Bottles/sippy Cups

I'm just about going through the same as you! My son is 8mos now and I bought him a Nuby sippy about a week or so ago. He's starting to get the hang of it but still wants me to hold it. I've been just setting it in front of him and saying something like, "Here ya go, Bog Boy" or such. Eventually he'll pick it up and even though he's not holding it up enough or quite right , he does try. So, maybe just give him some time and be patient. About the age they start holding their bottles....it varies and depends on the child. Like the sippy my baby has just recently started doing it. My oldest son, now he was doing that at 5-6mos old! So it just depends on the child! Hang in there! He'll learn! GL!

I don't think your doctor was wrong. If you talk to any mother about their children, they are not going to develop at the same pace as yours. As a mother of 2 I agree with your doctor that the sippy should be introduced ASAP. My 1st son gave up his bottle a week after his 1st birthday and my 2nd, at 11 months. To get them introduced I found the best sippy was Nuby with the soft nipple. I would keep them on them because they leak after multiple uses. After my boys gave up there bottles completely I switched to a hard nipple and they've not had any problems. Now, it may seem that your child will NEVER give up the bottle, but it's not as hard as you think!! Good luck!
Also if you just give him the bottle eventually he'll pick it up himself.

my daughter was the same way. we started practicing with a sippy around 6 months, but it was a waste of time...she didn't start holding her own bottle until she was about 9 months or so. once she started doing that, then she started holding her sippy and drinking from it too. then we just switched off through out the day and i even started giving her the formula in her sippy sometimes...it was a little strange for her at 1st but she adjusted pretty well. she stopped taking a bottle altogether about 2 weeks after her 1st birtday. now she only uses her sippy cups.

Hey H. my son just turned 8mth and i judt boought him a cup yesaterday and hhhhe doenst llllike it!

My daughter is 4 mos and she will hold her own bottle, but only for short periods of time. But now that I said that, I'm sure she'll stop :-) As far as the sippy cups go, I haven't had that fortunate experience yet, but I have lots of neices and nephews that went through the same thing. My siblings have had lot of success with the Nubby kind of sippy cups. They have a silicone spout on them, so it's more like a bottle. Plus they don't leak! My neice throws hers around and we never have a problem with it leaking. They're really inexpensive too. I think they are only about $2.00 at Wal-Mart. I think that if your little guy doesn't want to hold his bottle that's ok. If you really want him to hold it, try making a game out of it. Praise him and tell him what a 'big boy' he is when he tries to hold his bottle on his own. In the meantime, enjoy your cuddle time with your guy.

chances are that your son can hold his own bottle if he wants to. if he is holding his sippy he is not behind devlopmentally. I would not worrie about it. CHances are he just wants you to hold it for him because he values the binding time with you as much as you do. He has now linked the sippy as independant time and the bottle as bonding time. it is normal. don't sweat it-enjoy it.

My daughter started drinking juice from a cup at about the same age. I still gave her her formula in a bottle. She NEVER held her bottle. She did not hold it by herself. When I switched to milk at a year, she would not drink the milk out of a cup. I had to give her milk in a bottle. She would not hold it. I gave her a bottle in the morning and at night. She would run and get her bib, jump up on the couch, and then refuse to hold her bottle. We had to hold it. I really didn't fight her on it. I'm sure if I would have refused eventually she would have held it. I wasn't willing to go days. I was finally able to get the bottle away at 14 months.

My next baby was a totally different story. Breastfeeding went better. She refused to take a bottle. When I went back to work at 12 weeks we had to stop feeding her so that she would take a bottle...it took a couple of days(it was horrible). She only took a bottle from 2 people and never if I was around.

My advice...hold his bottle. He won't be a baby very much longer =)

C.

Hi H.,
It is kind of emotional going thru the phases of our babies and their milestones, and I think for them too.
My 15 mo-old baby is still trying to adjust to sippy cups; he would drink just juice diluted in water or just water, but he still likes his milk in a bottle. My ped told me that he should be drinking milk as well from the sippy cup already, but it is OK give him some time b/c every child is different and goes thru phases in different ways. I am sure my baby (or my tot???) will be using his sippy cups very soon. I learned that I would not not push my children into anything just to make them accomplish a milestone at "the average time". Eventually, they will do it. So, just let him being a baby for a few months.... is such a short time to enjoy!!!!
Best wishes
Alejandra

My little girl is 12 months and is the same way but I caught her when she was 10 months picking it up off the floor and drinking out of it when i set it down to answer the phone. She still wont hold it unless she is half asleep and doesn't realize it. I think they just like the bonding time as much as we do.

This post cracks me up for two reasons. One you yourself continuely say baabaa lol and the fact that you are so concerned. I love it. I love that you want to still hold him. It is beautiful and the right thing to do. Babies are so different. I have had tons of them lol and they hold their bottle or baba when THEY want to. It could be four months to nine ten months old. You should continue to try even with his temper. But do not stress , it is totally normal. He will do it when he is ready. yayyyyyyyyyy for the sippy cup thing. He did that when he wanted to too. lol 6 months really was not to young though, some babies do it that early , it just depends on the baby.............and no it has nothing to do with intellegence either. motor skills have nothing to do with intellegence. believe me. lol

Hi H.!

I can't remember exactly when my daughter started holding her own bottle, but I do remember how hard it was for her to switch to the sippy cup. We used bottles until she was almost 17 months which my ped did say was dangerous because they start to suck too hard and can damage their ears, so we started to really push the issue with her after her 15 month check up. I never put her formula in her sippy cups - only watered down juice. She will be 2 in a month and does perfectly fine with her sippy cups now. Anyway - my advise - he will get it! they all do things on their own timetable. As long as what he is doing is harmful to him - let him do it in his own time! I cried when my daughter stopped breastfeeding, then when she started to feed herself, but with every phase that passes, a new one starts to enjoy!

It sounds like my son was exactly the same. We introduce the cup at 6 mos, but it was a joke until between 9/10 months. HE NEVER HELD HIS OWN BOTTLE THOUGH!!! Until the day he quit taking the bottle, he demanded that I or his grandma (babysitter) held it for him. The good thing was, at 11 months, he quit the bottle all together and went to all sippy cups, so we never had to hold the cup for him.

If your son is holding a sippy cup I would just put his milk in that from now on. Babies at nine months are fine to go without their bottles. I know it will be a hard adjustment for you, but one you will have to get used to. Your doctor was right about starting your son on a sippy around 6 months. It doens't mean it will go smoothly right away but they want babies off their bottle by a year so their teeth don't get damaged. It is all a learning process for you and baby. Good luck.

I would say he can hold his "baba" but chooses not to. He probably likes his time with you and isn't ready to give it up either. My daughter is doing better now but we went through the same thing. The only time she will really hold her bottle if we aren't holding her is if we lay her down in her bouncy seat. As for sippy cups we've tried all kinds but finally found some she likes they are gerber graduates 6 months+ they have a really soft tip and the body is bent to help hold the juice closer to the spout!! They're great!
Good Luck

My son is 10 months and he wouldn't hold his bottle until just the last few weeks, I started by laying him back on a pillow so his head was slightly elevated, then I sat a little away from him so he had to do it if he wanted to drink.

If you are looking for a new Pediatrician, I recommend either PAA on Harrodsburg Rd or I go to Dr. Lagrew and Dr. Staton at central babtist Hospital. Best of luck

I have an 8 month old little girl (born 10-30-06) and she never liked sippy cups. I bought her one of those cups with the flip up straw and she loves it. She also will drink from a regualr cup. So sippy cups aren't for every kid. As for the holding their own bottle... mine hasn't been doing that but maybe a month now. I would keep putting his hands up to his bottle while you are feeding him and let him get mad. If he gets mad eventually after some time he will probably start to do it himself. My big thing with my daughter now is to get her to open her hands up all the way when holding her bottle. She doesn't do that often. She started out holding it with fists. Keep trying to put his hands up to his bottle and he will eventually get it.