 18:35

and he's 7m now?? wow that's good!
right, will give that a go - less "putting something in her mouth" too, iyswim

OP posts:
bibbitybobbityhat · 02/05/2010 18:40

No, my dd hadn't had a bottle either. But she seemed to get the idea of it better (no idea why really! - perhaps seeing her little chums with bottles?) than a cup shape.

Original poster
StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 18:43

really?? actually, i don't care if it's a cup or a bottle, just thought she might find a cup easier, and i'd not feel the need to sterilise a cup
might try another bottle then as well

OP posts:
maryz · 02/05/2010 19:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
StealthPolarBear · 02/05/2010 19:08

right thank you, will give all these a try
We're using tommee tippe cups, so can just take the lids off
will keep a cloth handy

OP posts:
jazzandh · 02/05/2010 19:14

My DS used a straw. I gave him a sip of some sweet ice drink when we were out once, and he had no problem with it.

It worked as an interim measure very well. Then when we were out just put a straw in a bottle etc...

willowstar · 02/05/2010 22:32

my 7 month old will take water from anything that is open but has no idea what to do with an enclosed cup. We use a doidy cup but i still hold it with her or it would be everywhere

SecretPollingBooth · 03/05/2010 20:32

well would you believe she seems to have started to get the hang of it, we've done nothing so far Seemed a bit surprised at this weird liquid trickling into her mouth, but was OK - especially when she realised she could play "rivers" on the high chair tray

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