Sorry, just spotted my beloved child spraying water around the room like Moby bloody Dick and remembered that I had meant to write something about water. I'm still not 100% sure about the rules for Baby Led Weaning and water (what? there are rules?) but I generally just put it out for her to knock off the highchair table.
In the hot weather we've been having recently she has definitely been drinking more, but she has never yet picked up the spouty cup thing by herself other than to chew it. So I always have to pick it up and offer it to her.
As for the actual kind of cup, I've tried quite a few. The Avent Magic Cup magically prevented water from coming out of it and I've heard similar reports about the Tommee Tippee one. Still, I've bought the damn thing now so I'll try it again at some point in the future.
I've let Babybird drink from a glass (sometimes my own, sometimes a wee shot glass which fits her mouth a little better). That's fine but can sometimes end in a drenching, which isn't that practical when we are out and about.
We have also tried those crazy blue trainer teats that they sell in Boots. You just put them into a bottle and off you go, but as I am formula feeding (oooo-hoh, more of THAT later, my friends) I don't want the baby to get confused about what she's drinking so we're going to jack them in shortly.
What else? The very basic Tommee Tippee ones with the solid spout are quite good but seem to explode open when chucked from a highchair. But she can actually get water out of the spout so that is a bonus.
I suppose the best I've found so far is a Superdrug one with a wee straw which curls round the inside of the lid and up towards the spout. The baby seems to like it, she can drink from it, the lid stays on if it crashes to the ground, she doesn't have to tip herself back to drink from it and it doesn't leak badly. However, it doesn't have any protection for the spout so I always feel that it's a bit manky if I take it out in my bag. With the weather the way it is at the moment I just have it jammed into the side of the pushchair with the baby.
Thinking back, it's only in the last week or so that she's actually started drinking anything from those cups, though, so it's hard to say whether she's developmentally ready or tormented by the recent infernally hot weather.
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Have you tried a doidy cup? (available on ebay/from NCT) . They are slanted cups and barely need any tilting to drink from, the baby can also see the liquid coming towards them so barely any is spilt. The easiest way to start with them is to have your baby sitting on your lap facing away. I first got into them when I saw F was drinking his bath water! He sort of laps at the cup like a little kitten. I think it's great when a baby can go on to use any cup and it encourages them not to wander round with a spout in their mouth.
Oooh, another friend of mine told me about the doidy cups, i'd completely forgotten. apparently they are made in aberdeen so i suppose i should support local(-ish, i'm in glasgow) industry and buy one.
How long does it take for them to get the hang of them, Rachel? is it quick?
“The very basic Tommee Tippee ones with the solid spout are quite good but seem to explode open when chucked from a highchair. But she can actually get water out of the spout so that is a bonus. ”
Those are the ones that work for us…Surestart in our area are giving them away as they are good for development of the correct sucking/speaking bits of a baby's mouth. J has, fortunately, really got into drinking and will pick his cup up – he's been doing this since about 7/8 months. Even if he doesn't get it in his mouth evey time it at least shows us when he is thirsty!
Nell
thanks nell,
funnily enough Baby A has just swigged her most water ever from the plain Tommee Tippee. Must find out if i can get a free one round here…
Hiya again,
Just though I'd mention I bought 2 doidy cups and they are great. It's true, Archie drinks from it just like a little cat would. It's ever so cute to watch.
However, I have found that it is just as easy to use a normal drinking glass. (You have to hold it for him of course). Someone mentioned this on MNET and I though it quite a good idea as you don't need to bring anything with you if going out to eat. And added bonus, you can see him drinking through the glass…
boomer really enjoys drinking from a glass but it has varied results sometimes she laps it and sometimes it all goes down her top (which as its been so hot isn't such a bad thing). I tend to think when the water goes down her front that she isn't really thirsty as she often gets a few 'good' sips before she starts just dribbling it down her front.
My LO loves sipping from a glass too, which is fine at home, but recently whilst out and about I've been taking a spouted cup bought in a set from Ikea, which is shaped like a penguin, and wears a balaclava (well, what else would a penguin wear?) that protects the spout from grubbiness. The only downside is that it will leak badly even whilst wearing said headgear, but LO really loves it.
we have a similar cup from boots with a curvy plastic top which stops utterly nothing spilling whilst in transit, I've taken to jamming it amongst things under the pram. Granpaw took Boomer out in her pram recently and I had explained about the cup, he smugly jammed in into a plastic container of soft play cube things and headed off. Neadless to say he returned with an empty cup and wet cubes (that sounds a bit unfortunate!)
Surprisingly quickly! I really recommend them. he can take a few ounces this way of water, dilute orange juice or milk. I really don't want to go back to spouts now as it is a quite different drinking action.
Just to back up the other comments, I used a tealight holder for water from day 1 with my daughter because of the horrors I had when trying to wean my son off boob then bottle. At nearly 8 months, about 75% goes into her mouth. I follow a tip from Montessori education – have the water/juice in a separate bottle and only pour enough into the bottle to wet the bottom of the glass each time she empties it (down throat on or elsewhere). Baby gets enough to practice and both of us end up only moderately damp instead of totally drenched!
I also have always used a doidy cup or ordinary glass with my children: my son at 2 has never drunk from anything else (well, apart from a boob) and my daughter at 6 months is getting really good at it. Lots of people say that they use them at home but not out and about: you can perfectly well use them when out and about: you just take a bottle of water and a glass, and offer them a sip when you think they might need it. I do think it avoids the sort of 'permanent sippy cup attachment' that lots of children have: it seems a bit weird to me, surely children don't actually need to be drinking ALL the time? And if it's juice it's downright bad for the teeth. I would recommend also teaching your baby a few baby signs as my son could do 'drink' at 9 months and so could ask for a drink when he wanted it! Very handy!
xHatty
I also hate the permanent sippy cup attachment thing and as usual I've learnt the hard way with my other kids! I don't want anyone to be dehydrated and we should all drink more water but…
1) It doesn't teach them to drink properly out of a cup 2) I think the spouts are unhygienic and difficult to clean 3) unless they are drinking tap water, they are very bad for teeth 4) like dummies it's another think to lose and for them to get agitated about 5) I don't think it's a good idea to drink on the move – my dd is 8 now and has started to do it with a sports bottle in a pseudo-celeb manner – fine if it's very hot but something about it really annoys me 6) If they are constantly drinking it spoils their appetite for food 7) If they are constantly drinking it's really hard for them to hold their bladder and toilet train them later. Gosh, I'm stroppy this morning!
PMSL at your annoying water-drinking celebrity 8-year-old, Rachel…
And alight, alright i'm going to buy a doidy cup. Babybear does use a glass in the house but I admit to sticking a sippy thing in the buggy with her. I don't know if it's something I would have done under normal circumstances but her water-drinking stage coincided with the preternaturally hot spell we had and I was really paranoid about dehydration after being stuck in a traffic jam with no water (and no air con).
Thanks for all the great tips, I have been giving Boomer a Tommy Tippee which she handles quite well and I always give her sips from my glass when we are out and about. This morning I gave her a shot glass with just a bit of water and she just picked it up and drank it, second filling went down her top – but I'm still mightily proud. I think I'm going to make a real effort not to use the spouted mugs from now on.
Thanks to JandNMum, I've been following your tips about small amounts of water in a tealight holder – Boomer is getting to grips with it. She is good at picking the glass up and drinking from it – although I must say there is a certain amount of splash back. The return to highchair is a little more erratic with the glass often ending up in the catch bit of her bib. The plastic bib with catch scoop area actually is really useful – preventing the glass falling and catching the water that has ecaped her.
Hi, I'm -mk i'm new….
I'm going to try my LittleOne with a Doidy cup (did I spell that right)
the non spill cup things with a spout and and valve encourage baby to suck–that's how they can get liquid out so it's a misnomer to call them a sippy-cup as I've heard–they're sucky-cups!
The doidy cup sounds like a great idea
LittleOne–LO alredy grabs at my water glass when I have her on my lap when we eat out–Damn she's strong! I think she's fascinated by the cold wet smoothness of the cold glass to be honest–but she would tip it everywhere if I didn't help her hold on to it–and even then much goes down her chin and front
How do I post my own question/introduce myself BTW?
-mk