Sippy-less Baby

One of the things *B* and I decided on when thinking about how we were raising Miss F is not to "baby" her too much.  We believe that kids can and will be more responsible than we imagine them to be if we give them opportunity and guidance.  One of the things I had heard about but never seen personally was babies using glasses rather than sippy cups.

We started to introduce a glass at about 6 months.  It just so happened I had some miniature Coca-Cola glasses that were just the right size for her hand.  But we realized that she didn't understand how to tip the glass back to get the liquid near the bottom.  So instead, we gave her a shorter Pyrex measuring cup that looks exactly like a shot glass.

At first, we held it for her.  There was a lot of modeling.  We'd drink and have her watch, then we'd get her to drink.  There was a moderate bit of choking, but we always took it slow.

Then, we seemed to forget about giving her water.  She needed to gain weight (according to the pediatrician), so she just nursed a lot.  But in the last month, we've made a concerted effort to give her a little bit of water after each meal.

At eight months, Miss F spent a lot of time biting the glass.  She clacked her little teeth against the rim.  Good thing it's fairly thick.  I'm not quite sure when, but she's stopped doing that.  

 

She did get good at holding it with just one hand, though we still encouraged her to use two hands.

 

Now, at nine and a half months, Miss F chokes a lot less when she drinks. It's more common for her to suck down most of the water, then sing into the glass.  She also likes to put the bottom of the glass in her mouth.  Obviously, that doesn't facilitate drinking very well.  But I think that she'll get to a point where she drinks more than she plays.

 

I've now started putting her water into a child's pitcher to pour into the shot glass so that she can see how that works.  As she gets older, she will be pouring her own water.