A girl and her Cup

A girl and her Cup

At 6 1/2 months old we started Sierra on solid foods. At this time, the doctor also suggested that we think about introducing a cup. Our pediatrician recommended that if we use a sippy cup, we take the valve out of the top (you know the ones they have these days that make the cups "spill-proof"). She said that when the valve is in, children need to suck the same way they do when they drink a bottle or nurse; therefore, they never really learn to drink from a cup - same concept, just a different container. She suggested that the best way to teach drinking from a cup is to use a sippy cup that allows water to flow freely. 

At first we were afraid this was a bad idea, from age 6 1/2 months to about 9 months Sierra would just dribble the water back out of her mouth or cough it up. It was very frustrating! However, around 9 months she finally started to "get it." She finally started drinking, swallowing, and enjoying her water. Since that time, we have started to allow Sierra to use a cup that doesn't have a valve, but leaks very minimally (they are actually cheapies, "Take and Toss"). Now, using these cups, she has really started to understand the concept of picking up the cup, putting it in her mouth, and tipping her head back to drink. 

To watch her drink from her cup like a big girl makes us so proud of her. This is such a big accomplishment and we are so thankful that she has achieved this. For awhile there, I was thinking maybe we needed to mix some juice with her water to convince her to drink from her cup; thankfully though, that was not necessary. Sierra currently only drinks water from her cups and we are not anxious to give her juice any time soon. Our pediatrician does not recommend it and that is fine with us; water is much cheaper! :)

Drinking her water like a big girl! Tipping her head back!

She can multi-task; drink and look around the room!

Yay! I did it!