The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Cups for Your Baby
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Introducing a cup to your infant can be confusing.
“When do I introduce a cup?”
“Which cup should I offer to my baby?”
“What do I even put in the cup?”
If you’ve asked yourself these questions before - or something along these lines - you are not alone. How and when to introduce cups to babies is one of the most common questions I hear from clients and followers. And figuring out when to start introducing a cup is one thing, but add in finding the right cup, whether to buy straw cups, open cups, sippy cups, etc.… it can all become a little overwhelming. But, it doesn’t have to be!
I hope this article offers you some guidance on which baby cups are best for your little one from a developmental perspective and why. My goal is for the information here to help make it enjoyable and even fun to navigate the process of teaching your little one how to satisfy his or her thirst without relying on the bottle or breast (a developmental milestone during infancy).
When to Transition Babies to Cups?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends making the transition from bottle to cup at around 12 months while the USDA recommends weaning from bottles by 18 months and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry by 12-15 months.
Given how comforting bottles can be for some babies, it may seem unsympathetic to move away from bottles so young, but for the majority of babies, the longer we wait to wean from bottles, the harder the transition on the child, so the earlier the better.
Beginning to offer an open or straw cup as early as 6 months of age with meals is ideal, so that babies can become familiar with cups and how to use them. If you breastfeed, this means that you can potentially skip over bottles entirely which is helpful. But please also understand that if it’s working for both you and your baby to continue breastfeeding beyond a year as well, fantastic!
Learning how to drink from a cup is a developmental milestone and skill that can take time to learn - another great reason to start offering cups prior to your baby turning 12 months, but it can and should happen in addition to breastfeeding if breastfeeding is still working for both mom and baby.
In any case if you need help figuring out how and when to drop a milk feed and how to go about weaning, this post will help.
What are the Best Cups for Babies?
Trying starting with an open cup. It may seem like open cups should come later after your baby has learned to use a straw or sippy, but starting with an open cup teaches your baby how to take a small amount of water at a time and swallow efficiently, encouraging movements of the muscles in the mouth and jaw that support speech, swallowing and chewing.
Same goes for straw cups. Once your baby has become familiar with an open cup (they will more than likely still need your help holding the cup during the early months of learning - this is totally okay!), you can also try a straw cup which also supports the muscles needed for speech, swallowing and chewing and can be helpful for on the go.
Look for straw cups with a thin, short straw and no valve (see my recommendations below!)
Baby Cups to Avoid
Sippy cups (especially the ones with hard spouts) are not generally recommended for most babies. They can delay oral motor & speech development and lead to tooth decay and injuries, among other drawbacks. In general, it’s just best to avoid them.
Same goes for 360 cups which require different movements of the mouth that don’t support the skill building strengthened by open cup and straw drinking.
Also for babies, it’s best to avoid the “bite and brace” type of water bottles type that require you to “bite down” on the spout for liquid to flow.
What to Put in a Baby’s Cup?
Ok, so now we know that open and straw cup drinking are important to start working on, but you might be wondering what the heck should go in the cup, and what kinds of cups to use.
In general, it’s best to offer a small amount (around 1-2 fl oz) of water with meals only. Breast milk and/or formula are also options.
Here’s what’s important to know about water and babies:
From a physiological standpoint, babies don’t need water. They get all the fluid they need from breast milk and/or formula, which is the number 1 source of nutrients for babies throughout the first year of life. We don’t want to offer too much water which can potentially displace some of that essential nutrient source and put them at risk for protein, calorie and nutrient deficiencies.
Another risk of too much water intake in babies under the age of 1 is water intoxication which is rare, but very dangerous – especially for babies under 6 months. As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses that babies younger than 6 months should NOT be given water.
But – starting at 6 months, the AAP suggests that babies can have up to 8 fluid ounces of water per day. So a great way to keep an eye on water intake while using water to build baby’s open cup drinking skills (especially considering how much spilling is likely) is to offer 1-2 fluid ounces of water in an open cup with meals only (like these balanced baby breakfast ideas).
Offering a little bit of water at meals has other benefits too. It helps facilitate swallowing, and the washing down of pocketed food.
Some babies can get a little constipated when they start solids, and offering this little bit of water with meals can help prevent that from happening.
How to Teach Open Cup Drinking to Babies
Help baby hold the cup at first, guiding it gently up to the mouth and holding it to baby's lips, tipping the liquid slowly toward the mouth so that baby can take a sip. Lots of role modeling really helps!
If baby sputters, coughs a lot or seems to struggle with drinking this way, you can try thickening the liquid in the cup, which slows the flow, giving baby more time to prepare to swallow it. Watered down purees work really well for this.
How to Teach Straw Cup Drinking to Babies
Straw cups are helpful for babies’ development and a great option for when you’re on the go.
Choose straw cups that have a thin straw and no valve (see my recommendations below).
Another way to teach baby straw drinking is to draw liquid up through a short straw and trap it inside with your finger, then place it to baby’s lips and release a tiny bit of liquid into baby’s mouth so that baby starts to recognize that liquid flows from the straw.
My Recommendations: the Best 7 Cups for Babies
The ideal baby cup can make a world of difference when it comes to making the transition from bottle to cup, but with so many cups on the market right now it can feel impossible to know where to even start.
Here are my top recommendations for both open cups and straw cups to help make it easier:
Open Cups for Babies
2. ezpz Tiny Cup*
Why I recommend it: I love that the the silicone material it’s made of is gentle on baby gums and that the opening of the cup is small and perfectly shaped for tiny baby mouths. Another favorite feature of this cup is that it has a weighted base, helping it to stay upright (those baby hands like to knock everything over, don’t they?)
Price: $11.49
Why I recommend it: This cup is similar to the ezpz cup in that it has a weighted base, but it also has ridges around the exterior to improve your baby’s grasp and ability to hold onto it.
Price: $9.99
Straw Cups for Babies
6. Special Supplies Bear Bottle*
Why I recommend it: Teaching straw cup drinking is made so easy with this bear straw cup. When you gently squeeze the bear’s belly, the water flows up immediately through the straw, which makes it easy to teach your baby that when you suck on a straw, liquid flows up through it and into the mouth.
Price: $16.99 (3 pack)
Why I recommend it: The design of this simple cup enables it to be used as an open cup or a straw cup! Start as an open cup and then when your baby is ready to learn to drink from a straw, simply pop on the lid.
Price: $12.99
If you want to see the full list of products I recommend for baby feeding, check out my Amazon store! Spoiler alert: you don’t need much.
P.S. If you’re getting ready to start your baby on solids, or if your baby has recently begun his or her feeding journey and you need guidance on food sizing, balanced baby meals, introducing the top allergenic foods, and making sure baby is getting the important nutrients needed for growth and development during infancy, check out my new online course for parents, based on my best-selling book which will walk you through the whole process of starting solids using a baby-led approach.
