theallennuggets

Last week, as I was throwing a particular sippy cup across the kitchen, I thought I should tell someone how much this cup sucks.

We have a lot of sippy cups.  We have twins, so we have two of everything but I think we’ve tried quite a few of the cups on the market.  We have a few favorites and we have a few that we absolutely hate.  Before I got rid of the ones that make my life hell, I figured I’d tell someone.  Or everyone.  The world wide web.

The boys started with a sippy cup right at the one year mark.  We had been washing bottles, and all the bajillion parts that went with them, for an whole year and I was ready (and hoping the boys were too) for cups.

The boys have always been pretty open to trying new things.  We had no problem switching off formula to whole milk.  It was seamless.  Actually, after a few days on milk, they began to refuse the formula.  Oh the savings!  We introduced the cups around the same time and they actually preferred to drink out of the sippy cup.  Good riddance bottles!  (I might have cried a little bit).

Nuby ($13 – 2 pack)  

We started with these Nuby cups.  They had handles on both sides so it was easy for the Nugs to hold onto them and there is a soft “nipple”.  The Hubs hated them but I didn’t think it was any big deal.  At first.

The reason for the dislike is the nipple part.  It’s soft and rubbery – like a bottle’s nipple (which is good) but after several uses, they were quite difficult to get into place. I took the cup apart after each use to ensure they were cleaned well and it was a b*%$^ to get them back in place.  And Nuby states, “Listen for the click to ensure it’s locked into place“.  This is a joke.  If the nipple isn’t on juuuust right, then you don’t hear the click.  You unscrew it, try to manipulate it back into place, try to screw it back together to end up with the same issue.  Over and over again.  Then you give up and give it to the baby and it leaks like a sieve.

Tommee Tippee ($12 – 2 pack)  

Pretty quickly we moved on to the Tommee Tippee.  We really liked these but remember how I said I was tired of cleaning all the bottle parts?  Well Tommee Tippees have a little plastic and rubber inserts that have to be put together and then placed in the lid (to be spill proof).  We messed up a few times (there are little pieces that have to fit together correctly or else…) but got the hang of it pretty quickly.  These were our go-to-cups for six months. The Nuggets had little problem adjusting to the hard spout to drink, maybe a day or so of practice.

Pros: They are incredibly durable.  The Hubs even ran one over with the stroller and drug it along for a minute before realizing Weston had thrown it out.  Looks a little rough but works fine.  The boys were able to finally crack one of them after several months of use and one of them rocket launched it across the kitchen.  Cons: it’s hard for the boys to get the last couple sips of milk.  Unless they are laying down, they cannot get their heads back far enough to get the remainder of the milk.  Also, if you lose one of the insert pieces, you cannot replace them.  You have to buy a new cup.  I hope Tommy Tippee changes and starts selling just the inserts because spill proof is a MUST.

Tommee Tippee ($7 ea)  

The next step was for them to learn more “active drinking” via a straw. I went to the brand I had success with and looked for the “next step”  It was these cups.  They do not have a straw in them, so the cups still have to be tilted backwards to drink.  That’s not exactly the next step.  Although the boys drink out of the cups just fine, they can be confused with the actual active drinking cups we have.  Any of the cups that have a straw like top, the boys have learned they have to hold them down to get the milk out – not these.  Again, same cons as above.  I don’t use these as much anymore.

Munchkin ($6.50 – 2 pack)

 
Then, I bought these Munchkin cups.  The Nuggets really hadn’t gotten the hang of the straw yet – we even tried giving them water out of a regular straw but it just wasn’t clicking for either of them.   The only semi-negative to this sippy cup is the child has to have a strong suck.  Since the boys weren’t catching on how to suck via the straw, these cups didn’t work at first.  We put them away for a while and now that they have straws mastered, these cups rock.  We rarely use the little piece that holds the straw down (for travel and sanitary reasons).  Both boys just pull it off so I stopped putting it on the cup, unless we go out.

Nuby ($8 – 2 pack)  

Here we go again.  Same problems, different cup.  This was one of the cups I launched across the kitchen this week.  The same issue with the rubber aspect of this cup.  I bought these because the aforementioned cups were too hard to suck and this would help them learn “active” drinking.  It’s not as much of a “straw” but it’s not a nipple either.   The boys do have to hold them down, and there is a straw on the inside.  I rarely get the “click” and they leak far too often.  I’ve retired them.

Wow Cups ($10 ea)/Munchkin Miracle 360 Cups ($12 – 2 pack)  

On Valentine’s Day my mom brought The Nuggets little gifts.  One of them was a Wow cup.  There were four grown adults in the kitchen and none of us could figure out how this cup worked.  The Hubs gave it to Corbin and he put it right up to his mouth and took a sip.  Doh!

These cups simulate drinking out of a regular cup.  There is a rubber insert that connects to a plastic piece, that then is screwed on to the cup.  The boys just put the rim up to their mouths (like you would put the rim of a cup to your mouth) and then suck.  The rubber then lies back down and when they drop their cup, it keeps the liquid from coming out.  SUPER COOL. The WOW cups quickly became our favorites.  They are really easy to clean too. So when I stuck my finger through the rubber insert of one of the cups, I was quite sad.  I went to purchase a new one and found the Munchkin brand (less expensive).

Both brands are pretty much all pros.  Once, we were out shopping and the cashier saw Corbin drinking and asked if the cups held hot liquid because she wanted to use it for her coffee cup.  There are only two cons: 1. The Wow cup: if you’re not careful, it’s easy to push through the rubber piece.  The Munchkin brand has the plastic to back up the rubber piece so you don’t stick your finger through it.  2.  If these cups are thrown and hit the ground hard, they are not spill proof.  Example: Dropping them from the highchair.   Since it’s the rubber laying across the plastic, it doesn’t bode well when it’s pitched across the room.  Still though, these are my favorite sippy cups and probably the best for teaching the boys how to actually drink from a cup.

The First Years ($7 – 2 pack)  

The Hubs bought these cups because (believe it or not) he thought we didn’t have enough cups. The boys didn’t take too these well. He bought them when they were still exclusively using the Tommee Tippee and these cups had a very different type of spout. I also realize quickly, not quickly enough, that they’re not spill proof. So we’ve put The First Years cups in the cabinet and we can pull them down in a few more months.  The big pro to to this cup is it’s the only one we have that is insulated.

So there you have it.  Hopefully I’ve saved you from having to buy 89 types of cups like we did.  Each child is different though and you may go straight to a straw or stay with the double handled cup until they’re 5.  That’s just my two cents.

XOXO