The Search for the Perfect Sippy
It is amazing to me how many sippy cup options are out there. I think there must be at least three times as many sippy cup options as there are bottle options. It is rediculous. Gerber makes at least a dozen… or so it seems.
Elias’s and our favorite are these by Nuby
Here’s why I like them:
- The nipple pops out, making it easy to clean.
- They don’t leak, but don’t have those annoying separate valve to make them leak-proof.
- The handle is attached to the cover, not to the cup.
- These were the easiest for Elias to learn how to drink out of when we introduced the cup at around six months.
The downside is that when the baby shakes the cup really hard, it does sometime leak… but we haven’t had any big problems yet.
Other sippy cups we have, but don’t like as much:
- Playtex Lil’ Grippers
(I think Elias may like these better in a few months. They are a little big for him now and the top seems a little harder from him to suck than the nuby cups)
- Gerber Graduates Spill Proof Cup
(I like that these have ounce markers on them, but don’t like how the handles are attached to the cup by a ring on the bottom. A lot of times Elias slams the cup into his food on his high chair and food gets wedged in the ring. Gross.)
Kroger has some kinds of sippy cups, buy one, get one free this week, so I bought these two kinds to try:
- Cool Twisties Cup
(It says for 18 months, so I figured I can hold on to it)
- Another kind of Gerber cup without handles.
I had Gerber coupons for 75 cents off, so it made the cups only $1.25 each.
What sippy cups do you recommend?
I think I have tried EVERY sippy cup in the book. My son loved the Nuby sippy cups too and used them until about 2 months ago (he will be two next month!). Now we are using a sippy cup similar to the one with the straw that you have on the blog.
The problem we ran into with the nuby ones is that when he got more teeth he would chew on it as well as suck on it and it broke the little "slit valves" that nuby has. Then they would leak ALL OVER THE PLACE. We use a straw one now and it seems to be better. It was hard for him to get used to though.
My son never really has liked the "hard top nipple" ones.
-Amy
My son never really liked sippy cups, he much prefers sports bottles and straws. My biggest complaint is so few of the fun cups are dishwasher safe, don't know why they think I want to wash everything by hand….
Abby will take juice or water out of a Nuby-we use the tall ones without handles though. But she will ONLY take milk (as in throws a fit if I give her milk in something else) out of the Nuk cups. They have a handle that attaches to the bottom of the cup, but it is detachable, so therefore washable. I googled it and found it on this website-but you can get it at walMart and I think Target. http://www.drugstore.com/qxp165750_333181_sespider/gerber_nuk/learner_cup.htm
Wish, wish, wish there were all these neato baby products when mine were little! I can buy these for shower gifts, though.
If there is a cup on the market, we've tried it. I will say in the long run, hands down the prize goes to Playtex. They are the ONLY cup that will not leak. Some may fool you into thinking they won't, but over time, trust me, they will. You say you are a pampers snob….well, I'm a playtex snob. It's the only cup I use. Period.
We also started with the Nuby ones. We initially bought them because they were BPA free, but our daughter liked the soft tops best. When she got old enough to shake them so hard they leaked, she was also old enough to switch to a cup without handles. We found a playtex cup she likes a lot. I can't remember the make, but it is also BPA free.
We love the kind of sippy cups that have straws. Munchkin makes one and so does Nuby. They all leak. I hate the leaking. But my daughter loves the straws. So, decision made. 🙂
My daughter loved the soft spout Nuby cups UNTIL she got old enough to figure out how to smash the cup on her highchair tray and make the liquid flow out due to the pressure! Then it became a fun game of getting the cup to spill all over the place! So, now we switched to the hard spout Nuby cups that have a plastic valve. She refused to drink from them for a few days but takes them fine now. They are harder to clean, but they don't make as much of a mess. I wish I could find one that could withstand constantly being thrown onto the tile floor without splashing out or the valve popping loose! My child is determined to make a mess.
The Nuby cups always leaked for me, I never had one that didn't leak.
We use playtex with the plastic valves, gerber, and now munchins. I tried some others that were valveless because I hated losing and cleaning them, but my carpet, clothes, and furntiure were more important so I stuck with the leak proof valve sippy cups.
I don't like the gerber cups because they don't fit into cup holders, so once my daughter gets used to playtex and munchkins then I will switch her. She likes how fast the juice comes out of gerber.
Honestly I buy whatever is on sale. But it's mostly been Playtex or Gerber. I prefer Gerbers valves as they hold up much better and are easier to clean than Playtex. Both have extra valves for purchase so you don't have to purchase more cups if a valve gets lost or breaks. And we liked the Gerber cups that were insulated to keep the liquid cold. Now that he's older – 2 years – we like the Playtex Lil' Grippers. They have a version with a straw too. Though those are harder to clean and have two parts to the straw so it's easy to lose a piece. Also, we use the Gerber tossable sippy cups…but they have no valve so they will spill if turned upside down so best not to use them until they are older and less prone to dropping them and turning them upside down. It just helps our toddler get used to drinking out of a regular cup, which we do use as well when at the dinner table. All the sippy cups we've used we put right in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.
Playtex for sure. I have used them for all 3 of my kids. Sorry, Nuby is great as a starter cup, but once Elias starts really moving around with his cup, they leak terribly. Sorry to be the spoiler! =(
~Kristin
We had the same issue as Amy – our son chewed holes in the Nuby top.
Our absolute favorite is Playtex cups. All of them are great, no leaking, but you do have to deal with the valve.
We HAVE to give him his milk in a "Take and Toss" cup – he will not drink his milk out of anything else.
Mary – Playtex makes a straw cup now with a locking lid. It does not leak unless there is a vacuum affect after he pulls the straw out of his mouth and the liquid spurts out of the top. We've only had that happen like once or twice. The Munchkins leak like CRAZY!
My husband says we should write consumer reports for sippy cups. I've easily spent $100. on sippies in our sons first two years of life. Trial and error made us find the right one, and we were able to share the other cups that didn't work for our son onto children who had no trouble with the cups he would not take/couldn't use.
My LO isn't quite old enough for sippy cups, but my sister is a professional nanny and gets the chance to work with all kinds of different baby things. When I was registering for the baby she said she likes the Gerber ones without the handle because they are really great at not leaking.
Good luck with the cups. Let us know more as you figure out what else you like! =)
Nuby is my favorite sippy cup brand as well. Awhile ago I found a cup by Nuby that didn't have handles on it and was a little bigger. It also had a hard plastic top with a little no-spill valve that pops out very easily. I think it was around a $1.50 at Wal-Mart and I just love it (so does my LO)! Of course I always buy BPA free cups, but all the stores are doing a good job of selling that now.
we used the avent magic trainer cup in the beginning, and we loved them!!! the handles aren't attatched to the cup or lid, it is seperate…good for cleaning, and you can leave them off as well…here's a link on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Avent-7oz-Magic-Trainer/dp/B00005QBW6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1245170275&sr=1-6
Cristian loves the Nuby with the soft spout, but he actually started with the toss away plastic cups. We received them at our shower so they were all we had on hand when my husband just up and decided one night to introduce Cristian to a sippy cup. Turned out great, it only took a few minutes before he got the hang of it. The toss aways don't have valves, so they do leak a little, but they are really easy to suck and get the fluid out. This made it super easy for Cristian to master. I think he was like 7 months old at the time. We still use those when we leave the house, they are really inexpensive and I don't care if they get broken or lost!
My daughter's favorite: Playtex First Sipsters 7oz. She's a disaster when she eats, and needs sippy cups with handles for better traction. So far, for us, Playtex have never leaked and they wash and wear well.
Love these for starting off http://www.gerber.com/Products/Sip_Smile_Cups.aspx?PLineId=60decc66-4b21-45cd-a5ac-fc1fc2cdff10
and we use these still! They last forever and the lids and spill-proof valves can all be interchanged which makes it faster and easier.
http://www.gerber.com/Products/Fun_Grips_Spill_Proof_Cups.aspx?PLineId=60decc66-4b21-45cd-a5ac-fc1fc2cdff10
(the big ones with no handles) easy to clean, very durable (two boys, i know!!), and when they get older you can take the valve out.
We have found some of the Nuby ones with the rubbery tops don't last as long. The holes start to crack and rip.We also have some of the new Playtex insulated ones which keep liquid cooler longer and they have really cute farm animal designs and bright colors. Hope this helps!
Both of our kids LOVED the nuby's when toddlers, I think because they have soft spouts and work more like a bottle than a sippy.
As bigger kids, they like different ones. Parker liked the Dora ones that have the valve making it leak less (none are leak proof). Grant likes the Cars kind with a hard top, no separate valves on them. I can't remember who makes which ones.
We tend to use the Gerber ones (without any handles) the most. They seem to fit into her diaper bag the easiest! We started with ones with handles but she does fine with no handles now. We also bought parts to change her bottles into sippy cups, and though those are not my favorite I love that we are getting more use of out her bottles too!
Yeah!!! Thank you!!! We're starting the baby stage all over again….our little girl is due in October, so I'm loving this type of information….our youngest is 7, so I haven't had to think about sippy cups for a while. Thanks Jess!!!
I use both Sigg and Klean Kanteen reusable water bottles for myself and noticed that Klean Kanteen has a really cool kids' sippy. Here is the link: http://kleankanteen.com/products/kid/kid-kanteen-sippy-classic.html Good luck with your search!
We've tried a ton of sippies too! It's hard to find the perfect one. We finally started using the Avent brand, and I think that's what we'll stick with. It's amazing how different each baby is with what works for one and not another! I added your blog to my favorite blogs list on my site. Hope you don't mind!
Nuby's are awesome trainers – but once they get teeth and decide that they are fun to chew on, the little "stopper" at the top of the soft "nipples" break and then, leak.
For older kids – once they have the sippy mastered – I've LOVED the Gerber (I think) Sip & Smile. Yes, they have the valves that go in and out, but they make them so tight that I've never had one fall out when kids drop them. And they really don't leak. Really! But it's a hard "nipple" so not a good one to start with.
Just my experience. 🙂