need sippy cup help-DR. says 9 mth old has to use it

[northerngal]

Hello,


Has anyone been able to get their 8/9 month old to a sippy cup or to a cup? My doctor says that has to be done so my baby won't hurt the surgery spot. Please help.

[Jeff Alterman]

You might want to ask your doctor if he knows of another cleft palate patient who has successfully been induced to use a "Sippy Cup". I think in the end a little patience may be all you'll need to get your cleft affected child to use the "Sippy Cup".

[Susan Thomas]

We went through the same thing. Our little one had to be weaned before surgery and totally adept at drinking from a cup. This is to allow the surgical area to heal and to prevent dehydration. We found that the best thing to do was go cold turkey, since Nate was too little to understand why he could have a bottle sometimes, and others just a cup. He had been drinking sips from a regular glass since three months. At ten months, we bought every cup known to man, removed the valves (they require suction) and never gave him another bottle.
Thirst is a powerful teacher, and he drank sips whenever he was thirsty. I also thinned his food to give him extra liquid. We had to move to cows milk because he wouldn't take formula from a cup.
The hardest part was he didn't "get" holding it for himself, and had no interest in learning. Don't let that discourage you if it happens. Just get your little one adept enough to get liquids, following along behind with a cup and giving sips frequently. About four weeks after surgery, if everything is alright, you can try straws, etc. I was goofy enough to try to give my son back his bottle--I wasn't ready for him to give it up! Luckily he was smarter than me and refused. At about 12 months, a month after surgery, he took to his cup like it was nothing at all. He now holds it, drinks, asks for it, the whole nine yards.
Try the "Luv 'n Care" cups from Walmart, the have soft spouts. And Gerber grips are good as well.
Good Luck!

[tinakjsmith@hotmail.com]

Our son (now 5 yrs old)(repaired unilateral cleft lip and palate) refused his bottle after his surgery at 9 months...we tried everything from a syringe..to every kind of cup and found the tupperware sippy cups or just the plain ones from Walmart with a clear plastic top with no suction things worked best. Good luck!

[Barb]

Brooke was suppose to have surgery in August soon after her first birthday.so I introduced her to a sippy cup straw open cup to her atabout 7months and one day I just went cold turkey.I heard alot of complaints from my parents and my inlaws but Brooke ajusted well.Make sure you take the vowels out so that it is not spill proof because it makes it to hard to drink good luck

[Anonymous]

We just went through the same problems with our 9 month old. He did not want to give up the bottle. We tried lots of different kinds to see which he liked best and gave him lots of opportunities to get comfortable. Finally, despite his protests, we simply took away the bottle. He has been doing fine.

[Elizabeth]

My daughter was a soft palate baby and has already gone surgery. She is 3 now. I also tried to take the bottle away from her and gave her a cup, she also had a soother that everything came out the morning of her surgery. It was tough but it was for her own good.