Sippy Obsession

The first step is admitting that you have a problem. So here it is: I am addicted to sippy cups. I estimate that I have bought about fifty bucks worth of sippies, and when you consider that they only cost a few dollars each, that's A LOT of cups crowding my cupboards. I know I need to stop, but I just can't help myself! They are so cute and colorful - who can resist? I keep thinking I'm going to find the magical cup that Carter ADORES, which he'll drink his milk out of eagerly and effortlessly instead of sucking on it for a minute and then tossing it to the ground. It must be out there - right? RIGHT?? After all, the American Academy of Pediatrics touts the importance of getting them off the bottle by age ONE. One! Baaaah! Gaaaak! Booo!

...Ahem...

So here's a quick (okay, not-so-quick) inventory of our current sippy stock (most ordered from Amazon - addiction #2 - damn you, free two-day shipping!):

We started out simple, with The First Years Take & Toss Cups (like these, but not girly):

They are great for mealtime, when I need something quick and easy to clean, but not good for travel or daycare, as they leak when turned over and the tops can sometimes pop off when they fall (or are THROWN...) to the ground. Still, not bad for everyday, and you can't beat the price.

Then I discovered the Munchkin version, which is almost exactly the same, yet slightly larger and with the helpful addition of a screw-on top. Slightly better than the Take & Toss because the lids won't pop off if (when) thrown, but still not ideal for travel/daycare.


Next up are these, the Playtex First Sipster:

These are actually the first sippies that I bought for Carter (whoops - out of order) - they don't leak and he still takes them well, but primarly for water, not breastmilk or cow's milk, so I kept ordering more...

...and decided to get fancy and try this, the Thinkbaby Sippy Cup:

I thought the Roo would love it because it doesn't have a filter - instead, it's just a soft silicone top, like a big nipple. The problem is that the opening in the spout is SO tiny in order to make it spill-proof (which it is) that he wants NOTHING to do with it. I can't say I can argue with his reasoning - I use level 3 fast flow nipples for his bottles, so why should he suddenly have to start sucking harder than necessary?

Next up were these, the Nuk Gerber Learner Cup, which had the same problem - no filter=tiny spout=too much work for baby:


I also tried Nuby Sport Sipper, thinking that they were just like a HUGE bottle - what's not to love? According to Carter, everything.


Finally I wised up and decided to try a straw cup (DING DING DING!). These are generally for older babies, but hey, my boy's advanced.

First I got this, the Nurtria straw cup, which was TOTAL CRAP. Leaks horribly. Bad news bears, people!


After obsessively reading Amazon reviews, I ended up with the Munchkin Mighty Grip Straw Cup:

He is a big fan of this one and uses it to drink his water every day at daycare. It will leak occasionally if he has fluid left in the straw when he turns it upside down, but it doesn't bother me. I haven't tried breastmilk in it because the straw is slightly too short at the bottom, which would leave a bit of milk in the cup, and I'll be damned if I'm wasting my liquid gold. He's taken cow's milk in it occasionally but not reliably, and it's not the best cup to transport milk in when we're out and about because it's not insulated. Still, it remains my cup of choice for water.

So there you go - I found a cup he really likes. You'd think I would be done, right? Well, YOU WOULD BE WRONG, because any trip to Target ends up with my husband finding me standing wild-eyed in the sippy cup aisle, vulnerable and salivating over all the cuteness. Which is how I ended up with these:
Playtex Insulator (HOW CUTE ARE THE CARS??):


...and this, the Playtex Insulator Straw Cup:



He loathes the regular Insulator Sippy - loathes it. Miraculously, he actually LIKES the straw Insulator! He's even taken cow's milk in it (okay, ONCE...but it counts). When we run around town on the weekends, I take some cow's milk with us in this (I am trying to encourage the cow's milk drinking to slowly get him used to it, but I also bring along a bottle of breastmilk - just in case).

After weeks of crazed sippy-buying, I had to stop the madness and put a moratorium on it, so I didn't buy ANY for months.

...but just last weekend I was at Target, and couldn't help myself. So I ended up with these:
the Gerber Sip n' Smile:


and the Nuby Straw Cup:



Cute as hell, am I right?? Well, my son is clearly not into aesthetics yet, because he doesn't seem to care for either one. Hrmph.

So there it is - our sippy inventory in all its horrible, ridiculous, rejected glory. There might even be more that I'm forgetting. Why do you have next to no desire to buy clothes for your son and yet can't stop buying plastic sippy cups, you may ask? I know not. But I do know that he likes (or at least doesn't HATE) a couple of those straw cups listed above, so we'll be sticking with those for the time being, in conjunction with his bottles for his breastmilk (yes, I am still pumping, and he still gets three bottles of breastmilk per day and one bottle of cow's...but that's another post for another day).

I also know that the AAP can take their "no bottles after a year" notion and SHOVE IT, pals! To quote my fabulous pediatrician, he's not going to college with a bottle - so if my boy wants it, my boy gets it.

For the time being, anyway.