From bottle of milk to cup of water - how?

[Meandacat]

DD is bang on 7 months & has been doing fine with the introduction to different food, but I am flummoxed about how/when we go from her 4 bottles (FF) a day to water or other drink in a cup with her meals.

Positives: she seems keen to try drinking herself - she grabs the bottle off me and has had a good go a lifting the different cups I've bought.

However: she HATES water, even with juice diluted in it, and will have nothing more to do with a cup once she susses that that's what's in it. HV suggested watering down her milk by gradually adding a scoop less of formula, and giving her that. But as she's still learning how to use a cup, she gets frustrated and confused, and then she won't go back to taking it in the bottle, which has resulted in her missing out on that drink/milk feed altogether.

Also, what cup is best? She drenches herself with the simple, free-flow one (and I've yet to find a bib that will stop her sleeves getting soaked) but can't yet get the hang of the non-spill one for some reason (and then we're onto the frustration and refusal to take it at all).

I'm paranoid about making sure she gets enough liquid in her, and also enough milk, but not at the expense of encouraging her to take water in a cup.

I know I need to give it time and persevere, but I'd don't know what approach to persevere with! So I'd love to know how others did it. Please.

Bump! I need to know this too

To be honest it is best not to stress. She is still having her milk so there is no rush really. With mine (who were bf, don't know if that makes any difference at all apart from not having hte option to dilute the milk) I just gave them a cup of water with meals and snacks and at some point they started drinking it. You can't rush it. It isn't the water that she hates, she is just a bit confused at this whole new cup contraption.

Just keep on perservering with water form a sippy cup (free flow) she will get the hand of it eventually. Keep offering at mealtimes, avoid using juice at all costs otherwise she will develop a taste for it and will refuse good old plain water point blank. Juice is no good for the teeth, even sugar free contains fruit acids and not very nice sweetners.

I used to give DS a beaker of tepid water whilst he was in the bath so that he could practice drinking from that. When they get a bit older and you are feeling a bit crueller you can use cold water instead and this is a quick way of teaching them to drink without spilling. It takes a few months but they get the hang of it. She's only 7mths old so very young try and not stress about it.

"HV suggested watering down her milk by gradually adding a scoop less of formula, and giving her that."

I'm a bit by this. Until your DD is one, milk (i.e. breast or formula) is the most important thing she can have. I really wouldn't water down a 7 month old's milk!

If she's still having 4 bottles a day, she'll be getting a lot of fluid from that so don't worry too much. As others have suggested, just carry on offering water with meals and eventually she'll drink it when she wants it.

It might take ages, DS didn't really drink much water until he was well over a year old. We used a Tommee Tippee free flow cup and then an open beaker.

I have just bought a doidy cup, my DS knows that there is stuff in it, just can't quite grasp the drinking part! I hold it for him and he laps at it like a dog!

DD laps from a doidy cup too.
When should I start cutting down milk feeds or will she just drop them by herself? And do I go straight from formula to cows milk introducing gradually? And should cows' milk always be served in a cup?
So many questions!

As you begin to introduce solids, the amount of formula she takes in will naturally decrease, you don't really have to do anything. When she reaches the age of one offer her some cows milk in whatever she is used to. She might enjoy the novelty of it in a cup or with a straw. Try it warm and try it cold. If she takes to it straight away then you don't have to introduce gradually. If she refuses point blank to take it then just make sure she is getting enough calcium from other sources such as cheese and yogurts. It doesn't necessarily have to be from milk after the age of one.

Thank you. Sorry for hijacking meandacat

Hi Meandacat. I don't have much helpful to add except to say don't worry too much provided your LO is having plenty of milk as it provides plenty of hydration, especially given that we are not in high summer right now. My LO is 9.5 months and still not really getting the water thing. He will happily gulp the water in the swimming pool and thinks that lapping up any water spilled on this tray is hilarious fun, but he either refuses cups (of all sorts, including doidy, free flow, soft spout etc etc) altogether or takes a sip and spits it out. I got quite worried at one stage and I make sure he has a fruit puree or two every day as another way of getting liquids into him. So far, no obvious signs of dehydration and we just keep on persevering. I'm kind of hoping that at the age of 30 he will not still be lapping up water off a tray, but maybe I'm wrong!

On the bib front have you tried Silly Billyz with arms - they keep my LO relatively clean and dry!