How do you handle drinks for a baby when they can't use a straw?

[always dreamin']

My youngest DD will be 14 months old when we leave in November for Disney. She is using half bottle/ half sippy cup. She's doesn't have the hang of a straw yet. So my question is, what to you carry with you to give your baby a drink and how do you clean it? I just can't stand the thought of cleaning a bottle or sippy in the hotel sink...sorry, I'm getting hang-ups in my old age. Does anyone have any ideas on how I should handle this? Should I clean them in the baby station? Is it clean in there? Should I get something disposable? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[owensamo]

We stayed in the Beach Club Villas in March when my DD was 11 mo. old, and she was drinking bottles and using a straw-based sippy (the Rubbermaid animal-shaped ones with the flip-up top). We just brought our bottle brush and washed the bottles and sippies out in the kitchen sink in our villa. I think the sinks in the bathrooms in your room (which are cleaned daily if you're not in a villa) are probably just as clean as those in the baby care centers (which are also probably only cleaned daily, or at most a few times a day, and you don't know who used it last).

The last time we stayed in a regular Disney hotel room, we were at the Carribean Beach Resort. The sinks weren't actually in the room with the toilet/tub, but were in the vestibule outside that room, so they're not really *in* the bathroom. I'd probably at most scrub the sink out with a little antibacterial soap and just use that sink.

You might try one of those straw-based sippies, though - our DD, who *can* use a regular sippy, really prefers it. She started using it around 10/11 mo. and it works great. The biggest problem, though, is getting them to not tip it up to drink, because then it doesn't work!

Mur!

 

[Shelly D.]

You can also buy disposable sippy cups now. They sell them at most grocery stores, Target, Babies R Us and places like that. For vacations, that might be a good option. I don't think they are very expensive.

 

[jel0511]

Just bring a few sippie cups with you, a bottle brush and a small size of liquid soap. Bring an antibacterial one, and wash out the sink before you use it. That's what we used to do, and both of our kids are fine and NEVER got sick. I'd personally never use the sinks at the baby care centers. They are CONSTANTLY being used, and I think they are only cleaned once or twice a day. At least the sink in your room, after being cleaned by you, has only been used by you.

 

[BevS97]

I don't understand why you don't want to wash the cups in your hotel sink - you can wash them under the running water with some dish soap and a brush and they never even need touch the sink, but to be honest, I am sure the sink will be quite clean.

 

[roserae]

Try this in getting your dd to use a straw. Get some liquid in the straw by dipping the straw in the drink and holding you finger on the top to keep it in there. Then give your dd just a taste off the end of the straw, then give her a little more, and most likely she will naturally try to get more and start sucking on the end. After she does that, immediately put the straw in the drink and give her a sip. I bet she will naturally suck on the straw to get more drink and then she will know how to use a straw!

This worked like a charm on my dd and she was well under 14 months of age. I didn't know how to get her to drink from a straw and was so frustrated and my friend told me this trick. It worked immediately. My dd would forget every now again for a little while and I would just repeat the above and she would get it right away. Hope this helps. It's just so much more convenient when they are able to use a straw.

BTW, I think the sinks in the hotel would be fine also. You're still going to want the sippy cup/bottle even if she does use a straw I would guess. Good luck!

 

[Ratpack]

I agree with roserae, since you have a couple of weeks left, I would work on the straw. It shouldn't take too long to get your DD used to it. It took less than a hour for our DS to figure the straw thing out and he is 7 months old. Once he got it, the hardest thing was getting him to stop. Our next trip will be easier now. We will have to have a bottle for some Milk but we won't have to have extra ones for juices and water.

 

[shelleyz]

I use the disposable Take & Toss spill-proof cups made by the First Years. I use the 10 ounce but they have a smaller size too. I got 4 for $2.50 at Walmart. I am also bringing some dish soap in a travel container and a piece of a sponge I cut off.

 

[tjmw2727]

If you can teach your child to use a straw before the trip your golden. We used a 4oz juice box and gently squeezed until dd got the hang of it. This way you can bring the small juice boxes and even milk boxes for convenience.

If your not able to teach the straw - some kids just don't like them! then you will just have to tote a sippy cup or two. You can use the disposable brands mentioned but I end up reusing these many times anyway so you would still have to wash them.

One of the dish soap companies now makes disposable cloths with the dish soap already in them. I am going to get some for our trip. Even without a toddler we always have sports bottles, refillable mugs etc to wash. I just wash out the sink first and then "do the dishes"!

TJ

 

[mcnuss]

I just can't stand the thought of cleaning a bottle or sippy in the hotel sink

I guess I am really confused by this, bc presumably, you will wash your face, hands, brush your teeth in it, but not wash a cup? You can just make sure you've washed out the sink before you do the cup. But maybe I am just misunderstanding and you mean bc it will be inconvenient?

In any case, you should have no problem teaching 14 mo. old to drink from a straw over the next month. As others have pointed out, babies learn this skill pretty quickly if given time to practice.

One of the dish soap companies now makes disposable cloths with the dish soap already in them. I am going to get some for our trip.

We brought these on our last camping trip and they are fabulous. They are now on my "must pack" list (along with my ziplock bags). Just remember that you'll get several uses from each one b4 it needs to be tossed, just put it in a handy ziplock! Mine were Palmolive but now I see Brillo is making them too -- they are probably the same company, LOL!

 

[figment95]

A friend of mine gave me a great tip for teaching my kids to drink from a straw. Go to Mc Donald's and get a milkshake. Since they are thick, once you suck a little into the straw it will stay there. It only took a couple of minutes for my kids to figure out how straws work. Once they get the hang of the shake, they will have no problem with any drink. The only problem I have now is that they both love shakes!

 

[MinnieGi]

Our DD learned how to do the straw at Disney when she went at 14 months! She was never really exposed to straws before this but liked the idea of having her own Disney cup at meals so she just kept trying and it clicked quite easily after some practice.

When we weren't at restaurants though I had her sippy cups and bottles. I did not mind or have a problem with using the double sink outside the toilet shower area for washing at all. It was cleaned everyday. I brought our bottle washer and some dish soap plus a few dish towels. I washed everything before we went to bed and then put them all on a dish towel on the extra dresser in the room to dry. (This was at the WL).

I would think it be a big inconvience to wash everything at the Baby Station in the park and tote it back and forth between your hotel and park. Besides at your hotel sink it has only been family members that have used the sink after its been cleaned at the baby station loads of people will have used the sink before you do!

 

[always dreamin']

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! I see the point about not washing at the baby center. I guess there is no problem with the hotel sink; it was only my phobia's that got in the way for a brief moment.

I'm going to start working on the straw tomorrow! That would be so much easier if she took to it! Now if only I can get her to like cold milk or juice so I don't have to worry about heating beverages!

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by always dreamin'


I'm going to start working on the straw tomorrow! That would be so much easier if she took to it! Now if only I can get her to like cold milk or juice so I don't have to worry about heating beverages!

Good idea - start by warming the milk less and less each time until its room temp and then work on cooling it down a little at a time. With juices if you introduce the 4oz or 6 oz boxes warm then you won't have to worry about a cooler. We found with the 4oz there was much less waste as well. Another idea at this age is to introduce water if you haven't already. My girls loved the small sports bottles, I think they have 6 or 8oz and come in a 10 pack. (they have a soccer ball on the label!)

Have fun -
TJ

 

[Nette]

No offense to the OP, but for those of you who have young babies, if you'll start them with a straw before they lose the sucking reflex, you'll never have to teach them to use a straw.

My mom told me to do this because people were always commenting on how surprised they were that I could use a straw at such a young age. She hadn't thought about it until someone commented but my parents let me experiment with a straw from like 4 months!

I did this w/ DD when she was about 6 months and she uses a straw like a champ. Of course, right after she started using sippies she was trying to tip up the straw cup too and made a mess, but I think she's pretty much got the hang of both kinds now.

 

[ErinC]

Just a little reminder about straws. Remember to pack a few of your own for AK. They don't have straws or lids because of the animals( which I understand). With little children this can be a major issue. I always pack a few of my own, I just make sure that we throw them away in our room later.

 

[tw1nsmom]

Here's another vote for pushing the use of a straw, but for other reasons than convenience. I was a faithful sippy cup user until my son was evaluated and diagnosed with a global delay. All the speech therapists at his school say to get rid of, or avoid, the sippy cup as soon as possible (for all children). Sippy cups don't develop the muscles needed for speech the way drinking from a regular cup or straw will. In my sons case the sippy cup didn't cause his speech delay, but the sippy cup wasn't helping him progress. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Our little ones can constantly amaze us. When I took away the twins sippy cups (admittedly they were a little older than your little one) it only took 24-48 hours (messy hours) to teach them how to drink out of a cup.

 

[ahutton]

Our DDs still have the occassional challenge of tipping a straw cup - we say "Remember, sip, don't tip!" and they think the rhyme is funny and it seems to stick with them a little longer.

 

[always dreamin']

O.K. I'm working on this straw thing and I appears I should have started sooner. She doesn't seem to want to suck. Anyway...thanks for all the advice. I'm working on it!

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by always dreamin'
O.K. I'm working on this straw thing and I appears I should have started sooner. She doesn't seem to want to suck. Anyway...thanks for all the advice. I'm working on it!

Try putting something she really likes in a cup. Then do the "straw trick" as we called it when we were small. Put your finger over the straw, capture the liquid and then drop some in to dd's mouth from the bottom of the straw. Its so hard to explain or teach this concept and then all of a sudden they just get it. You can also try squeezing a juice box while straw is in her mouth! If that dosen't work just bring along a few sippies and have fun.

TJ