How to Get a Baby to Drink Milk Out of a Cup After Weaning
Where did the time go? You just got your baby's feeding routine down, and now your baby is ready for his next milestone: drinking from a cup. According to experts such as health.nsw.gov, bottle feeding can cause problems for your baby, such as cavities, tooth infections, toothache, ear infections from drinking while lying down and mineral deficiencies from not having enough variety in the diet. Before you know it, your bottle-warming days can be a thing of the past, and your little one will be drinking from a cup.
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Instructions
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How to Get Your Baby to Drink Milk Out of a Cup After Weaning
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Determine if your child is ready to begin drinking from a cup. Once your child can sit up by himself, tries to feed himself or holds the bottle with his hands when drinking from it, he is ready to start drinking from a cup. This could happen at 6 months of age, or at 9 months.
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Choose your baby's first cup. An ideal baby cup is small, light, has two handles on the sides, is easy to clean and preferably made of unbreakable plastic. Choose one in a color your child seems to prefer, or that displays a character she seems to adore. This will make it easier for her to accept the transition into using her first cup, instead of the familiar bottle.
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Fill the cup with 1 or 2 oz. of either breast milk or formula. Start substituting one bottle feeding with drinking from the cup. Choose your child's least-favorite feeding time.
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Sit by your child while you are drinking from a cup. Make this feeding time a bonding time and an opportunity for your baby to learn by example.
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Offer the milk or formula to your baby. Hold the cup with both hands and slowly help her drink the contents of the cup. Be patient and encouraging during this time. Keep a towel handy and gently clean any spills or messes. With more time, your baby will start trying to hold the cup and bring it to her lips by herself. Allow her to do that, and continue to be patient and encourage her when she does it right.
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Be consistent. Keep trying to get your baby to drink from a cup for the whole feeding. Don't switch to a bottle if the baby gets upset or is not catching on. You can always feed him a bottle later, if he gets hungry again.
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Stop putting your child to bed with a bottle. This is not a good habit and must be broken, in order to get your baby to successfully transition from bottle to cup. You can read him a story, sing to him or rock him. If your child is used to getting a bottle at bedtime, and it is difficult to get him to go to sleep without it, send him to Grandma's for a weekend. A different caregiver and a different environment can make changes easier for the baby to accept.
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Start offering your baby other beverages from a cup. You can give your baby other things to drink, according to her age. From 6 to 9 months, water is a good option. From 9 months and older, whole milk and juices diluted with water are good choices. Offer your child these beverages in her new cup. This will familiarize her with it, plus she will exercise the muscles she needs for her development. According to Dr. Linda at pediatricadvice.net, drinking from a cup "teaches coordination and strengthens the muscles in the mouth which are necessary for future speech development."
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Gradually start substituting the rest of the feedings with the cup. The goal is to finish this transition by the time your baby is one year old.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have any questions about switching your child's feedings from bottle to cup or any other nutritional concerns, contact your pediatrician, nutritionist or health department for advice.
Do not use a sippy cup. Use a regular baby cup with no nipples or lids with suctioning parts. Children drink from sippy cups using the same suctioning action they use when they drink from a bottle. This will not help your child learn how to drink from a real cup, and will not help him develop the muscles he needs to use to develop his speech.
