I however was determined to have him off the bottle by 12 months. This is what I tell everyone else to do, so I better practice what I preach. I however realize that this is not possible for all children especially those with Down syndrome. A: When your baby can successfully swallow a small amount of water from an open cup that you assist in holding. (They don’t need to be able to do it independently to learn a straw cup.) Chase the why. If your baby is older than 8 months and/or starting to show outright refusal or frustration, continue to stay calm and unruffled. Take a minute to ask yourself, “why?” Does your baby want to do it independently and you’re trying to help? Is your baby just completely baffled about what to do with the cup or straw? Allow your answer to guide your support. For example, if your baby is independent, you may need to be hands-off, even if that means your baby spills water over and over again. Put only a small amount in the cup, bring a towel to the table, and remain calm. Modify the recommendations above based on what you suspect might be contributing to the refusal. We recommend slowly weaning off of a bottle. This slow wean may take anywhere between one to six months depending on when this process is started and how well your baby adapts to this transition. When choosing an open cup, we recommend using a small cup that’s easy for baby hands to hold. Since you’ll be dealing with many, many spills, look for a cup that holds no more than 1-3 ounces. A small cup also makes it less likely that your baby will flood themselves with liquid. There are many cups on the market that fit this description, but a shot glass or small glass yogurt cup will do just fine, too!

When I first started thinking about using a straw our good friends at The Fun Housetold me that I should use a regular, good old juice box. She said that she taught her son to drink from a straw the first time by using this. I don’t know why I didn’t listen to her initially. She told me that I could easily spray a little bit of the juice in the mouth and once they got a taste they would want to figure out how to get more. And at only 2 ounces, you don’t have to worry about too much being spilled and it’s super durable and lightweight. Add only a small amount of liquid to a baby or toddler’s cup to reduce the amount that can potentially spill. (They do have a straw cap and lid, but it is not remotely toddler-proof so I don’t recommend it.) While open cups are wonderful for drinking at home, reusable straw cups are preferred by parents for water drinking while on the go because they’re oftentimes leak-proof (or at least leak-resistant). Some people are moving away from disposable straws for environmental reasons, but it’s still important to teach straw usage because most kids’ cups utilize a reusable straw, and as you’ll learn later that we don’t want to use hard spout sippy cups for oral development and speech reasons. Straws also strengthen muscles in the mouth that are important for eating and talking. Step 1: Using a straw (a standard plastic restaurant straw will do), use your finger to trap a *small* amount of liquid in the bottom.Step 1: Put a small amount of breast milk, formula, or water* (1-2 oz at most) in a cup. Show your baby how it’s done by bringing the open cup to the table at mealtime with 1-2 oz of breast milk, formula, or water in it. Bottom line: if you’re just starting out, skip the sippy cups. If you’re set on using a sippy cup, we suggest a soft spout over a hard spout because they are more similar to a large straw and might not pin your baby’s tongue down quite as much as a hard spout. And if you’re already using a hard spout sippy cup and your baby loves it, don’t overthink it. Just consider practicing a straw or open cup over the next few months to begin transitioning away from the sippy. What about cups with handles, or a weighted straw, or a cut-out or angled rim, or… What to do if baby is resistant or struggling with cup drinking Baby not interested in cup drinking

Help them guide the cup to their mouth and drink a small amount of water. Say “AHH” for them to repeat (this promotes swallowing).

The Search For The Best Straw Cup

Anna, the wonderful mother of Ellie, taught me how to really give the mouth a workout. She recommended putting a straw through the tops of pureed baby food, and so in this video you see Noah doing that for the first time today. As Annamentions in her blog post, this is a great exercise to help strengthen your child’s oral-maxillary facial muscles(try saying that 3 times real fast!)