My son wont hold his own bottle or take a sippy cup!?

Question

i need some advice. my son's pediatrician wants him to be off the bottle by 12 months. my mother says thats too early but the pediatrician says it helps prevents teeth from rotting. i can understand that but, i can't get my son to drink from a sippy cup or even hold his own bottle. i am slowly feeding him baby foods b/c i dont want to rush (i had problems with food. many allergies) i'm frustrated b/c he is 10 months and i have seen other kids his age hold cups and bottles. am i just worrying too much or will he learn eventually? can anyone give me some tips on how i can teach him? please help!

Answer 1

My daughter is a year now and holding her bottle al by herself but when she was lying down i put bottle or next to her or in her hand that way her was pushed to hold her bottlel Sippycup with milk or without milk she bite it & that's it,i can do anything but she will not drink out of her sippycup but i am living her for now just to make her inters for the sippycup  

Answer 2

My son is 6mth and has just started holding his owqn bottle... at first it wasnt going so well and he wud just clench his hands.. then i put apple juice in it lol! Try diff bottles/cups with handles and without and put diff drinks inside and if hes thirsty or even curious... he will drink!! Good luck!

Answer 3

As a baby my mom didn't even try to transition me to a sippy cup until 12 months.  Waiting until I was ready worked for her and for most kids.  You just need to wait until they let you know it's time.  Do you think your baby is aware enough to understand?  Mine wasn't. I have a 12 month old daughter who will drink from a sippy cup without handles and hold a bottle at night when she's laying back, but won't hold her bottle during the day.  My best friends daughter wouldn't do sippy cups until she was 18 months old, and her teeth are perfect.  

If you can't get your son to take some water by sippy cup at 12 months, just wipe his teeth with a wet washcloth after his bottle if you are that worried.  You ped. is more concerned with a child resisting the use of a more adult cup later when he is older than any physicla problems.  So, if you really need to: we use the Playtex First Sipster cup with water to get our daughter started (she doesn't like juice at all). She will hold a Nuuby bottle (w/ formula), but not with the sippy handles.  All we had to do was find something she liked to drink and help her hold it for a few days, then she was off on her own.  She wouldn't try to hold something just because we put it on a table next to her (maybe your kid is advanced enough to "get" that method though).  I agree with the others, you need to try many cups before you find the "one". Good luck!

Answer 4

set the bottle on the table and leave it there when he asks tell him he can do it

also avent bottles are to big (wide) for a child that age to handle so go ahead and get a sippy cup with a small "waist" it will be easier to handle

get rid of the bottles (as in throw them away dont just hide them that will be tempting for you)

if he still cant hold it then talk to his doctor as their may be something wrong and he may need developmental/gross motor skills therapy also his doc may have advice on how to get him to hold it

Answer 5

Leave it in front of him.  If he gets thirsty he will pick it up and drink it.  I've worked with plenty of kids who didnt hold their bottles and sippy cups.  They fussed when they were thirsty but he didnt hold it for them.  It might sound a little mean but he'll learn sooner or later.  

Answer 6

Your pediatrician is correct about rotting teeeth, but realistically use the 12 month timeframe as just that a timeframe. If it doesn't happen at 12 months then wait but it needs to be done.

I had my son learn to hold his bottle by having him lie down when it was his milk feed time. I would place the bottle next to him on a cushion. They learn pretty fast that to get the milk they need to start holding the bottle otherwise with every move the bottle falls out of their mouth. Once he's got this accomplished then work on the sippy cup.

With my 15 month old I initially tried the nice approach having the valve out and pouring the drink into his mouth to tempt him to use it (it worked for my daughter as it only took a few attempts). My son was tougher and refused and cried alot. In the end I brought him into the kitchen, told and showed him I was throwing all his bottles away, and gave him the sippy cup. Lo & behold he was happily drinking from it immediately.

Answer 7

My son was breastfed and screamed whenever a bottle or cup of any type got near him.

We had to experiment with brands.  

Nuby makes a silicon sippy/bottle that was the only thing that worked for us for transitioning but eventually they start to become a chew toy and leak.  

Ice cold water in the sippy made it feel nice on his gums and encouraged first use and self holding.  I never filled it more than half full if I wanted him to hold it on his own.

The First Years take and toss 5 oz little learner was also a good trainer.  They are cheap as dirt and leak slightly which actually seemed to help the little one figure out what the sippy cup was for.  They are semi-disposable.  They dishwasher fine, but won't last forever.

For more permenant sippy, the Platex soon worked best but it wouldn't have worked as a first sippy because the sip lid is hard plastic.

Work on getting him using an appropriate cup first then worry about him using it by himself.

Of interest.  I could never get him to use our advent cups or bottles.  I've spoken to a number or other moms because we had real problems with the transition and I was looking for help.  The Nuby and First years cups seemed to often be a solution.