LilSugar

How to Get Your Toddler to Say Bye-Bye to Bottles

Kate Stahl — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:47:02 PDT

My daughter recently had her one-year checkup, and only one part left me slightly terrified. Not the fact that she is now weighing in at more than 26 pounds (no wonder my arms are looking pretty good these days). Nope, the scariest part was when my pediatrician informed me it was time to get rid of her bottles. I nodded my head and smiled, but my internal dialogue sounded something like this: "Sure, doc, and then I'll happily resign myself to a life with a child who never naps and screams herself to sleep at night."

While giving up the bottle is an important developmental step with long-lasting health implications, would my daughter really be willing to give it up? I'm happy to report, with a little research and some dedication, we're (almost) bottle-free only two weeks later. If you're in my boat, keep reading for some simple, but effective tips to get your baby off the bottle quickly and pretty painlessly.

Source: Thinkstock

OnSugar Blog: Sippy Cup Reviews

OnSugar Blog — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:16:15 PDT

Lots of moms like to think out loud and PatiBF is one of them. This is an excerpt from the latest post to her Baby Style blog.

Sandra never used a bottle, she'd spit them right out so we've been using sippy cups exclusively since she said bye to the boob shortly after her first birthday. It's hard to find a good sippy cup! And yes we have tried all of these sippy cups in my search for the real "no spill" sippy.

To see PatiBF's findings, read here. Want to see more? Start following Baby Style or start your own OnSugar blog. It's easy, it's free, and we just might feature your content on our site!

When Did Your Tot Give Up the Bottle For Good?

Rebecca M Gruber — Fri, 13 May 2011 08:16:21 PDT

Bottoms up! Doctors have long advised parents to make the switch from bottle to sippy cup around a tot's first birthday, but now they have a research behind them.

In a new study in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that kids who continue to use a bottle as their primary source of liquids at two years, and those who are put to bed with one, are 33 percent more likely to be obese at five-and-a-half years old. According to the researchers, lil ones come to rely on the bottles for comfort or convenience, rather necessity, "Prolonged bottle use may lead to the child consuming excess calories, particularly when parents are using the bottle to comfort the child rather than to address the child’s hunger or nutritional needs."

Making the switch to a sippy cup can be an arduous task that some parents put off out of fear of their children giving up milk altogether. When did you make the switch?

Lil Community: Foogo For On-the-Go Coolness

Lil Community — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:00:00 PDT

This post comes from our group The Children's Table from member MiaFT.

I just have to share my new favorite product, the Foogo thermos sippy cup. It is great for taking milk on the go for your toddler. My daughter Audrey loves drinking out of her big girl straw cup. They also have a thermos sippy cup, and a food jar. I wish I would have known about them before! So I wanted to pass the info to all other moms out there about this great product.

Do you have a favorite product or recipe that your tots love? Share it with other lunch making mamas in The Children's Table group over in the LilSugar Community!

Best of 2010: Our Favorite Baby Products

LilSugar — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:05:00 PST

Every year there's an avalanche of new baby products that promise to be the best on the market. Sometimes they are, but often times they don't live up to the hype. Among all of the products we test, there are those worthy of winning the LilSugar Editors' Picks of the Year. Here are the 2010 winners!

BabySugar Diaries: Battle of the Straw Sippy Cups

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:00:34 PST

When my son's doctor told me to transition him from a sippy cup to a straw version, I knew my one-year-old was on the right path. Over the past month, my tot had taken a liking to drinking water out of a real cup with a straw. But that's only convenient when we're at home or in a restaurant. As a second child, my lil one is constantly on the go and we needed a cup that was easily transported. I reached out to a number of companies and put seven brands to the test. Check out the results!

Bottles Up! Earthlust Birds & Bees Stainless Steel Canteen

babysugar — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:00:31 PDT

Trendy tots sip from stainless steel bottles! New mamas looking to bypass the plastic bottle drama have other shatter-resistant options than glass. Earthlust's Birds & Bees stainless steel bottles ($24) are eye candy. Insulated to keep beverages cold or warm for up to four hours, the containers are designed to grow with tots, coming with pieces to transition from a slow-flow bottle to non-spill sippy cup. Like Earthlust's grown-up water bottles, the Birds & Bees collection is BPA-, PVC- and phthalate-free, making it a safer choice.

Pura Kiki Offers a Stainless Steel Option to Plastic Bottles

babysugar — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:00:54 PDT

Could stainless steel replace plastic baby bottles? From stainless steel water bottle company Pura, Pura Kiki is a colorful line of baby bottles ($16 each) that convert into sippy cups. They're BPA-, phthalate-, and plastic-free, making them a seemingly safe option for new mamas. Unlike breakable glass bottles, stainless steel can be dropped or thrown and still be no worse for the wear. The bottles are compatible with most major brand's nipples (including Born Free, Dr. Browns, and Think Baby) and can be converted into sippy cups with a simple switch of the nipple. To monitor a lil one's liquid intake, the bottles feature interior markings rather than the traditional exterior versions. Would you switch to stainless?

BabySugar Diaries: Battle of the Sippy Cups

babysugar — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:00:23 PDT

When my son's pediatrician reminded me to get him started on a sippy cup, I found myself running to the store in search of the perfect first cup. Walking down the weaning aisle, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of drinking vessels on the market. I quickly grabbed the now-BPA-free version of the same cup my older son had used, washed and sterilized it, and gave my lil tyke the go-ahead. It hit the floor in the blink of an eye. After a week of him simply chewing on the nozzle, I went back and gathered up a few different brands to see which he would like. After a month, we have some clear favorites. Click through the following slides to see which cups made the grade in our home.

BabySugar Diaries: Six Months Is Sippy Cup Time!

babysugar — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:00:48 PDT

Just when a baby is getting used to eating solid foods, the doctors go and throw something new into the mix! We've been serving up a variety of food purees – including some great homemade ones that my lil one is gobbling up. But during a recent phone call with my son's pediatrician, he reminded me that my tot should be getting the hang of the sippy cup now so I can give him water on Summer days. I had completely forgotten this stage from my first child and found myself scrambling to find information about introducing kids to the sippy cup for the first time.

The American Academy of Family Physicians says, "The sippy cup should be introduced at six months of age in preparation for weaning from the bottle or breast at 12 months." When did you first give your child a sippy cup and did he take to it right away?