Is it time to transition your little from bottle to sippy cup? Whether you’ve been solely bottle feeding or mixing it up with combination feeding, you may be wondering where to start.
To help guide you on this small but significant milestone, below are some top tips to assist with the transition. As well as some recommended sippy cups.
Weaning vs. cold turkey
There are two main methods for transitioning to a sippy cup: weaning and cold turkey. Here we discuss both.
Weaning
Let’s begin with some top tips on the weaning approach. It may take a little longer, but it will be less stressful.
Begin with a silicone spout
Silicone spouts have a flexible feel that bottle-fed babies will find familiar, making sippy cups with this type of spout ideal to start with. The Gentle Transition Trainer cup was designed specifically for this early stage of transitioning from a bottle to a cup.
Offer the sippy cup instead of a bottle
When they’re successfully using the sippy cup, you can use it to completely replace the bottle at regular bottle-feeding times by filling it with formula.
Cold turkey
If you’re looking for a quicker transition than weaning, you can choose to go cold turkey. Just expect a little more stress! With this method, all the bottles are gone at once with a complete overnight transition to sippy cups. That’s it. It’s as simple as that. Well, in theory anyway.
What we will say is that it is more hassle, but it does result in a much speedier transition.
The most important factor for success? Keep going!
Whichever your chosen method, you have to be consistent and keep going. It’s important to remember this when things get really tough and you want to give up. If you stick with it, your little one will be happily sipping on their own before you know it.
Choosing the best sippy cup
So, how do you know which is the best sippy cup? We’ve written a detailed article on the subject, which has all your essential advice.
At the start, it’s important to look for a transitional cup. As your little one gets a bit older and becomes a sippy cup pro you can choose between spouted trainer cups, trainer cups with straws and even 360-degree rimmed cups with sealed lids.
Hopefully you’re now feeling a little less overwhelmed about the transition and have an idea which sippy cup you should start with. Looking for more parenting tips? Why not check out our StrollerCoaster podcast?
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