Skip to main content

Drinking from a straw

On a recent hot day, Henry and I went for a walk to a local coffee shop where I purchased an iced tea. When Henry saw me drinking from the cup, he immediately reached out his arms and started swinging his legs. I know that sign is a request for water, so I gave him the cup thinking that he might gnaw on the straw. But Henry surprised me by slurping the tea through the straw. Babies are not supposed to be able to handle a straw, but I guess Henry is an exception to the rule.
Henry is an expert at drinking from a straw.

After the difficulty we have had with sippy cups, I went in search of a small cup with a straw for Henry to use at mealtimes. Most straw cups are marketed for toddlers after they have mastered a sippy cup. In fact, there’s a whole segment of sippy-to-straw cups that are designed help children transition from a sippy cup to a straw cup.

I had a difficult time finding a cup with a straw that would work for Henry. I was looking for one with a lid to prevent serious spills and something that wasn’t too large. Since many of these kids’ cups are designed for toddlers they would be too big for Henry to hold. I wanted a clear cup so that I can see how much Henry is drinking and when he might need a refill. In addition, several of these types of cups are known for having straws that easily split or break after only a few uses so I looked for cups that will be able to endure likely abuse from Henry’s future teeth.

My search turned up two versions that looked promising. I ordered the six-ounce ZoLi BOT Straw Sippy Cup and the ten-ounce The First Years Take & Toss Straw Cup.
The ZoLi BOT cup requires too much straw suction for Henry.

The ZoLi BOT cup has handles on the sides that are easy for Henry to grip and the straw is weighted so it always stays at the bottom of the cup. The straw is a very flexible material and can pop under the flip-lid when it is not in use for easy portability. These are nice features, but the straw requires a lot of suction. Henry actually burst into tears when he tried to use this cup but the water would not come through. This cup is rated for children over nine months, so maybe we will try again when he is a bit older.
The First Years Take & Toss Straw Cup works great for Henry.

Next we tried The First Years Cup. This has a very basic design with a plastic lid that snaps and a thick plastic straw. They are simple and light-weight. Although advertised as “take and toss” cups, they can withstand repeated use and are dishwasher safe. These are supposedly designed for children over 18 months, but Henry loves these cups. They are the easiest option I have found for him. Now Henry can easily take a sip of water without being flooded by a huge gulp or spilling it all over himself.

We may try the sippy cups again in a few months, but for now Henry is so excited to drink out of his new straw cups.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led
16 comments
Read more

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest.  Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition, the
17 comments
Read more

Please Don't Feed My Toddler Cheetos

Our family has started a new chapter -- last week I rejoined the paid workforce! I am very excited about my new part-time job at a local history museum, coordinating field trips and special events. As part of this transition, Henry is now going to daycare three days per week.  Henry meets new friends and plays with new toys on his first day at daycare. Searching for quality childcare was a somewhat stressful experience. We visited 8 childcare facilities who had immediate space available for Henry to begin part-time care. I wanted to be confident that Henry would be cared for by experienced, nurturing staff in an environment that would challenge him to learn new skills and form friendships with other children. Of course, the added cost of childcare also had to fit within our family budget. While interviewing daycares, one aspect that I cared about was food. All eight of the facilities participate in the USDA food program , receiving reimbursement at a set rate for the meals they
5 comments
Read more