Sippy Cup and Pacifier - Any suggestions

My2Beauties wrote: OK Hanna is about to reach the 9-month mark!! Yippee! Any suggestions on getting that darn pacifier away from her without lots of screaming? She is becoming attached to it and that bothers me. I should have never given it to her! Anyways, also I know it's good to try the sippy cup now, all she wants to do is gnaw on it, chew on the handle, throw it like it's a toy, etc....Any suggestions on this? How can I wean her from the bottle? Oh yeah and by the way, my DF's grandma (old school) watches her and she p's me off because she says this baby isn't ready for a sippy cup yet, she keeps telling me what to do and this and that and it's making me mad. I'm afraid if I have her all weekend and try the sippy cup she's gonna continue to give her a bottle because she says she's just too young for a cup. However, according to every book I read 9 months is a good time to start sippy cups??? I tell her what my books say and what doctors say and she says "They're crazy!" I am about to pull my hair out!

mummy2girls replied: I dont have any advice for the soother because jenna was never attached to that. But the sippy cup thing...9 months is a good month to get her trying it. She doesnt have to use it by then but just getting her used to it at that age will probably help her to like it when you want her onto it. jenna was almost 19 months when she deiced to finally give up the bottle. I was told to leave out a sippy of water for her all day for her to get used to it. But with jenna that never really worked. I bought every known sippycup ever made.. hard spouts, soft spouts, non-spill ones, spill ones, ones with handles ones without, etc etc etc. Nothing worked until i gave her the sippy cup with the spout that is soft as a bottle nipple. and that worked. She refused to take any other sippy cup now. Jennas cousin was the same way so i told her mom to try the sippy cup jenna has and she tried it and it worked for her too. The one i bought jenna is at walmart in the baby section...the brand is called NUBBY there is different colors... Ill try and find a pic and post it for ya

My2Beauties replied: Oh ok that would be great! What gets me is that Hanna will drink from a can or a cup if something is in it, but not from a sippy cup Silly girl!

mummy2girls replied:
jenna did the same thing.. al i have to say is keep trying. sooner or lashe will get the hang of it and use it!

MommyToAshley replied: I think now is a perfect time to introduce a sippy cup. I introduced one to Ashley around 6 months because she never took a bottle. (She was BF) I recommend that you just keep trying, maybe get a variety of cups and just keep offering it to her...she'll get it eventually.

Someone here suggested the disposable cups (I forget who makes them) and Ashley loved those cups. It seemed to be the consesus around here as well, babies that didn't like the sippy cups liked the disposable ones. So, maybe give those a try.

The one mistake I made with Ashley was not introducing her to BM in the sippy cup, so when she turned 1 she refused to drink regular milk out of the sippy for the first few months.

HTH.

A&A'smommy replied: OMG that would drive me crazy too! I started the sippy cup with Alyssa when she was 6months also she does fine with it BUT when she doesn't want it or is done with she THROWS it REALLY hard on the floor lol its drives me crazy but i still have to try not to laugh. Also try JUST giving her the paci when she is tired and then after she gets to sleep take it away (if she spits it out) and hide it until she REALLY needs it again... I don't know if that will work but that is what my Uncle did with my baby cousin. Is it already time to wean them from the bottle?? I thought it was a year I don't know maybe I'm confused.... What does your book say about that? just wondering...

Alice replied: I would try to cut down, not eliminate, the use of the pacifier. If she still needs comfort at bed/nap time, I would let her use it. Perhaps you could confine it to her crib?? But choose your time: the first few days without it, she'll probably be irritable. Be prepared to give her lots of comfort and distractions.


Likewise, maybe you could get a few days together w/o grandma's influence-- maybe the Labor Day weekend?? Devote that time to the sippy cup switch... you'll have to find one she likes first, so you'll have to play with them in the next few weeks. That way, after Labor Day, you can bring her with only sippys, and announce to Grandma that she no longer uses a bottle. It will be tough trying to get her to work with you if she believes that what you're doing is wrong. This way, it will be a done deal.

Good luck!

My2Beauties replied: Thanks for the advice guys!



My book says that 9 months is a good time to introduce baby to sippy cup. But 1 year is the best time to completely wean them from the bottle, so you are right. I actually gave Hanna one at 6 mos but she really had no clue what to do with it. At least now she can suck on it better (I know they're harder to suck on then a bottle) but she still basically just gnaws on it. I have been taking the sippy cup over there everyday to his grandma with a little bit of formula in it and I seriously think she just lets it sit there and does not give it to her. Don't get me wrong, DF's grandmother loves Hanna to death but she is really old-fashioned and her children didn't have sippy cups so she believes in the bottle is best until they're old enough to drink out of cups. I try to tell her about research being done on tooth decay with children who stay on the bottle too long and stuff and she thinks doctors are crazy nowadays and blah blah blah! (It's funny because most of her kids who are in their early 50's mid 40's, she has 8 children, have false teeth or need false teeth---Go Figure that one ) I don't know if that has anything to do with it but supposedly a lot of them has had bad teeth since they were kids! Hmmmmmm

I thought about the long weekend thing too! That is what I will just have to do and while she is in my presence I will offer the sippy cup until she just refuses it and wants her bottle, after all I have plenty of time to work on this. I just don't like the remarks people get about older children on binky's and bottles! I definitely am about to start limiting her pacifier time to bedtime and naptime. His grandma thinks she's too young to be off the paci too......UGH!

Boys r us replied: I didn't read all of the other responses..so I apologize in advance if I'm repeating something already suggested. But Both of my boys were VERY attatched to their "binky". So right about the age that Hannah is at, 9 mnths, I began not giving it to them during the day and only at night. I did that for about a week and then stopped giving it to them at night. It's hard, I won't say it's not, but after 2 or 3 days..it's done and over!
The key is to be consistant!

As for the sippy cup. mine were pretty easy to transition, I just put all of the GOOD stuff in the sippy(juice) and only gave them water in the bottle and since neither of them liked water..the sippy cup was what they wanted once they realized the good stuff was there!

Good luck!

My2Beauties replied: THanks for you reply. I thought about the day/night thing as well, but the problem is is DF"s grandmother has her all day and I know she'll give it to her or get on me for not packing it for her because she is bad when it comes time to go to sleep with it. I think I am gonna have a talk with her and stress to her that it's gonna be for naps and bedtime only for a couple of weeks until I get a weekend where I can debote much cuddling and stuff with her when I completely take it away!

A&A'smommy replied:
UGH i'm sorry what book do you have? Well good luck with the grandma thing!

Boys r us replied: Actually, my dr told me the samething..to wean them off starting at 9 mnths.

He had me do two things at once, introduce the sippy and wean the formula. He told me to start with one cup of regular milk in a sippy for a week or two..and then slowly increase it little by little until all of the daily milk was in a sippy cup and regular milk, not formula.

My2Beauties replied: Thanks you guys!

Alyssa's mommy I have A week-by-week book that has what baby should be doing...etc...darn it for th elife of me I can't remember the name, I'll go home and then post it tomorrow!

Mailes_mommy replied: hmm i never have used a binky and maile started her sippy cup about 6 mos old but she is still nursed.

mommysweet98 replied: what a struggle .. i never took anything from my kids, i figure its better to let them decide, they are after all themselves and they know what they like and what makes them happy right!

my son gave up his bink at 6 months and bottle at a year, my daugter threw her bink at 3 months and started sucking her thumb and index finger (at the same time its kind of amazing lol) she still sucks those fingers at 2 (no big) she left her bottle for the cup at 9 months, i did not even try to get her to do this, she just liked the cup better i guess. the baby is only 3.5 months old so shes still clearly on the bottle

good luck .. but my advice is to not take it upon yourself to decide what she needs, let her decide and everyone will be happy.