Using an Open Cup for Baby’s Development

Did you know that drinking from an open cup is a developmental milestone for your baby? And it can aid with teething, decrease tooth decay and help babies learn to have a strong swallow. I designed the ezpz Tiny Cup to help baby learn to drink from an open cup safely and successfully. Here are a few tips on why you should consider introducing the Tiny Cup to your little one.

DRINKING MILESTONES

Although developmental ages are approximate and vary with each baby, most parents are unaware that feeding milestones exist. Here is some guidance on the cup-drinking milestone.

Open Cup

Most parents believe they should transition their baby from breast or bottle to a sippy cup. Unfortunately, this is wrong feeding advice. Instead, a baby should transition from breast/bottle to sips from an open cup held by a parent. An “open cup” is a cup without a lid. You may be thinking about spills and mess, but the parent has complete control of the cup at the beginning of cup drinking teaching (ages 6-9 months).

6 Month Start

Developmentally, at 6 months of age, an infant should start to learn to drink from an open cup (held by an adult). This feeding milestone (at such a young age) is mind-blowing to some parents! But if you start cup drinking at 6 months of age, you will have a 9-12 month old that is a successful and safe cup drinker!

Swallowing

Drinking from an open cup allows the baby’s mouth to develop more maturely than drinking from a bottle, sippy cup, or 360-type cup. In breast/bottle feeding, the nipple dispenses the milk on the back of the baby’s tongue, and then the baby swallows it. During open cup drinking, the baby has to do all the work. Baby has to coordinate and move the muscles of the lip, tongue, jaw, cheeks, and soft palate and then independently position the milk to the back of the tongue to swallow it. Of course, teaching this skill takes patience, practice, and repetition – just like everything else in parenting.

Newborns

Sometimes I am called into the hospital for newborn feeding therapy. I work with parents of newborns struggling with latching and breastfeeding (and do not want to use a bottle). In this therapy, I teach them how to safely and temporarily feed on a cup while waiting for breastfeeding help from their International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (“IBCLC”). In addition, I teach international missionaries who go to other countries (where bottles are not available) how to teach newborns to safely drink from an open cup. So, with the proper cup (and some parent training), all babies can successfully use an open cup!

TEETHING MILESTONES

Babies can start teething anywhere between 4-6 months. Most of the teething babies I have worked with need some relief for their gums other than just a teether. Here are a few ideas on using the ezpz Tiny Cup with a teething baby.

Gumming

Help baby ease those swollen and tender gums by letting baby gum on an empty Tiny Cup rim. This process allows baby to get familiar with this new object as they hold, touch, and explore it with their mouth. The gentle pressure from the silicone will gently massage the gums and allow baby to work on early oral motor and pre-feeding skills.

Breast Milk/Formula

After you have used the Tiny Cup for gumming, try putting ½ ounce of formula/breastmilk into the cup to work on drinking (the Tiny Cup holds 2 ounces). Because it is made of food-grade silicone, the Tiny Cup is safe to use with cold, warm, and hot liquids compared to metal, glass, or plastic cups). So, feel free to warm up a little breast milk or formula each day to help comfort your baby’s inflamed gums. Have fun allowing your baby to work on this important milestone while decreasing their pain and crying. Score! Also, if you haven’t heard, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that parents use alternatives to plastic for their babies. This is just another reason to give the silicone Tiny Cup a try!

Sensory Protection

I have seen parents and therapists use a cup made out of metal, glass, or hard plastic for infant cup drinking. But if a parent or therapist has not been trained to introduce a cup safely, this can easily become a disaster. For example, there are times when a baby’s head control is weak, or their positioning is poor, leading to quick and unexpected movements. If baby is using a hard cup, they can knock out a tooth or split a lip. Ouch! These painful events can lead to a baby refusing to drink out of anything other than a bottle and missing out on critical feeding milestones. In addition to becoming fussy about drinking, this also places baby at risk for tooth decay.

Prevent Tooth Decay

The American Dental Association recommends transitioning from a bottle to an infant cup by baby’s first birthday. The solution? Use the Tiny Cup with your baby! Start with breast milk, formula, smoothies, or purees from an open cup at 6-9 months, and then you can start offering water around 9 months. The Tiny Cup was designed to provide sensory protection for a baby’s developing teeth for all liquids with its soft silicone, smooth rim, and flexible shape.

FEEDING MILESTONES

Feeding milestones for baby start at 6 months of age, which is the same time for cup drinking milestones! Here are a few ways to add the Tiny Cup to your feeding regimen.

Purees

The silicone material of the Tiny Cup is food-grade safe, making it a perfect tool for drinking first foods like purees, homemade baby food, soups, and cereals (thinned with breast milk/formula). Your baby can see the puree in the cup and begin to explore all the flavors of feeding time!

Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

BLW parents are all about focusing on fine motor skills and feeding development. Luckily, the Tiny Cup is the perfect addition to the Baby Led Weaning method because it helps babies be successful, independent eaters PLUS drinkers! Now, baby will achieve all their 6-month-old feeding and drinking milestones at the same mealtime!

If you want to incorporate the ezpz Tiny Cup that I designed with your infant, go to ezpzfun.com and use the code: BABY10 for 10% off at checkout. It just takes 5 minutes of open cup practice a day to achieve your baby’s drinking milestones! Let me know how it goes!