BOTTOMS UP!

It’s time for thrills (and spills) when your little one learns to drink from a cup. Here’s advice on when to introduce this new vessel, and which liquids to offer baby

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Changing from bottle or breast to cup should be a gradual and smooth process for your little one. Going from sucking to sipping requires a completely different mouthing orientation and better coordination in swallowing.

There’s no magic age for introducing the cup. Even a newborn can be taught to lap out of a very bendable plastic cup.

Begin presenting a cup with water at around 6 months of age to give your baby ample time to practice this new skill before his first birthday. If introducing a cup early, it’s necessary for you to hold the cup at first, gradually introducing a few drops of milk between baby’s lips and stopping frequently to allow swallowing—observe stop signs that baby has had enough or is uninterested.

Because the baby’s tongue-thrust reflex may not be completely gone at this stage, the protruding tongue may interfere with a tight lip seal, so that some of the liquid will flow over the tongue and dribble out the corners of the mouth. Most babies can’t master a good cup seal until after one year of age. Once your child is 1 year old, offer all liquids in a cup and not in a bottle. When babies are able to sit up by themselves without using their hands for support (usually between 6 and 8 months), they often want to ‘do it myself ’ and hold the cup without your assistance. Then you’ll need to use a cup with a lid.