. . . and Hannah Grace is completely off her bottle.
I don’t think I ever mentioned it here, but a few of my Real Life friends and family knew that Hannah Grace had no problems drinking water and juice from a sippy cup, but she would not give up her bottle when it came to milk.
Until two days ago. I had been offering her milk from a sippy cup for several days, but she always gave it back after a couple of sips because she wanted it from a bottle. Two days ago we had just gotten home from running errands when Hannah Grace wanted some milk. I already had some in a sippy cup, but I knew she was tired and just wanted a bottle and to take a nap. As I took the sippy cup from her bag to take in to the kitchen, Hannah Grace reached up for it. I gave it to her and she drank the rest of the milk from the cup! Ever since, she has taken milk from the same cup.
Of all the milestones she has hit, this was the first one I was actually kind of sad about. Which is ironic because it’s the one I’ve been pushing for three months. Go figure.
Anyway, if anyone is curious, these are the cups Hannah Grace uses now:
Munchkin Mighty Grip. This is the sippy cup Hannah Grace will drink milk out of. Easy to drink from, no spills if knocked over, no leaks when drinking.
Munchkin Mighty Grip Trainer Cup. It’s the same cup as the Mighty Grip, but it’s smaller and has handles (hence the trainer part). We have three of these in varying colors, so it’s fun to mix and match the cup with the ‘lid’.
Tommee Tippee Stage 2 Sippy Cups. I bought these (actually, we have these exact colors and they’re super cute) a couple of months ago because I’ve heard RAVE reviews about Tommee Tippee bottles, so I hoped their sippy cups were just as good. And they were! So many sippy cups have those crazy valves on them (to keep them spill proof), and they make it super difficult to drink from. These Tommee Tippee cups have a valve, but they are SUPER easy to drink from, AND they are spill proof. I also have not had any problems with leaks.
Also, notice these are ‘Stage 2, from 9 months on’. I’d like to point out that Hannah Grace would NOT have drunk from these cups at 9 months. Some babies will, but HG would not. Just don’t let a recommendation on the packaging keep you from purchasing this cup if your child doesn’t fit the age range. Hannah Grace is almost 14 months and will be drinking from these cups for awhile!
Playtex Sipster Stage 3 Sippy Cup. I used the Playtex Drop Ins system for Hannah Grace’s bottles, so I was already a fan of the brand. A family we are friends with who was traveling stopped by our house a couple of weeks ago, and two of their children (one who is HG’s age) were drinking from these cups, so I thought I’d also give them a try. They have a harder spout than the other cups I’ve talked about, but that didn’t stop Hannah Grace from drinking from them! I haven’t had any problems with leaks or spills either.
Also, notice these are ‘Stage 3, from 12 months on’. I honestly think the way companies ‘Stage’ these cups is completely arbitrary. I say that because the spouts on these Playtex cups are very similar to the spouts on the Tommee Tippee Stage 2 cups. And I’ve seen Stage 3 cups from other companies that have spouts that would completely throw Hannah Grace for a loop. So just use your best judgement when seeking out new sippy cups for your little one.
Sippy cups that just didn’t work for us at all were the Nuby brand cups. They leaked and Hannah Grace just had a hard time drinking from them. I tried the ‘bottle-like’ cups and the straw cups, and she just never took very well to them. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t try these cups out– they may work for you. They just weren’t the best fit for Hannah Grace.
This was long, and my childless readers probably didn’t make it all the way through (except maybe Amy K. who probably has the same obsession with kids’ stuff that I do, ha!), but I hope it helps someone out there on their sippy cup hunt!
