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Friends of mine have a 1-year-old that they're trying to switch from bottle to sippy cup and it hasn't been going well. Apparently he cries every time they try to get him to drink from it because he wants his bottle. Since I'm just now pregnant with my first child, I don't really have any advice or tips for them, but I thought some other more experienced moms here might. They're trying to get him on a sippy cup because the daycare they want to enroll him in (it's highly rated in the area) does not take children who still use bottles. So how did you get your little one to give up the bottle?

Hi Jennifer!

 Our pediatrican encouraged us to use the cold turkey route. Just take away the bottles and eventually the kids will drink out of the sippy. Our daughter had a tough time and cried a lot, but by the next day she was thirsty and drank from the sippy - and never looked back. With our second child, we started him on a sippy cup around 9 months with water to teach him how to use it so the transition was easy when he turned 1.

But, it's like letting kids cry it out at night - some people are comfortable with it and some people aren't. It's definitely a personal choice. I wish your friends the best of luck!!!!

 Michelle

 

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Michelle Sussman
www.michellesussman.com

She's right! Cold turkey is the way to go. My son never used a bottle because he was nursed for 18 months. We also started him on the sippy cup early. Getting him to take the sippy cup during meals was no problem but to get him to stop nursing was other story. I was not planning to nurse past 12 months but I stop for a day and when the night rolled around I give in. One day I said today is the day. Sippy cup all day, he was fine but the night was hell. The crying when on for three night but now he is a sippy cup champ!

Good Luck to your friends and Congrats to you!

My husband and I used Nuby 'Gripper' cups for our youngest son.  They have soft silicone spouts, not nipples.  From there, he transitioned very easily to a regular (hard spout) sippy cup.  I'm not a supporter of the 'let them cry' method of child-rearing.  I'm not knocking those parents that do follow that method.  I just believe that problems usually have a solution that doesn't require a child to be miserable.  Good luck to your friends and congratulations on your first baby.

My wife and I have begun giving our 10 month old a sippy cup with some success. We just use water and only give it to her during meals. She likes it and is getting better (less coughing) at drinking from it. She kind of looks like a baby calf when she drinks, though. :) So far so good! Within a few months we hopefully will have no problem giving up the bottle.

 Disclaimer: we're first time parents and really have no idea what we're doing. :)  

Thanks for all the advice everyone. The little guy recently had his first birthday party, so my husband and I gave him some of the Nuby sippy cups that were recommended and passed along the "cold turkey" advice. The latest update I heard was that he's doing much better with the new sippy cups and now drinks all but the last bit of water in them by himself without much fuss.