Water with mealtimes for baby - please help

[newmum234]

I’m currently weaning DS (who is just over 6 months) and am giving him one meal a day. I know you’re meant to serve water with every meal but am worried I’m doing it wrong!

So far I’ve tried a doidy cup (which DS just picks up and spills all over himself then chews the cup) and a Munchkin sippy cup, which he can’t get the hang of either. He doesn’t realise that it’s something you can drink from, so just throws it on the floor.

Is it important for babies to drink water with meals and how can I teach DS to do this?

Also I’ve been giving him water straight from the tap but suddenly realised that it should probably be cooled boiled water - is that correct?

Lastly, should I be swapping DS’s bottle for a free flowing cup at this age? Or can I continue giving him milk from a bottle?

Thanks.

• Lidded free flowing cup is best - i used a tommee tippee first cup. They don't take much to begin with
• No it doesn't need to be boiled after 6 months if given as a drink
• Milk is fine in a bottle up to 1 year although some people use it for longer than that

Bottle is fine.

Water from a tap is fine.

They get the hang of cups eventually!

They learn through experience and observation. Keep offering a lidded cup of some sort , they will get there.

Tap water is fine. We had every cup going, it's a new skill so just keep perserving - mine only drank out of a cheap plastic beaker that we'd hold up to her mouth for ages!

Milk in a bottle is fine - we switched to whole milk and a sippy cup at 1.

They get it eventually, normally around 7 months. Keep putting the cup to their mouth. We used tommeetippee sippee.

We tried so many sippy cups. The one that worked best for us was by Nuby and called Grip'n'Sip. They're quite expensive on Amazon, but got ours from Sainsbury's for a few pounds.
I think it's practice more than the cup though...