How to get them to drink out of sippy cup?

We've been trying to get the boys to drink out of the sippy cups for a couple of months now. And now i realize that so much time has passed and they still aren't drinking out of them. I give them the cup at snack time and dinner time and mix water and some apple juice - but they just chew and bite on the spout. The past few days we tried not giving them their 11am bottle and instead giving the formula in the sippy... but they just got upset. How do you get them to drink out of them? Thanks.

 

Honestly, it will click for your kids when they're ready. Some magic combination of age, maturity, mouth muscles, etc. will happen and they'll figure it out. Until then you're probably just frustrating yourself by pushing the cups. Is there a reason why you need them to drink out of cups at 11 months old (or earlier?). If not, why not keep the bottles for a few more months? It will potentially save you all some stress and hassle. When you decide to try cups again it's worth getting a few different brands to see what works best for your children. We used the Born Free sippies and had good luck.

 

Are you trying to get them onto hard spout sippies or soft? My son couldn't do hard spout sippies until he was 2. But he had no problem with the soft ones after about 13 months or so. Also, if they know how to use a straw they have sippies with straws but your twins are a little young for the muscle coordination for straws

 

I agree with the PP that one day they just get it, but it doesn't hurt to keep trying to get them used to the idea. My kids thought straws were pretty neat at about your kids age.. you could always try that too They never really liked the sippies though until we switched to cow's milk and I only ever gave them cow's milk in sippies.

 

1.) My boys couldn't seem to grasp sippie cups with handles-maybe because their bottles didn't have handles, I don't know. I got the Take-n-Toss ones for them-and they did awesome with them.

2.) I heard that straw cups are better in terms of speech/oral development. The boys didn't grasp a straw until much older, say closer to 18 months, when I finally gave them a juice box. They figured that out INSTANTLY. And from then on-they could do the straw sippy cups.

3.) Annabella grabbed one of the small juice boxes the boys had when she was 10/11 months old. She instantly started drinking it! I was shocked! So-I went out and got her a straw sippy cup and she was good to go!

You could try the take n toss ones, as there is no plug on the spout, so the milk/water, etc would just come out with little effort-until they get the hang of it. Or you could try a juice box and see if they can figure out the straw. If so, you could go and do the straw sippy cups. Good luck!

 

Two reasons I wanted to move to sippies: 1 - The boys are really eating solids well now and wanted them to have a drink while they are eating. 2 - I just thought it would be easier for our nanny. My DH just got a job and she will be taking boys alone.

Soft spouts. Haven't tried straws... yea, they are probably too young.

Also, at this age, how many times a day should we be giving them milk? Do we still do 4 times a day, or does it move to 3 times? We are just now trying to drop the 11am bottle, and it seems to be okay. We feed them a nice lunch around noon. But, since they aren't drinking out of the sippies, they aren't getting any fluids from about 7am till 3:30pm.

 

Have you got the OK to switch to cow's milk yet? If so, I would give them a sippy of milk with their lunch. That is a long time to go without fluids. Try the straws.. some kids do really well with them. Another alternative is to just feed them lots of fruit and stuff with a high water content for lunch to make sure they stay well hydrated.

 

We have our next Pedi visit after the boys bday on 12/4. I'm guessing we will get the okay to transition to cows milk then. I am going to try take n go sippies to see if that helps since the liquid will just flow (and I'll monitor them with it of course) and maybe try the ones with the straws too. I agree - it's a long time to go without fluids. Maybe I will move their 3:30 bottle up - maybe give it at 1:30pm instead.

 

I couldn't get my girls to drink out of the soft spout or hard spout...I tried straws and they got it right away. They were about 9 months old when I gave them the straws (I had some for my son) so yours are certainly old enough to try. My son took to the straws at 11.5 months and couldn't do the harder spout ones until later.

 

you are so not alone. My kids just chew the spouts :headbang: No matter which brand. I got them a straw cup too and they just looked at it as if to say, " mamma, what the hell do you want us to do with that!!"

Anyhoo, good luck. I hope it clicks soon!

We just tried dropping a bottle and so far it's not too bad. We just give them water from a bottle to keep the fluid intake up AND lots of juicy fruit, like watermelon.

 

My guys still don't understand sippy cups, but they have been drinking out of the straw sippy's for a long time now. I think I introduced them to the straw sippy when they were 6 months old. They just got it instantly.

Now, if I put milk in the sippy, they won't drink it. It can only be water for them which is frustrating becuase it makes me think that they are going to take a long time to wean of that bottle.

 

Our boys have been drinking from the no-spill straw cups for the past several months. They picked them up VERY quickly. The problem is, they are starting to leak around the bottom, so I am trying to get them to a regular sippy cup - it is taking them awhile to understand to tip it up like they do their bottle, and they do chew on the spout, but I think we will get there eventually. I've tried several different kinds, and it is the same issue, so I think we just need to be persistent in helping them learn to use it.

We are on three bottles a day - 6:30am, 11am, and 6:45pm. But our boys love water and usually drink around 2 sippy cups of water during the day - I can't imagine them going 7 hours without liquids, especially with their meals. I am getting ready to try converting the 11am bottle to a sippy cup spread out over the morning (with formula in our case, since they haven't outgrown the dairy intolerance yet). So far they have only had water in the sippy cup, so I guess we will see how they react. I'm thinking about using the regular sippy for formula and the straw for water so they know the difference and won't be thrown off if they expect one thing and it is something else. I really hope I can get them off of bottles in the next couple of months (I'm going back to grad school mid-January, so it would really help our nanny if they are off bottles).

 

Thanks all!!! Here I thought we were the only ones having issues. Okay, I'll try the sippy with the straw since a few of you had good luck with that. And, I agree - 7 hours is too long without liquids.

 

Mine took to sippies fairly easily, but I don't put the spouts on them. Right now, I only give them water in their sippies & they get a cup at every meal/snack. The water really helps with constipation. They figured out Nuby's & straw cups right away. The Nuby cups are soft and work with suction similar to a bottle. They're my favorite right now.

 

One of my co-workers just told me about the Nuby cups! I'm going to try those. Thanks.