Help Needed for Going from Bottles to Sippy Cups

Updated on April 15, 2009
D.F. asks from New Orleans, LA
16 answers

My twins just turned 1 and I want to try to go from bottles to sippy cups. I have read to start by replacing 1 bottle (afternoon) with a cup and once that is mastered go on to morning and night. I am on day 4 and my daughter refuses to drink milk from a cup. This means by dinner she is starving and cranky. She drinks juice and water from a cup every day so I know she knows HOW to drink. But she will not even take 1 sip of milk. We did just switch from formula to milk but she drinks regular milk from a bottle without protest. And hints or bits of wisdom? Am I doing this too early?

Thanks!

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J.C.

answers from Jackson on

My daughter started out on the Nubby brand, they have a rubber top similar to a bottle. After she got the hang of that one it wasn't a problem to switch to the hard top sippy cups.

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L.S.

answers from New Orleans on

Kids are much smarter than we give them credit for! She knows she will eventually get a bottle at dinner so she just waits. Ditch the bottles altogether if they are drinking out of the sippy cups at all. The back and forth is confusing for them. The message you are giving is "bottles are o.k. sometimes" the message you want to give "is bottles are not o.k." They do not and can not understand that you are trying to ease them into it. Also you should eliminate the juice. It is helping her feel full and allowing her to hold out longer. Juice is also not good for their dietary habits. They should be eating fuits and veggies not drinking them. Children only need water and milk to drink.If she is drinking water add little milk a at a time until it is all milk. She does understand that to make that she feels in her stomach and that to make that go away she will eat or drink, but she doesn't understand milk is the best way to do that.However, that is why you are there. Remember that you are the parent; you are the one who is deciding who has what and when. You go to the grocery, you make the food and drink, she has no decision making power about her health at 12 months old becuase she doesn't yet posses the wisdom to make the right choices, but I'm sure you do!

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C.S.

answers from Baton Rouge on

D., the fact is that everybody's body is different and what works with one child may or may not work for another. So what does it matter that she's not drinking milk from her sippy cup? We could do philosophy forever, but when she's ready to drink her milk from a cup, she will drink her milk from a cup. Why worry with it? It is very hard to not compare our children to all the other children out there and to wonder why ours is or is not doing what the others seem to be doing or not doing (equally difficult to not compare them with siblings). But again, everybody's body is different. So just be patient and let nature take it's course. And your daughter will, when her maturing brain tells her it's OK, drink her milk from her sippy cup.

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D.R.

answers from Huntsville on

While very unpopular these days, i let my little boy drink milk out of his bottle for as long as he wanted. He drank from a sippy cup at 5 months, but wanted his milk in a bottle. To me, it was more important for him to have his milk than to fight the battle over the bottles which he only took in privacy at in the morning and night. He was well over three when we swapped to nubby cups for milk even though by then he was drinking other things out of a regular cup with no lid! I know that mothers will slam me for this, but to me the milk and satisfaction of the bottle was more important than what the books say!! He quit napping very very early, so the bottles at least gave him relaxtion. He is 5 1/2 and still goes to be with a sippy cup of milk and has one in the morning when he first gets up. A bad habit, maybe, but he gets about twenty ounces of milk a day and has always been healty as a horse. Do what feels right for you and your child, not what everyone else tells you to do!
Have a lovely day and god bless!!

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L.B.

answers from Fayetteville on

In spite of all the marketing to the contrary, dairy is not healthy. Try rice milk, almond milk, or soy, instead (but make that soy organic!). Your daughter will probably accept any or all of these milks, since they don't have that biological, out-of-the-udder taste. Many kids don't like milk for that reason. I think, personally, that they sense that it's not good for them. And parents and schools have learned that milk needs to be really cold to get past those knowing taste buds. Tells you something, doesn't it?

These days, what's even worse is, especially conventional, non-organic milk is full of bovine growth hormone, which is a genetically modified substance, which makes it even worse; the hormone, which is injected into cows to make them produce unbelievable amounts of milk in short periods of time (and is extremely h*** o* the poor animals), causes mastitis, which is a very painful infection. The infection, which is rampant among dairy cows, leads to the oozing of large amounts of pus into the milk people drink. The FDA even raised the legally allowable white blood cell counts (that's the amount of pus, in English) to accommodate the dairy industry and genetic engineering companies. So, for the benefit of these big companies, people are drinking pus! Yes, I'm serious, it's absolutely true.

But besides all of that, dairy foods and milk are bad for us. They cause stuffiness, inflammation, irritated bowels in many, and, as you will read in The China Study (by T. Colin Campbell, who is one of the most credentialed top nutrition scientists around the world), it has been linked directly to Type II diabetes. He explains it very easily, it is just common sense. Animal proteins are foreign enough from our own that our bodies create an immune response, antibodies, to fight them. The problem is, they are still similar enough to our own proteins that these antibodies turn against our own proteins. Depending on where in the body this happens, it could become diabetes, arthritis, MS, or any other immune system disorder in which the immune system attacks the body that it is intended to protect.

Whether it is just a few isolated incidents in the body or turns into a full-fledged immune disorder is just a matter of chance. It's like playing Russian Roulette.

Campbell explains it much better than I. But anyway. Please don't make your kids drink milk.

To learn more about some of the problems that come out of eating, and feeding our kids, dairy foods and milk, read The China Study.

L.

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S.C.

answers from Lawton on

Hi D.! It's nice to see that I am not the only one that struggles with this exact issue. My little girl just turned one also, and just like you- I wanted to replace the bottle. And the strange thing is, Emily started out the same way- she would drink other beverages from the sippy cup, but not milk. So- what I am doing is offering her cup at mealtime and her bottle in between- especially at nap time. It seems to be working just fine- gradually Emily has started drinking some milk from her cup. I guess it just takes time. I hope this helps a bit. Trust your instincts and don't worry about timetables. :) Good luck!!

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J.T.

answers from Oklahoma City on

D., try watering down the milk in the bottle and she will learn that the good stuff is in the sippy cup. Also you may try giving her a small snack in place of the milk.

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K.K.

answers from Huntsville on

You are absolutely not doing it too early. The longer you wait, the harder it is likely to be.

It seems to me that missing one cup of milk should not make her cranky and starving at dinner time. Milk should just be supplemental at this point; her primary calorie and nutrition intake should be from solids. When we were first transitioning, I sat my kids down with their plate of food before I gave them milk (or anything else to drink). That way, they ate their meal well and did not fill up on liquids. You might also try holding your kids while you give them the sippy cup (at first) so that they get that sweet, comforting time with you. That might make them a little more likely to take it.

Finally, my pediatrician told me that milk is not that big a deal if your child is getting their calcium in other ways. My third has never been a big milk drinker, but he loves cheese, yogurt and broccoli which serve as great sources of calcium. If your kids are getting those things, too, missing out on a cup of milk shouldn't be that big a deal.

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A.C.

answers from Little Rock on

Hmmm.... it sounds to me like you are doing everything accordingly. It is strange to me that she is picky about what she drinks milk out of, but nothing else. I would ask the pediatrician and see if they can maybe explain or give you ideas on the transition. I don't think you are doing this too early!! I started my son on a sippy cup a day when he could hold the kind with two handles. ( I think if it were to early for your daughter to start, that she would refuse anything from a cup, not just milk) Keep us posted on the outcome, and good luck@@

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B.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I know with your first, you want to do everything on schedule and many experts say babies can give up their bottle at 12 months. There is nothing magic about that exact age. Your daughter is telling you she's not ready, but perhaps she will be more willing at 14 or even 16 months. There really isn't any rush or any need to stress either of you out.

The reason she refused milk from a cup and not other liquids is that she uses the bottle for more than just nutrition. She uses it for comfort and to relax. It is a predictable part of her routine and she wants it to continue. She associates milk with this - not juice. You won't do her any harm by stopping (other than a couple rough weeks). In the big picture, it won't matter that much. I had one off the bottle at 14 month, one at 2 1/2 and one at 18 months - they are all lovely, happy children.

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A.C.

answers from Oklahoma City on

i would stop pushing the milk. they don't really need it anyway, as long as calcium comes from somewhere. if they are drinking liquids from a cup, then they won't dehydrate just feed them more food instead of using milk for a food source so that they won't be hungry with out the milk. i wouldn't think one is too early, but i didn't have twins, which i know can develop at their own rate. neither of my kids drank cows milk much at all. i started cow milk around 14 months. if you really are convinced they need to drink lots of cows milk, maybe warm it up? and go organic so they won't be getting all the hormones.

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N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

A brand called Nuby makes a sippy cup with a soft...nipple-like sippy top. This may help make the transition easier. No, you aren't doing it too early, better now than when they are 2, don't worry about your daughter she will drink when she's thirsty. Keep up with what you are doing because if you give up now she will think it's okay to be stubborn and defiant in other areas and that if she does it long enough YOU Will do what SHE wants...and you're the mom :-).

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A.L.

answers from Biloxi on

My son refused to drink milk from a sippy- no matter which one we tried. So, my pediatrician suggested putting a tablespoon of Carnation's Instant Breakfast (vanilla flavored) in there so it was slightly sweet. He took it right away. Then he told me after he was taking it without protest to gradually cut down the amt we put in there. However, we still put it in there because he needs to extra calories and he won't drink pediasure.

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D.P.

answers from Biloxi on

D., I am having the same problem with my 1 year old. She will take juice and water from a sippy but spit the milk out. She will only drink the milk out of a bottle. I do disagree with those that have said they don't need milk. I feel like they still very much do need the milk. If you get any good advice I would love to hear it.

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C.B.

answers from Tulsa on

D.,

I can help u fix this within 24 hours.

go to walmart

they have the sippy cups that have the latex bottle nipple like suction top on it they'll drink out if it because the sippy cups have that bottle nipple feel to their mouths.

bam no more bottle.

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B.A.

answers from Huntsville on

For now give you children milk in bottles, thay could sill be to young. Every child is different, thay do need the milk so give in the bottles it will not hunt anything.

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