Toddler won't drink enough from sippy cup!?

Question

We are having a hard time transitioning our 1 yr. old daughter from bottle to sippy. She is very good with the sippy, knows how to use it and drinks very well from it, BUT, we just cannot get her to drink enough from it. We were told she needs 16 oz. per day and we are LUCKY to get 1 oz. out of her at each meal. She just wants to take some sips and is done with it. No WAY is she going to drink the amount she should! We have tried straws and she CAN drink from it, but most of the time she just wants to bite it since she is really teething right now! HELP!

Answer 1

I was told as long as they are still wetting the diaper they are fine. They dont NEED to have 16oz, it is just recommended. Best bet is talk to the doc.

Answer 2

I say get a plastic cup that won't damage the teeth, and let her drink from it without a lid, see what happens.

Also, try going to like starbucks for a cup, they're soft and well designed for easy drinking as adults, so might work for a baby as well. This will give you a different type of sippy to see if it's the cup(and it's cheap).

Also, you're saying you're having a hard time transitioning. Well don't be in transition any longer, let her just drink from a cup if that's where you're going. If she knows she'll get the bottle if she doesn't drink enough, she'll just wait. If the bottle isn't coming, she may realize she has to drink more from the cup.

Lastly I don't know if they exist, but you could see if there's a sippy cup with a soft cap that's like the softness of a bottle nipple, to give her some familiarity while changing over. The texture/feel may be enough to encourage more drinking.

Answer 3

My son never wanted to drink out of a sippy cut either... so I bought him a cup with a straw. Gerber makes a cup with a lid and straw that will snap shut, and the straw has a valve to prevent spills. It works great! I mix half water, half juice, and just keep the cup filled all day long. As soon as it's empty or near empty, I refill it, and he goes through at least 4 a day. As long as it's always on hand, she'll drink when she's thirsty. And the straws on these particular Gerber cups are rubbery, so they'll feel good on her gums and won't break. I highly recommend this. It's the only thing that my son has used since he was 6 months old and still uses it today at 19 months. I posted a website with the cup so you can see which one I'm talking about. They sell for about $4 each. I have 2 on hand, but we usually just use one a day.

http://www.epinions.com/content_210300079748

Answer 4

Oh, Kristi...I've been there! I had a really hard time, and still do, due to my daughter being a preemie. Every transition for her is hard.

My only advice to you, is to try a NUBY cup. The tip on there is silicone and is very simular to that of a bottle. Most kids, if the tip of the sippie, is too hard or the texture is very different from what they were used to, they will have a difficult time transitioning. I found NUBY cups at Wal-Mart or Babies 'R Us for about $1.50 each. The only problem is they aren't leak proof when the cup says that they are. I just put them in a large size plastic bag for trips out and make sure that the cup is sitting upright in the diaper bag. Good Luck!

Answer 5

My answer would be a question actually.

Are you supplementing her with her bottle?

She may be good at the sippy cup but happier and soothed with the bottle. Our middle child (Daughter) liked her "bubba" more than we did. One day we were sitting in the living-room and a fly landed right on the nipple. She watched and then shooed it away. I saw my chance and took it. We told her the fly pooped on it and we'd better throw it out. To our surprise she tossed it in disgust and switched with more enthusiasm.

Might not be the right answer, that's why kids don't come with instruction manuals. It's all trial and error as each little personality develops.

If you're not supplementing and she starts showing signs of dehydration and isn't wetting her diaper. Or you're just plain worried. I'd have her checked over by a doctor to make sure there's not some underlying condition. My close friends daughter had a problem with the size of her urethra opening. She had surgery to correct it a couple of years ago. She's now almost 6.

Answer 6

i comprehend you're finding for style call yet with this suggestion, any sippy cup might artwork. I had a similar concern with my son, my checklist instructed me to in basic terms positioned water interior the bottle no rely what and then finally he will comprehend that for the time of basic terms uninteresting stuff comes from a bottle. tutor him you pouring the milk right into a sippy cup and after a on a similar time as he will take it. He can get nutrition D and protein from different issues and dairy from cheese until eventually he takes milk. My nephew did no longer drink milk for like a year and then unexpectedly loves it and he's healthful and wonderful. good success!

Answer 7

I have a 1 yr. old also and he isn't real wild about the sippy cups either, especially the ones with the hard spouts. What I found he does love are the nuby soft spout sippy cups. I found one at Walmart that actually comes with a regular bottle nipple with little nubs for teething and it also has the straw and the sipper. I started my little one with the regular nipple and now he takes the one with the sipper. My baby teethes really bad and I think having a soft spout will help your little girl out a lot. Hope she starts drinking more soon!!

Answer 8

My daughter did this as well, maybe enough isn't coming out of the sippy cup at a time and she just gives up, so try a new sippy. Also, sometimes I would just sit with my daughter and hold the sippy and every so often give her a sip myself.

Answer 9

I think the problem might be that she is geting tired of having to suck so hard on the sippy to get it to come out. If she's use to a fast flow nipple on her bottle then she may not be getting enough out of the cup. I suggest trying the sippy w/o the spill proof stopper in it. If you sit with her @ mealtime and supervise she'll stay a little drier. My son is 6 months and I've started him on a sippy w/o the stopper because he likes to drink out of a regular cup like you and I use. Maybe she would just prefer to use a regular cup like you. She sees mommy try it and want to too.As long as you hold it for her and supervise she can get most of her 16oz at mealtime and the rest in between with the sippy.

Answer 10

Try different sippy cups. My first child would only take a particular type of sippy cup. I tried giving her a different cup one time and she just wouldn't drink. I always try the cheapy ones first and see how they do with them. My second child like the $6 insulated sippy cup. :)

Answer 11

Try a faster and a slower sippy cup to see if that is the problem. But really kids need to drink particularly breastmilk/breastmilk substitutes until age 3 as this is their main source of nutrition. Yes there are risks to continued bottlefeeding, but none as serious as malnutrition.