How To Wean Your Baby Off Breast Or Bottle

Are you ready to stop breastfeeding or get your baby off a bottle? Helping your baby or toddler wean off breast or bottle to a cup without a nipple or straw doesn’t have to be difficult. It is recommended by The American Dental Association (ADA) that your baby has transitioned to a sippy cup by 12 months of age.

This isn’t saying that breastfeeding isn’t still okay at this time. Just that they are no longer using a bottle.

It really is easy to transition a baby to a sippy cup, especially if they’ve never used a bottle before.

In this post, I’ll share with you how to gradually transition your baby to a sippy cup.

Disclaimer: Always consult with your pediatrician as to what is best for your child’s health. I’m not a professional, just a mom sharing learned knowledge through what has worked for her own child.

This post contains affiliate links which means that I will make a small commission if you purchase a product after clicking on any of them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

What Age Should You Introduce A Sippy Cup?

There is no specific age that you must to give your child a sippy cup. But around 6 months of age, your child may start showing interest in playing with one and learning to drink like mommy and daddy. That is the perfect time to introduce the Miracle 360 training cup.

What Are Signs Your Baby Is Ready For A Sippy Cup?

The signs will be obvious when your baby starts to gain interest in drinking from a cup. Here are a few things you’ll notice them doing:

While sitting with you, they may tilt their head back and open their mouth when they see you drinking from a cup
Trying to grab for your cup

How To Wean Your Baby off Breast or Bottle

When your baby shows any sign of being interested in a cup, hand them their 360 trainer cup.
Help them drink from it by putting it to their mouth
Let them hold it and play with it on their own while supervising them
Fill it with a drink they’ve never tried before when you first introduce it

Right when my 6-month-old baby started showing interest in cups, I grabbed our Munchkin sippy cup I’ve been waiting to use, filled it with water and let her play with it for a while. (Ask your pediatrician how much water intake is safe for your baby’s age) I helped her get it to her mouth and she did the rest! It was like she already knew how to use it! She started to suck on the rim of the cup like she would when breastfeeding and got a yummy new drink. She had never tried water before then, but now she loves playing with her cup.

Related: Are there toxic heavy metals in your baby’s food? Find out how to keep your baby safe when eating solids.

What Is the Best Sippy Cup For Transitioning?

The absolute best sippy cup to wean baby off breast or bottle is the Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup. My baby has been exclusively breastfed up until she started using this sippy cup. Not because we never tried bottles, we did, she just refused to use one. But she loves the 360 trainer cup. Probably because she’s trying to copy how mom and dad drink now.

I love it just as much as she does. I enjoy seeing her develop and learn new life skills and having fun doing it because she sees her sippy cup as a toy that gives her something good to drink. On top of that, it never creates a mess because the lid is fully sealed unless being sucked on. So it won’t get liquid all over the floor or in your diaper bag. It’s also BPA free and dentist recommended for good mouth muscle development in children.

How To Properly Clean It:

They’re easy to clean. Some parents say these sippy cups grow mold. That’s only because they don’t take them apart to clean them. To properly clean, you should: