Conquering the Sippy!

Oh my heavens... the sippy cup.  It has become a new fun game at meal time for Bman, it has been an interesting experience for me.  Let me just tell you that not all sippy's are created equal.  And even better yet, not all are even practical.  Well at least not practical for my little man.

Although having water with his meals is not essential for Brody, I thought we would start to introduce using one so he is a pro by his first birthday.  This dairy cow hopes to be able to retire at that point and I need him to start drinking his milk out of cups.  Plus, I get thirsty with meals so maybe he does too??
 
I had a few types pf cups that I was given at showers so I started with those.  Me, being the naive first timer that I am, offered him a Nuk brand cup with a spill proof valve top.  The cup holds 10 ounces and I of course thought it would be a fantastic idea to give him it full.  You know because he's used a sippy cup before and can lift this extremely heavy cup. Can you sense my sarcasm? As you can imagine this was a fail.  He was frustrated and I was holding it to his mouth in hopes that he would figure out he should grab it (I know I really am clueless sometimes.)  To say he was pissed is an understatement. 

The next meal I gave him a Playtex brand one with the handles.  What. A. Mess.  It leaked all over him and he was not happy that he was soaked.  He managed to lift it to his mouth but didn't really get that he needed to lift it up.  So I helped... and that's when the water leaked out everywhere.  Dinner was over. 

The third cup I offered had a straw.  I thought, sure let's give this a try.  Well he stared at it and probably wondered, "what does this crazy lady want me to do with this"?  The cup was too tall and again he has not figured out how to tip a cup to get water out let alone that he would need to hold it, then lower it, and manage to get the straw in his mouth.  For those of you keeping score, right now the sippy cup is winning and we are 0-3.

So at the store last week I decided (in a moment of being overwhelmed with the options) to buy the Take and Toss cups.  They are smaller and hold 7 oz.  This looked like a much more manageable size cup for my little guy.  It also is spill proof but did not have the valve like the first Nuk brand cup had.  I have offered this cup every day at mealtime for the past few nights.  He has mostly enjoyed tipping in over, dropping it on the floor and rolling it all over his tray, but tonight he finally got it!  It took him a few tries but after a few self corrections he managed to lift it up and sip the water out.  Smart cookie :)

Which sippy cups do your kiddos love?  I think he has started to figure out this cup but I am always up for suggestions on what may be better/easier for him to use.