open cup drinking
This post is sponsored by Aplainr, but as always, all ideas and opinions are my own.
Let’s dive deep into cup drinking, when to start, why, and HOW to do it!
When: Start at 6 months when you start solids. Meals + a drink go together! Your baby will only need 1-2oz of water max a day when starting solids. We don’t want water to displace nutrients from breastmilk/formula.
Why open cup: The oral motor patterns that you need for drinking from an open cup are more advanced than used for bottle drinking. When drinking from a bottle, the tongue is forward and under the bottle nipple as they suckle milk out. When cup drinking, the tongue must move back in the mouth, lips seal and the liquid is moved from front to back. The sooner you practice open cup and straw cup drinking, the more proficient your child may be which can make eliminating bottles around a year a little easier.
What to look for in a cup:
I was recently gifted Aplainr’s open cup and it honestly checks off all the boxes.
Here’s why:
It is made of 100% premium food grade soft silicone that is perfect for little one’s gums as they bring the cup to their mouth
It has a non-slip grip
It is wider, and weighted at the bottom to help reduce toppling over during practice
It has an hour-glass profile which helps make it easier to hold and move to the mouth
Dishwasher (yayyyy) and microwave safe
How to do it:
When teaching cup drinking, you can start with water or a thicker liquid. I recommend mixing a smooth puree with some water if thickening it. Always check the mouth for food before starting.
Fill Aplair’s cup about 3/4 the way to the top.
Place cup to mouth and wait for baby to bring lips to the cup and very slowly tilt cup until liquid is at the mouth. Liquid will spill out the sides of the mouth in the beginning.
Tilt it until baby has a small amount (1-3 seconds) then pull cup down and let baby swallow.
Repeat this process sip by sip. As baby gets more skilled and comfortable, thin puree by adding more water and less puree if you thickened.
Keep practicing every day, eventually baby will be able to hold cup and self-feed closer to around 10 months depending on age of starting.
Some babies want to hold the cup from the very beginning too and that’s great. You can help them steady to the mouth OR let them do their thing with a thickened water to slow the flow.
Baby coughing occasionally and/or water is dripping out a lot? Totally normal. Just practicing 1x/day is GREAT.
Make sure you grab a mealtime set from Aplainr. All their products are so well-made and sturdy, beautifully designed, and perfect for a starting solids gift. I also love the bib with the “all done” and “more” signs. It makes my speech language pathologist heart so happy!
I may receive a small commission on link provided in the article at no additional cost to you, thank you in advance for the support of my small business.
.
