The Sippy Cup Dilemma

So, Willow is going on 1 year old and I would like to get rid of bottles altogether and move on to sippy cups. But, are they the safe to go or should I be using a regular cup? And what kind of sippy cup should I be using? The kind that's like a bottle, but a cup or the kind that has a straw but is leak proof? As usual, Baby Center has some great information.

According to Pediatrician Susan Sorensen you can start offering a sippy cup to your baby as young as nine months old since that's when they have the motor skills to drink from a cup. She recommends filling a sippy cup with water and letting your baby play with it to get a feel for what it is, working on a complete transition by 12-14 months.

One benefit of switching to a sippy cup sooner rather than later is that the longer a baby drinks from a bottle, the harder it is to wean him. If you're breastfeeding, you can even bypass the bottle altogether and go straight to a sippy cup for other beverages. But if you first fill it with breast milk or formula, make sure he drinks enough, since drinking from a sippy cup is slow going at first.

That may seem soon to some parents but the longer your baby is attached to the bottle, the more likely they are to suffer from tooth decay. According to the American Dental Association, a sippy cup is actually NOT the way to go:

Baby bottle tooth decay can destroy your child's teeth. It occurs when a child is frequently exposed to sugary liquids such as milk, including breast milk, fruit juice and other sweet liquids. The ADA recommends the following steps to prevent your child from getting early childhood caries.

• Begin clearing your baby's mouth during the first few days after birth. After every feeding, wipe the baby's gums with a damp washcloth or gauze pad to remove plaque.


• Never allow your child to nurse or breast feed for prolonged periods and don't give him or her a bottle with milk, formula, sugar water or fruit juice during naps or at night in bed.


• Encourage children to drink from a cup by their first birthday.


• Discourage frequent use of a training (sippy) cup.


• Help your child develop good eating habits early and choose sensible, nutritious snacks.

Interesting, right? I have tried to get Willow to use a regular cup but she doesn't like how it basically covers her face in order for her to drink from it.

According to Baby Center you can start introducing a regular cup to your baby when they are around seven months old but they will not have the motor skills to use it properly until they are around two years old. And as with anything new involving food or drinks, expect frequent spills!!

The great thing about the Avent bottles that we use is that their sippy cups and baby bottles are interchangeable. What I mean by that is you can take the handles and valve from the sippy cup and use them with the bottle. This is a nice feature.

However, Willow does not like the standard valve-type sippy cup, so we decided to try her on the ones with the straw. We bought the Nuby Flip-It Leak-Proof Sipper (10 oz.) and after showing her how to suck through the straw, she got it! (This was just a few days ago though so we haven't completely rid ourselves of the bottle just yet)

Honestly I was a little afraid of the transition and how to do it and how long it would take, but I think we are well on our way to ridding ourselves of the bottle. But, a word of warning...those valves and straws and the like are a pain in the neck to clean. I guess if you use a dishwasher it may be slightly easier, but we hand-wash all our dishes (since it's just the three of us) and it takes time...longer than bottle washing. Ahh well. If it's not one thing, it's another right?

You might be wondering, "What are other moms and dads doing?" According to a Baby Center Poll of 25,000 boy parents and 18,600 girl parents, at 12 months old 51% of boys and 55% of girls were using a bottle and sippy cup. 29% of boys and 31% of girls were using a sippy cup exclusively and 11%of boys and 10% of girls were still using only a bottle.

So, if you're not there yet (like me) no worries!! Your baby will tell you if they are ready or not.