Making the Jump to a Sippy Cup

March 31, 2021

There are so many milestones throughout a baby's first year and one of the most exciting milestones surrounds transitioning your little one to a sippy cup! Pediatricians may recommend trying it out as early as six months, while others may prefer to wait until closer to their first birthday. Oftentimes we wonder what exactly to put in the sippy cup to make it enticing for babies. In addition, how can a parent or caregiver choose which cup their little one will take to the best? If you have questions regarding this exciting leap, we have gathered a few tips and tricks to help make the transition an easy one!

Sippy Cup Baby

Are you wondering when to first offer a sippy cup? Depending upon pediatrician recommendations, coupled with your own parenting instincts, you can really start offering a sippy cup anytime after the baby is sitting up! Once they are comfortably sitting up in a high chair, you can start them off by handing them a sippy cup to explore. Perhaps the most convenient time to do this is during mealtime. They may not drink it at first. In fact, babies often explore by putting items in their mouth, so they may do just that, without even attempting to drink it! Depending on whether they have been breastfed or bottle fed, that may influence their realization that liquid is inside of the cup. Babies who have been given bottles are familiar with liquid coming out of a bottle, whereas a breastfed baby may need a little extra time to adjust to the concept. We recommend giving them a chance to explore the sippy cup and then you can even help encourage them by holding it up to their mouth so they can have a drink. Before long, they will make the realization that a sippy cup is used for drinking!

The decision surrounding what exactly to put inside of a sippy cup varies from parent to parent. Familiar liquids, such as formula or breastmilk, may comfort your baby as they try it out at first. Some parents may be eager to offer diluted juice and doing so in a sippy cup may make this new drink extra exciting! Fresh coconut water is another fun twist that can be offered to a little one. Coconut water in moderation is a great way to hydrate them, too! Try out a few different liquids to see if the baby prefers one over the other. Once they get the hang of it, they will be sure to love the idea of trying new things!

Toddler sippy cup

With so many sippy cups on the market, it can be tough to select just the right one. Selecting one that is leak proof, free of any harmful chemicals, convenient for cleaning and easy to sip on are among some of the biggest points to consider. Soft spouts are often a relaxed first pick as they closely mimic a nipple. If you have been using bottles up to this point, check with the brand that makes those bottles to see if they carry a sippy cup option. Sippy cups tend to be dropped often and leaks are certainly possible. Test out new sippy cups by filling them up and then giving them a shake, holding them upside down, mimicking any movement your baby may try to see how leak resistant it is! Many sippy cups are labeled as BPA free on the packaging, so by selecting one of those, you can be confident knowing that the materials in the cup itself are safe for drinking. Keeping sippy cups clean is vital, so choosing one that easily comes apart for sanitizing is important. We suggest selecting a couple of different variations to try out to see if one is favored over the other.

Regardless of when or how you introduce a sippy cup to your child, we hope these tips help you to choose the cup that best suits your baby! Looking for overall feeding time tips!? Check out our guide to feeding in our Toddler Feeding Guide | Top Tips for Feeding Toddlers - Organicbabyfood.shop. Most of all, enjoy this exciting milestone!