Introducing the triplets to sippy cups

Back at our 6 month checkup for the babies, our Pedi told us to start introducing them to sippy cups. Like every other new milestone that requires some sort of baby product, this usually has me up all night scouring Instagram or my Facebook groups for recommendations. ⁣

This time, however, I knew right away that I wanted these silicone straw cups I had been watching @ruby_and_company promote. I managed to snag 3 a few weeks ago and the triplets are finally getting the hang of them! ⁣

Did you know babies as young as 4 months old can start drinking from a straw? I recall coming across a post in my safe sleep Facebook group asking if there was evidence on the benefits of straws, and a speech pathologist chiming in about how they were, in fact, more beneficial than traditional sippy cups. It’s said that the traditional hard spouts can promote an immature tongue thrust swallow pattern because they’re pushing against their teeth to swallow, whereas straws and open cups draw the tongue back. Who knew?! ⁣

Never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself giving babies a cup with a straw to drink from, but here we are. Since they were more interested in chewing the straw, we put the nipple from the bottle over it at first. They weren’t getting any formula this way, but they did start associating the straw as something to suck on. It took another few days of repeating this process and just offering the sippys with water in them during play/awake time until one day it just clicked! ⁣
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It was both adorable and hilarious watching three tiny humans drink from a straw. For the curious, these cups come with 3 pieces - the cup, the lid with the straw, and then a little silicone straw piece that attaches to the underside of the lid to draw the liquid out. ⁣
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They're super easy to clean, but do not take well to high drops from a highchair when your babies think they’re professional Shot Put athletes 😂. I also foresee the lids being pulled off by a curious baby, but it's not like this isn't a common problem in the sippy world! The silicone material make them so easy to grip and soft when they inevitably start throwing them at each others' heads 😂