How to transition from a bottle to a cup
Are you facing challenges with bottle refusal or looking for alternative feeding methods? In this post, I share our personal journey with my daughter Averley, who refused bottles after breastfeeding. Learn simple yet effective techniques like the straw/dropper method, the best open and straw cups for young children, and our top pick—the babychino cup! Whether your little one has an NG tube, sensory needs, or you're simply transitioning from breastfeeding, these tried-and-tested tips will help your child become a confident, independent drinker. Explore the tools we used and get practical advice to ease the feeding process.
10/9/20242 min read
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve spoken to mothers or seen on social media that a child won’t drink from a bottle, I’d be a millionaire. Okay, fine—that’s somewhat of an exaggeration, but almost!
I, too, was one of those mothers. My eldest never took to a bottle, despite being bottle-fed in the hospital nursery. Once breastfeeding was established, she wasn’t having a bar of it. With my younger two, I never bothered with a bottle, but similarly, they both had bottles as top-ups while breastfeeding was being established. This was both a blessing and a curse. I was fortunate—breastfeeding came naturally, and to be honest, it’s so much easier for organisation than bottle-feeding. I commend mums that bottle-feed (whether by choice or not), as it takes so much organisation.
But, there will come a time when you either want or need to transition your child to a bottle. Whatever the reason, there’s no judgement here, but unless bottle-feeding is established and continued past three months, the likelihood of a baby taking to a bottle is minimal. You can try all the bottles on the market—some have more success than others—or even try maple syrup on the teat (this was suggested by my paediatrician, though it didn’t work for us). Many parents don’t like introducing such methods, and I completely understand.
When Averley had her NG tube inserted, she had no issues with breastfeeding, swallowing, or aspiration. However, she wouldn’t take a bottle. So, we had to move on to methods such as an open cup, sippy cup, or straw cup. Here’s how we did it:
Small Straw/Dropper Technique – Using a small straw, or in our case a little piece of PVC pipe, we’d take some formula or water and siphon it up by holding a finger over one end of the straw. Then, we’d hold the other end to her lips. Once she put her lips around it, we’d lift our finger to release the fluid.
Open Cups – There are many open cups available now, some with clever designs that help parents control the flow while their child is learning.
There’s a wide variety of straw cups available too, but the Take and Toss cups can be a great progression from the dropper technique. Generally, the fewer "no-drip" systems, the easier it is for your child to suck the liquid out.
The B.Box cup is our favourite. It’s a great straw cup with a weighted straw. However, the child needs to build up strength in their suction to use this cup.
And our favourite tool for drinking—a babychino cup! Not only do they come with a straw so you can practice the dropper technique with the reward of getting fluid, but the coffee cup lid—just like Mum’s—helps encourage self-feeding. Even now, Averley loves drinking from her babychino cup.
Using these tools, and changing them up often, we gradually moved towards independent drinking. If you’d like to see more of the feeding tools we’ve used, you’ll find them here: https://benable.com/Littlelaneylife/feeding-supports.