Help! DS won't drink milk from sippy cup...

[andreschris]

I need help. My 22 month old ds used to drink milk in the Nuby soft sput bottles but 3 days ago I swith them to sippy cups and he doesn't want to drink any milk in them. He used to drink at least 4 bottles of milk per day, now he ask me for milk but when I give him the sippy cup he doesn't want it. But he can drink juice from the same sippy cup. The Dr. said that was ok if he gets his calcium from other sources, but I would like for him to drink his milk like he used to. And I know he loves his milk. If by tomorrow morning he still doesn't want it, I'm giving him his old bottle again . What should I do?

 

[Stephres]

Don't go back to the bottle. My little girl was the same way. She spent three days only drinking from water fountains! I was going crazy: I wanted to give her back the bottle just to save my back from lifting her at water fountains. Not to mention we didn't have a water fountain at our house! She eventually gave in and went to cups with straws and skipped sippy cups altogether.

As they get older, they need milk less and less and it's really not good if they drink too much because they won't have an appetite for real food. Good luck!

 

[cerberus]

I agree, do not give in and go back to the bottle. I would give it a couple of days, as long as he is at least drinking something, he is not likely to get dehydrated. When I first started using the sippy cup my daughter also refused to drink from it, but by the 2nd say of not giving in and giving her a bottle, she started drinking from her sippy cup

At age 2, he only need to drink 16oz glasses of milk a day, no more than 24 oz per day (American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines). Most pediatricians will also switch you to 2% or skim milk at age 2. We changed to skim milk in hopes of getting my daughter to eat more food.

 

[seeking pixie dust]

Have you tried the straw sippy cups? Neither one of my kids would take milk from a sippy at the beginning so we tried this - and it worked!

 

[grumpalina]

there are so many good sources of calcium other than milk! 4 bottles a day at 22 months is quite a lot. dd was the same way- once we got rid of the bottle, she drank very little milk. she started eating more solid/table foods. we just made sure that she got yogurt and cheese, broccoli, etc.

i agree with the PP who said that kids need less and less milk as they get older. try not to worry!

 

[MomtoGKC]

My kids did the straw cups as well. But if you want to stick with sippy cups there are soft spout sippy cups out there. I know Avent used to make them.

 

[tinkgirl2007]

Nuby also makes soft sided sippy cups which are great but more similiar to what he is already used to. So maybe you should give these a try.

 

[squirrlygirl]

Nuby also makes soft sided sippy cups which are great but more similiar to what he is already used to. So maybe you should give these a try.

these are the sippy cups that dd was FINALLY willing to drink milk from! The only other way she would is in a regular old glass that I held so she could take sips.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Did you try the Nuby sippy cups? My kids liked those when coming off the bottle.

I agree, do not give the bottle back, especially if he isn't asking or crying for it. And I also agree that 4 bottles for a 22 month old is a lot. At the age of 2, he only needs 16 ounces of lowfat milk a day. And if they are getting calcium from cheese, yogurt or other fortified foods like cereal and orange juice, they wouldn't need that much milk. Anything over that fills them up, makes them less hungry and prevents them from getting the nutrients they need from other foods.

But, I understand your frustration. DS is a very picky eater and I worry so much if he's getting what he needs on a daily basis. My pediatrician reassures me, but I just worry. DD, on the other hand, eats anything and everything like I do.

 

[Aliceacc]

You said he really loves his milk. So don't give in... this is NOT about the cup (since he's enjoying his juice in it.) It's about this cool new game of "Let's make Mommy CRAZY!!!

If he wants milk badly enough, he'll come around.

 

[cerberus]

Did you try the Nuby sippy cups? My kids liked those when coming off the bottle.
But, I understand your frustration. DS is a very picky eater and I worry so much if he's getting what he needs on a daily basis. My pediatrician reassures me, but I just worry. DD, on the other hand, eats anything and everything like I do.

1rockinmamato2 it is great to hear someone else say that......I swear my pediatrician laughs at me everytime we are in his office because I worry so much that my 2.5yo DD just doesn't eat. I am lucky if all day she eats 1 whole meal.
Where as my other 13mon old DD eats everything and anything
My older DD weighs 28lbs while the younger one already weighs 25lbs

I also see both of your kids were adopted...ours too!

 

[Aliceacc]

So was my son

 

[cerberus]

So was my son

Very cool, I see you are going in August...us too!

 

[Aliceacc]

It will be the first time for my kids-- I can't wait!!!!!
Where are you staying?

 

[cerberus]

Our first time with the kids too. We are staying at Windsor Hills. We will be in Florida for 2 weeks....1 week Orlando and next week Panama City so we really wanted a washer and dryer. We arrive Aug 17.
I think next trip we will staying at a WDW resort. I am getting excited about the trip, but not about the heat! But I figure it can't be any worse than when we took our older DD to Aruba last year, it was wickly hot and sticky!!

 

[Aliceacc]

I pm'd you, so we wouldn't hijack any more than we already have. My apologies to the OP

 

[1rockinmamato2]

1rockinmamato2 it is great to hear someone else say that......I swear my pediatrician laughs at me everytime we are in his office because I worry so much that my 2.5yo DD just doesn't eat. I am lucky if all day she eats 1 whole meal.
Where as my other 13mon old DD eats everything and anything
My older DD weighs 28lbs while the younger one already weighs 25lbs

I also see both of your kids were adopted...ours too!

Our stories sound so similar!

DS, who is 2.5 years, weighs 30 pounds. DD, who is 18 months, weighs 27 pounds.

DS is low on the percentile charts, DD is on the high end. Size-wise, they look like twins even though they are 13 months apart.

Congrats on your two blessings by adoption too!

 

[andreschris]

Well, it's been almost 5 days and ds still won't drink milk from several sippy cups I've offered to him. But I'm a little confused about something. He switched from baby bottle to the Nuby 9 oz Printed Insulated Cup (

) at 12 months. That's the cup he has been drinking his milk from ever since. But is it considered a sippy cup? Is it any different than a regular baby bottle? Should I switch him back to the Nuby ones? Has he been suffering this long for nothing? I just thought that sippy cups where supposed to be hard spuoted.
I'm a terrible mom.

 

[princessmom29]

Well, it's been almost 5 days and ds still won't drink milk from several sippy cups I've offered to him. But I'm a little confused about something. He switched from baby bottle to the Nuby 9 oz Printed Insulated Cup (

) at 12 months. That's the cup he has been drinking his milk from ever since. But is it considered a sippy cup? Is it any different than a regular baby bottle? Should I switch him back to the Nuby ones? Has he been suffering this long for nothing? I just thought that sippy cups where supposed to be hard spuoted.
I'm a terrible mom.

WAe used these cups when we had to switch DD4 to a sippy at 9 months to help with constant ear infections. I could not nurse her for health reasons so she took formula from a sippy for the next 3 months. There is a difference in these cups and bottles. They drink from these sitting up so the milk has no ability to drain back and irratate the sinuses, at least that is how my ped. explained it. Anyway, when we swithched to a hard spout cup at about 18 months because those cups can eventually lead to dental issues, and we did the evenflo ones with the long narrow spouts for a couple of months, then she would do a regular sippy. If al else fails you might try one with the snowglobe at the bottom from disney store as a bribe to get him to drink. They have some cute boy ones and they are almost spillproof.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Well, it's been almost 5 days and ds still won't drink milk from several sippy cups I've offered to him. But I'm a little confused about something. He switched from baby bottle to the Nuby 9 oz Printed Insulated Cup (

) at 12 months. That's the cup he has been drinking his milk from ever since. But is it considered a sippy cup? Is it any different than a regular baby bottle? Should I switch him back to the Nuby ones? Has he been suffering this long for nothing? I just thought that sippy cups where supposed to be hard spuoted.
I'm a terrible mom.

First of all, you are NOT a terrible mom. All of us moms struggle with issues like this. And your child has not suffered any lasting ill effects from this.

Yes, the cup you have been using is a sippy cup. It is soft-spouted. This is what my kids used when they were weaned from the bottle, which wasn't until they were around 18 months. For some kids it will take longer. Some will argue that sippy cups, especially the Nubys, are "glorified bottles." However, IMO, if they are using the Nuby as a true sippy cup then there should not be any problem. By "true sippy cup", I mean using it to drink from a meal and snack times. And, of course, they do not go to bed with them. As with the bottle, my kids do not walk around all day with a sippy cup. When meal time is over, the sippy cup goes up too.

If my kids would drink plain water, I'd let them have the cup as often as they wanted. But, even though we water down juice, I don't want them filling up on it.

You might want to try these:

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=165736&catid=26965

The spout is soft, but not as soft as the Nuby. These helped my daughter go to a hard spout.

My daughter still prefers the Nuby and we still give it to her at night time before she goes to bed. My kids don't drink milk with meals, they still have measured milk three times a day. I find it easier to keep up wit how many ounces they're getting that way. Plus, it's easier for me because DS takes so many medicatios and I just put it in his sippy cup.

Good luck. You are doing great! Hang in there.

ETA: We may be doing good in the bottle/sippy cup department around here, but please don't even ask me how the pacifier issue is going.