Sippy cup for bottle refusers?

My almost 5 month old absolutely refuses to take a bottle. I want to go back to work in just over a month, but I won't be able to do it then if I can't get him to take EBM somehow. Our Karitane nurse - after her first suggestion of putting off daycare until 9 months! - suggested that we may be able to go straight to a sippy cup and skip the whole bottle thing altogether.

So I was wondering, firstly, has anyone with a baby that refused to take the bottle, had success starting them early on a sippy cup? And if you had, was it with a conventional sippy cup (minus the valve) or one of the ones with the soft teats which are supposed to be easier for younger babies? I'm wondering if he will just spit out the soft teated ones given they're not really that much different to a bottle.

Also, does anyone who's been in our shoes have any brand recommendations - Tommee Tippee's Nuby, Avent's Magic Cup, Pigeon's MagMag, Think Baby...? Aaargh too much choice!

ETA: I know there are a few threads on sippy cups already, but I was wondering specifically about the bottle refusing angle. TIA

Edited by weegee

My plunket nurse suggested I try a sippy cup from 5 - 6 months of age, so have been giving Hayley water in it at most feeds. She is slowly getting better at it, and all I have at the moment is a tupperware one! but will be getting tommee tippee ones for when I go back to work
good luck!

We did this, using the Tommee Tippee Nuby sipper cup (the one with handles). It took a while but we got there. When I first went back to work, he'd take maybe 50mls max, and I'd mix the rest with baby rice - cos he was on solids, so at least he got some milk that way. But your boy probably isn't on solids yet eh?

So eventually, I just left the bottle thing and persevered with the sippy cup and even the normal cup. Once he was drinking a fair bit, I then tried him on the bottle again, and he took to it like a duck to water. So he's on the bottle now, just cos I find he drinks more from there.

Good luck! Maybe you could also give him the sipper cup to play with so it doesn't seem 'scary'

No advice regarding the cups, either (we're still trying to suss the breast feeding!), but perhaps start him with just 20ml or so of EBM.

That way if he throws his toys (or cup, as it is) then you're only wasting small amounts at a time. Water might be a bit confusing. But I know how precious EBM is so I can see what you mean.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

noah hates his bottle but has a cheap sippy cup and loves that he can even hold it. he absolutly will not even look at a bottle but while we were in aus mum got him to take two while i was at dreamworld.mayb get smeone else to try a bottle with him because with you he knows he can have booby

I was just about to say about the straw thing Peanut - Jack's on a straw too, although will drink small amounts from an Avent cup.

Jack took ages to go to a sippy cup (he has a bottle though) but one thing cuppatea mentioned was to take the non-spill valve off for a while if you can so the baby gets the hang of how to use it. Then when they get better at it, insert the valve again.

The only thing wrong (that I know of) with going to sippy cups at a younger age is the possibility of getting Croup. I don't even know why that is, but there's a higher chance. Having said that, the sippy cups these days are pretty good at having varying speeds of flow etc that it shouldn't be an issue.

(Oh, and for the straw cup, we're on a $2.50 dinkee cup!)

ohh weegee caden has that one too!!!
I just got the 6 months+ teat for him and actually likes it HEAPS better than the watties cup we have! Its a little cup and easy to hold and stuff!

bump