it sucks to sip : by amy

Our babysitter that watches Logan on M/W/F typically starts to eliminate the bottle altogether when a baby turns one.  To prepare for this, we started introducing Logan to the sippy at around 10 months old so he could get used to it.  If you type in "sippy cup" in amazon, guess how many hits come up?  A mere 3,788.  Oh, that's all?  I rolled up my sleeves and started my research.  At some point, I got fed up by the fact that I was investing all of this time reading about a <$10 purchase, so I started buying a few at a time based on some popular reviews.  Including ones we received as gifts, Logan's gone through 12 sippy/straw cups to date -- 2 of which are still going through "testing" mode.  Please tell me I am not the only mom out there who's tried 10 cups on their kid.  I'm a new mom so cut me some slack!  I am still learning!

I realize Logan is still very young, so I know it's not 100% based on the cup, but, there were definitely cups where even I thought to myself no wonder Logan isn't even giving it a try.  Here were my 3 biggest losers:

Boon Swig Flip Top

This cup looks super-chic for a sippy (...b/c babies care about that), but I think this cup is adult-proof.  I typically test every cup to see what is required to suck the liquids out, and I was getting nothing but air on this one.  I even gave it to my husband to try just to make sure it wasn't me.  We were stumped.  Logan tends to throw up when he sucks on air, so I didn't even risk giving him this one.

Munchkin Mighty Grip

These sippies look pretty basic, right?  Nice contour and easy-to-hold, but impossible to suck stuff out of!  Yes, it has as a valve, but you can't remove it.

OXO Tot Sippy Cup

Again, another mod-looking sippy cup and with handles for easy-gripping.  This was actually one of the first ones that Logan tried, so it really could've just been him, but he wasn't getting anything out of it.  It also had a hard-top-nipple which I think he was confused by.  Maybe good for him when he gets a little bit older.

Obviously, all of these sippy cups have worked just fine for other infants/toddlers-- probably ones that were actually old enough to start using them :P  After the frustration of failed sippy cups, I decided to change my strategy: straw cups.  And then I found this:

Zo-li Bot Straw Cup

This is my winner-winner-chicken-dinner.  Why do I like it?  It has a flip-top cap so I can toss it in my diaper bag without worrying about the straw-top getting dirty.  It's also leak/spill-proof (as long as you twist the top on properly) so Logan can toss it around all he wants.  Lastly, and the big selling point of this cup, is its weighted straw which allows the baby to drink every last drop in the cup no matter how he holds it.  Logan can hold it up right or tilt it back, and he'll still always be drinking something.  This feature is what makes the expensive Lollacup popular, but the Zo-li offers the same benefit at a friendlier price-point ($5 cheaper).  Logan's been successfully sipping his water out of this straw cup, but milk is another story.  We're currently transitioning him to cow's milk, but the babe refuses milk from the sippy/straw.  My doctor tells me this is a very common issue and that we still have time on that, so we'll give him a few more months on the bottle.  I have a feeling that is going to be another adventure...

P.S. These are the ones that are undergoing "testing" -  the ones I plan to use with milk one day:

Thermos Foogo Leak-Proof Straw Cup

Munchkin Click-Lock Insulated Straw Cup