How often should my 8 month old drink from a sippy cup?

Question

She has three feedings a day, but doesn't seem too fond of the sippy cups I got for her. I think it may be because the spouts are too thin? How many of her feedings (or aside from feedings) should she try taking from a sippy every day? And do you have any "tried-and-true" brands of sippy cups you could let me in on that have thicker spouts? Thanks!!!

Whoo sorry there, I didn't mean to say she has three feedings a day, she actually has FOUR!!!! Sorry!

Answer 1

Your 8 month old only eats 3 times a day!!!!!! Thats a shocker. Mine ate at least 6 times a day and drank his sippy cup at each meal and sometimes in between. But heck, all kids are different. The sippy cup I used was Gerber and he loved them. I'd suggest to try a couple different ones and use the ones she likes. Sometimes with my son I'd have to take the little plastic things that plug up the holes out, because he didn't like to suck that hard to get his juice.

Answer 2

Munchkin Sippy Cups have a cresent shapped spout, are disposable, and cost around 2.00 for five. They are also reusable and have only two pieces so you can actually get them clean. Baby books say to start a baby on a sippy cup at six months, at least to let them get the feel of grasping it and throwing it in the floor. My son did not get the hang of it at six months, but when he found out that the good stuff was in it (juice) and not in his bottle he conceided pretty quickly. The sooner you can get your child to using a sippy cup the better it is on their teeth and infants are expected to be completely using a sippy cup by one year. That doesnt mean you are a bad parent if your child is still using a bottle, because we all like our sleep now and again, lol, but it depends on how your child is coming along developmentaly and whatever you decide is great. But babies are human and they wont die or be neglected if they have their pacifier until they are four or if the are headed towards infant obesity. (Calm down, I made that up, there is no such thing) Lol, the most important thing is that your baby knows you love her/him and if they go straight from a bottle to a cup it doesnt matter. Relax a little bit. But seriously, you want the munchkin cups. I have found them at walmart, but now with the other baby cups, they were over near the kitchen and dinner stuff, even though they are disposable.

Answer 3

We use the Gerber no spill cups with the funky handles and he seems to like it. The spout is on the softer chunky side, more gentle on their gums. It might be that she just hasn't had the hang of it yet, just keep on offering it to her once in a while and she'll get the hang of it. At 8 months, they should be getting 3 solid meals a day, but their main nutrition is formula/breast feeding. After my son nurses or gets a bottle, he gets his solids, then I offer him the sippy cup, he takes a few sips, enough to say he washed down his meal and he's good to go. I'd say he probably only drinks about 2 oz of watered down unsweetened juice all day long. Just work with her schedule, and don't fill him up on juice or water if it's time for a feed.

Answer 4

Sometimes it takes time to find a sippy cup they like. I use Playtex cups. Maybe if you find a cup that has a top shaped like a nipple (ex: sport drink bottle) it will fool her into drinking from it. Also, I would offer her the cup for any of the meals or all of them. Until she took to the cup, I would offer her the cup all the time throughout the day. Try putting juice in it or maybe some whole milk flavored with chocolate or strawberry. I would try anything to get her to try it.

Answer 5

wow, always a debate to be had...

I started my girl on a sippy cup at 6mths as I had heard the earlier the better and the sippy cup packaging said 6mth+ on it. First I gave it to her empty so she could practice holding it, and then I would put a little water in it to see how she could do. It's just a Disney sippy cup, nothing too special, I picked it because it could be fully cleaned (the spout comes off) and it has Winnie the Poo on it. :-) She still nurses so she gets her sippy cup just for water during and inbetween meals, then for the occasional glass of milk if I'm not around. Even at 11mths I need to help her a little to heft it up when it starts to get a bit empty as she doesnt lean back far enough. If it's full it's Ok, she can do it by herself.
How often to use the sippy cup vs bottle depends on your 'deadline' for stopping the bottle I suppose. The Drs like for you to stop around 1 yr I think, so you still have lots of time to go and I could see how she'd want to keep the bottle, especially at night. Let her keep it at least once a day! Babies like sucking on things, as all nursing mothers know very well LOL.

Alright, I read what someone wrote about how at 8mths a baby should be getting most of their meals via solids.I know this wasnt your ? but I have to say that is wrong... very wrong and I'm sorry she has a pediatrician who is telling her that. And certainly most dont think that!!! I've read tons about this as I wanted to make sure my daughter is getting enough milk. Milk is VERY important to babies (but what is this about cow milk before 12mths, that isnt good either), as well as for toddlers, and there are a lot of babies who are not getting enough. Like this woman's baby, obviously. Up until 12mths of age, milk should remain AT LEAST half of their calories. http://www.verybestbaby.com/ says: 'Just remember, until your baby is about a year old, her main source of nutrition should still be breastmilk or iron-fortified formula.' MAIN SOURCE UNTIL 1 YEAR!!! So saying at least half is really being generous.
According to the first article below, babies between 6 and 9 mths should drink AT LEAST 24oz of formula a day, and AT LEAST 18oz between 9 and 12mths. Solids should be slowly introduced... obviously slower than most do. It's mostly just practice, and not about providing calories, for the first yr of their life.

Sorry about the first part of the article talking about breastfeeding, but at the end it has a table showing ages and min/max oz's that should be given a day.

I dont know the portion sizes that others are giving, but I just recently moved from solids twice a day (lunch and dinner) to adding some fruit after she nurses in the afternoon. I guess that was at 10 1/2mths...

Answer 6

Offer the sippy cups 3-4 days a day aside from meal time with water or juice to get him/her used to it. It is just a matter of getting used to the difference.

Answer 7

I would just let her keep using a bottle for now & in another month try the sippy cup again as she get's older she will be more interested in the sippy cup.

Answer 8

This mainly depends on how soon you plan to completely wean your baby from her bottle. My son was weaned at 10 months, with no problems. You should actually try to offer her a sippy cup at each meal time. At any meal where your daughter sits in a highchair and is fed baby food or solid table food, fill a sippy cup with cow's milk (YES! It IS safe this young, just not exclusively, give only around 4 ounces of cow's milk per day and increase the amount slowly as she gets older), watered down juice (half juice, half water), baby formula, or breast milk. Offer her the cup, Encourage her to hold it herself, and if she can't get it into her mouth to drink, help her!

As for specific brands, Nuby makes an excellent line of sippy cups and bottles, as well. They make a set that comes with a bottle spout, and interchangable cup spout. You let your baby get used to holding the bottle and drinking from the nipple, and then just change the spout. Their spouts are also soft, and make weaning easier. In addition, they make several different styles of cups, as well as two different spout shapes, one traditional, and another round sport sipper. They have contoured cups, as well as cups with handles.

Another idea you might try is to simply fill a cup with water, or watered down juice, and leave it nearby where your daughter is playing and can get to it easily. Offer it to her at random intervals, letting her have a sip every 30 minutes or so. Not only will this help to keep her hydrated through out the day, it will also get her used to drinking more water, and take the pressure off drinking from a sippy.

Good Luck!

Edit---To the person who posted right before me, if you read this, just wanted to say that most Pediatricians and Pediatric Experts recommend that once a child is 6 months old, and most definately by 9 months, most of their nutrients should come from solid food. Solid food should be offered first, with a sippy cup as company, filled with an acceptable liquid. A bottle should come AFTER each meal and at bedtime. Eventually, by 1 year, children should give up their after-meal bottles and breastfeeding, slowly transitioning to a single milk-feeding at bedtime, and finally give that up, as well.

Answer 9

ok dont listen to the above answers my son took to the sippy cup at 8 months no problem. if she isnt taking to it she might not be ready. my son perfers nuby sippy cups while my daughter likes gerber the ones with the handles. by now formula should be considered a drink and not a feeding though she should be on solids and give her a drink when she wants a drink.

Answer 10

Eight months old is a bit young to juggle a cup sucessfully. You might try offering it once a day for now and allow her to use it more often in another month or so. She may get used to a certain type of spout but its likely more just the difference between a spout and a nipple.