I have one overarching piece of advice for you: Standardize, standardize, standardize!
Though any controlling and freaky parent will want to know that she is using the absolute best brand of drinking cup perfectly suited to the environment and the ergonomic shape of a child’s mouth that will never leak… I just want you to buy four of the same thing and move on.
The psychic toll of having to match up lids to bases exceeds all those other benefits in my book.
Here are a few great brands, choose one of these and buy four of them!
When available, just buy into the entire sippy cup universe of one make and model. I aim for you to reach into a messy drawer, grab one lid and one cup and know that they will fit together. Go crazy and experiment with different lid styles (standard sippy, hard, soft, straw, or 360 any-side); I don’t care. That’s between you and your kid.
- AVENT. Terrific because you can grow from bottle to sippy cup and beyond. If this is already your bottle brand (Lord help me if you have more than one brand of bottle in your home!), just buy the replacement spouts and fit them to your existing bottles where the nipple fits. They offer a ton of different spout options that fit on the same base. Two (pictured) 7 oz penguins for $7.60 or a single training cup with drink-anywhere top for about $5.
- MUNCHKIN. Going straight from boob to cup? Bravo for you. Many parents love the Munchkin model of cup. I might buy four of these today for car rides and keeping near the bedside. Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup comes in a 7 ounce two-pack for about $13. The 360 Sippy Cup (no training handles) is about the same price for two 11 ouncers. Choose your favorite color combos and buy two. Lids are a single piece and allow tots to drink anywhere around the rim with no special spout
- SASSY. The Sassy Grow Up cup comes in a 7-ounce and 9-ounce design also with no spout. Handles are interchangeable on the four different models. Get two for either $11 (good price) or $22 (keep looking!)
- PLAYTEX. I am disappointed to report that my go-to brand for cups and lids has changed the design and made parents very unhappy. All hail the honest Amazon reviewers who sound insane getting up in arms about click and lock design flaws. These are my people!
I did not cover some of the many stresses you might have about transitioning to a cup from breast or bottle, so let me know what questions you have!
