Baby Not Using Sippy Cup

I started both my kids on the 'Nuby' sippy cups - their soft nipples really helped my kids to transfer from bottle to sippy cup. Good luck!

Some babies don't like the hard mouthpiece. Try using one with a soft piece like Born Free or Nuby.

My daughter refused to use a sippy cup till she was about 1 years old. I just put any liquid into her bottle.

T.,
We also had a little one who wouldn't use sippys. She also wouldn't take a bottle, so we were really stuck! We had good luck with the Nuby cups - but be warned - they are NOT leakproof. So if you go that route, don't let your little one carry it around or have it in the car. Another option to try that worked for us was sippy cups with straws (as long as they weren't too hard to suck the liquid out of). My daughter, even at that young age, liked and got pretty good at straws.
Good luck! (and love your name!)

Sucking out of most sippy ups is very difficult. I understand people want leak free but when a child is so little and used to a soft flexible nipple a sippy is very difficult. We used "Born Free" sippy cups with our second (and she was a premiee) and she caught on real quick and they are vaccuum free and very easy to suck on and are made with safe plastic. We bought ours at Whole Foods and have seen them online. Remember 9 months is still pretty young and when a babe is ready, they are ready. My daughter really started to use her sippy at 10 months and took herself off the bottle at 11 months. Good luck!

My son is now 14 months old. We didn't try the sippy cup with him until he was about a year. He didn't like it at first, and we did resort back to the bottle a few times, especially in the evenings. But eventually we just kept the mindset that he will drink from it if he's really thirsty. He's got a little stubborn streak sometimes! We did have to buy a few different cups until we found the right one that worked for him. I believe it's NUK brand with a soft nipple-like top. It's great because it doesn't leak if he turns it upside-down or throws it around a little.

Why do you need to use the valve? Of course it is less messy but it makes it harder to drink from. We started our 10 month old with an open cup when she was 6 months old. She is now able to pick up the cup and drink from it with out spilling too much (putting it down again is a lot messy). Try an open cup and see if this works better for your son. Start by holding the cup for him, it wasn't until recently that my daughter has been able to do it on her own.

I also found the using a sippy cup like the Nuby worked best for a first sippy. After my son got used to the Nuby we transitioned him to a more leak-free sippy cup. He was closer to a year old before he really was able to even use the Nuby cup, even though we introduced it earlier.

He's just not ready. Take a break then try introducing it again in a couple weeks.

If you haven't tried the Nuby sippy cups I would recommend them for the transition. They are soft top like a bottle nipple but they also can be squirted once the little one gets older (my son learned on them and about 1 1/2 didn't get them anymore after creating a lake on his tray every meal).

I recommend the Nuby brand cups. Preferably the gripper sipper (Narrow, taller, no handles,10 oz cup). $4.29 two-pack at Target. The spout is better designed than the Nuby cup with detached handles (Short and rounded wide). The first one mentioned, you can actually get replacement spouts off the internet if need be (Amazon.com). The second one, the spout is not very sturdy, the inner "valves" break and cause leakage. She learned how to make a mess with the short wide Nuby cup with handles becuase the spout was too soft and poorly designed. But she could drink no problem from it. She would just tip it upside down and press on the spout to make a puddle.

My daughter didn't like the sippy cup at first either. She would only chew on the other sippy cups that had a hard mouth piece and valves. I couldn't suck liquid out of them either. The Nuby brand have a soft silicone spout that they bite and/or suck and can get some liquid out without trying too hard just to get the idea that there is something there to drink.

My daughter didn't really care for the cup either until she was about 10 months. I offered the cup at most meals, and they offered it at daycare also. She finally decided she didn't want anything to do with her bottles anymore at 10 months, so she had to go to the sippy cup.

I use the tall narrow gripper sipper with a tougher spout and she likes to chew on it but that is all she uses to drink from. The spout will stand up to teething babies much much longer than the first cup I used. It really is leak resistant, only a drop after 10 seconds of being held upside down. It does collect a little liquid on top of the spout (like a pop can) that can make a little mess, but over all I like the cup. The baby can get liquid from it and it isn't really messy. Easy to pick up and hold. Also fits in bottle holders on diaper bag really well. They also make a bottle holder w/ strap to attach to car seats/storllers/etc. so it doesn't get thrown on the floor(Amazon.com).

Anyway, just keep at it. Juice diluted 50% is okay, milk, water, whatever you want. The biggest thing is the child can know there is liquid in there to drink if they can get it out of the spout. Nuby makes that so much easier with the soft spout. Good luck. Baby will eventually get it. If not try open cup.

Mine 2 year old didn't want a sippy cup until she was close to a year and then was completley off a bottle by the time she was about 13 months. Sometimes a baby is just not ready. My 7 month old will drink out of one now with help. Each child is different and ages are only guidelines.

I had the same exact situation with my son until he was a little over 9 months and we started needing to introduce a bottle during the day too. I see that your son already takes a bottle though. Have you tried different sippy cups? I liked the ones that don't have a valve (they have a silicone spout, nuby is one brand). Once he got the hang of those pretty well, he started taking others too. Now he can even drink from the ones that are meant for older toddlers! Just keep trying and i bet he will get the hang of it soon. I am not sure I have heard of a one year old still not taking a sippy cup.

Our son NEVER used the valve. We just never gave him anything but water to run around with -- other liquids were always at meals or snacks.

I also highly recommend the "Nuby" cups. We used the 2-handled ones up until 18 months. We had to switch because of the same reason as the first responder...we had a lake of milk at every meal :)
Good Luck finding something that works for you!

my son would NOT drink breastmilk from a sippy. it was NOT the right container for it LOL.
what you should do is water down some juice. and maybe leave the plug out for a while and see how he does, he has to get the idea that this thing will give him yummy juice, and that may take some time. however, like i said, breastmilk isnt a motivator for the cup, hes just going to be reminded of the real thing, and he prefers that im sure.

on a minor note (or a big one)
CONGRATS ON BREASTFEEDING!! :D i LOVE it when i see a mom who is still breastfeeding - its the greatest! and trust me, your weight loss relating to breastfeeding is probably not finished yet! :D i lost more weight around a year, and again around 14 months! i nursed until my son self weaned at 19 months old, and i miss it! LOL.
anyway,
great job mom and just keep trying!

T.,

My fourth baby took a little longer with the sippy cup, too, for some reason. I bought her the cups with the soft spout and just let her play with it at every meal. After a month with the soft spout, she caught on. We went through the same thing when we switched to the hard spout at 12 months. Just give him some more time and practice.

Good luck,
S.

Both my kids couldn't use sippy cups but we used the ones with a straw and they were able use it. it worked out great good luck