Once your little one is born, their primary nutrition source is breast or formula milk. They rely on liquids, and their reliance on them never stops, even when they begin taking in solids.
Hence, first-time parents like you have surely asked and searched on the internet this question, When is the right time to give water to babies? Can I give juice and smoothies to my child? Which cup should I use for them to drink comfortably? You want to know the answer so you can give only the best to your child.
We are one with you on this goal. We’ve compiled the best sippy cups for toddlers and babies here. We also included the milk, juice, smoothie, and water treats you can fill it with. Ready to reap the benefits of having this knowledge and applying them? Keep reading!
Best Sippy Cup For Milk, Juice, Smoothie, and Water
First-time parents or seasoned ones are no strangers to the feeling of wanting only the best for your child. Your research ensures that everything your baby uses is the best. If you are anxious about which sippy cup to use as a transition cup for your breastfed baby, we got you! Check this out to get the best sippy cup for your baby!
Open Top/Spoutless Sippy Cup
Open cups are the easiest to find in the market, as people of all ages can use them. These spoutless cups look like real cups adults use. Indeed, you won’t have trouble searching for them, but this regular cup isn’t designed for your baby’s undeveloped motor skills.
Open cups are more prone to spilling, which can spoil your little one’s appetite and clothes and leave you room to clean.
No-Leak/Spill Proof Training Cups
On the other hand, you can also go for no-leak/spill-proof sippy cups. This best transitional sippy cup has spill-proof lids and is the ideal kind for your child’s early age. There are also designs with interchangeable lids in case you want to switch from a cup to one with a silicone spout.
The best leakproof sippy cup should have a handle, so your baby can have a better grip on it. It should be spill-proof on all sides of the cup or the soft silicone spout itself. The two features lower or zero out the possibility of spilling cup content.
Best Straw Sippy Cups
Meanwhile, you can also choose straw sippy cups as a latch transition cup for your baby used to breastfeeding and baby bottles. The sipping motion in the silicone straw can be comforting as it mimics the same motion when they suckle through their mother’s breast or baby bottle nipple. Straws on this training cup are either designed separately. You can buy replacement straws or weighted straw cups if need be. There is a pop-up silicone straw that ensures child safety and spill-proof features of the cup.
Soft and Hard Spout Cups
The time when your child begins feeding on solids is the same time their teeth start to come out. During this stage, your baby will be a little extra in wanting to chew everything. Do not be surprised when you see them using their hard spout and soft spout as their teethers.
If the sippy cup is for a teething child, it is best to choose hard and soft spouts over a spoutless sippy cup. Soft spout sippy cups are best for teething ones. A hard spout sippy cup is most suitable if they already have teeth, as they are more robust.
Insulated Sippy Cups
Milk is best drunk when warm, and when your little one has a cold or is feeling under the weather, giving them warm juice and drinks can be soothing. You do not have to worry about plastic sippy cups unfit for warm drinks as these usually stainless steel sippy cups are designed with insulation.
You can store them in the stainless steel cup for long hours, and the drink can relieve your baby even later as the drink remains warm.
Baby Drinks With A Fun Twist
Now that you know all the cups you can use for your baby’s drinks, let’s move on to the exciting part of what you can fill these cups with. Note that you can get different types of sippy cups you think will make your and your little ones’ lives easier. Other sippy cups also ensure that you have the kind for milk, juice, smoothie, and water.
Classic Milk
Milk is a baby’s primary source of nutrition. Mothers are encouraged to breastfeed because of the milk’s complete nutrient content. Breast milk is even mimicked as a golden liquid because it boosts your baby’s immune system, assists in brain and body development, helps mothers regain their pre-birth weight, and boosts mother and baby bonding.
Nevertheless, if not possible, formula milk is a great alternative.
Favorite Milk With a Surprise
An insulated sippy cup is best if you want to serve hot milk. They are a classic drink to be served for breakfast or before bedtime. Use the other types of sippy cups when you want to serve lukewarm or even cold milk during the warmer days.
And how can you make this regular baby drink more exciting? You can have milk smoothies, milkshakes, and other milk-infused drinks for your baby. Your creativity is the limit!
Sugar-Free Juice
There are different timelines to follow to know the best time for your little one to drink juice. Some experts think introducing juice to your little one is okay in their sixth month when they begin taking in solids. Others think it is best to wait for their first year.
The best way to know the best time to drink juice for your little one is to consult their pediatrician. And the most important thing is to serve fresh juice, without the additives and preservatives.
Juice Recipes For Babies
If grown-ups have cocktails, let your babies enjoy drinks and mocktails too. You can serve fruit and vegetable juices from tomatoes, carrots, grapes, melon, strawberry, cherry, cranberry, and more! Mix and match these healthy extracts to bring delightful benefits to your baby’s body. Some of the best combinations are mango-dragon fruit, carrot-pineapple, and strawberry-apple.
These juices perfectly match the various solid meals and treat you are preparing for your baby. Match their healthy oatmeal cookies with grapes or strawberry juice. After finishing their complete lunch and dinner, they can enjoy a sweet and healthy drink to wash off what they ate.
Fruits and Vegetable Smoothie
As a parent, introducing new food to your little one is one of the most exciting things to do. You may have already introduced to your kids their favorite treat—ice cream!
Serving smoothies is a creative way of giving something healthy to your little one. Because of the enticing color and texture of smoothies, babies want to consume them more. You can put them in sippy cups with straws, so your baby can sip on them conveniently instead of tilting cups up to let thick smoothies flow.
Exciting Smoothie Treats
Give them the same satisfaction of tasting something cold and sweet but also healthy through smoothies. Skip the sugar and go for natural sweeteners from fruits like prunes, bananas, strawberries, apples, avocados, and oranges. Do not shy away from vegetables; add some spinach, cauliflower, carrots, and pumpkin.
Preparing various smoothies with different ingredients benefits your little one’s health. Their bodies are supplied with various nutrients from these fruits and vegetables. And, of course, their taste buds go on a roller coaster of adventure, tasting one flavor and texture after another.
Water
How many times have you Googled the best time to give water to your baby? Your research will show that breastmilk has enough water content that you do not need to give your baby any other liquid during their first six months. Nevertheless, when your baby reaches six months and up, the task of keeping them hydrated is added to your to-dos.
Adding Wow To A Classic
You’ll find most sippy cups helpful for storing water. Yet, picking the sippy cup most suitable for your baby and the sippy cup they are most comfortable using makes them drink more water.
It would also be best to pick an attractive sippy cup design, maybe the ones that feature their favorite characters or cups with bright colors to excite your baby from using them and drinking the water content.
