Medford - Once your LO gets the hang of sippy cups it will probably be easier than you think to switch out the night time bottle for a sippy - as long as the rest of the nighttime ritual stays pretty much the same. DD will be 3 in November, and we still do a cup of milk after getting pjs on, before last potty, tooth brushing and story. She sits in my lap, and while she is perfectly capable of (in fact insists on) drinking from a cup on her own, she often wants me to hold the bedtime milk cup. 

Thanks, amy-lynn!  That's good to know.  I'm actually still nursing the LO at night (14 months), but I had been wondering if once we get to the point of fully weaning if she would still have a cup of milk at bedtime, or if it would just be all about dinner at that point.  It's great to hear that it is fine to keep going with a snuggly drink of milk!

Our particular LO is actually done bottles now -- lost interest on her own (although still likes nursing).  I more meant about the one bottle per day not being the end of the world in reference to GC's post.  It seemed like her ped had presented the 18 month age as a firm deadline and she was concerned about it with constipation issues and what not.  Sometimes I feel like things get presented to us as rigid guidelines, when generally it will work out either way!

When I took my twins for their 12 month appointment my pedi scolded me for not having them off bottles.  he said he wanted them off bottles by 15 months.  "The longer you wait, the harder it is." he said.
Mine weren't that interested in sippy cups either, but I stepped up my efforts and we were totally off bottles by 13 months.
It's not nearly as hard as you imagine.
We loved (and still do) the take 'n' toss.  I also use Playtex - easy to find at the grocery store and not too complicated.  I actually returned some Born Free ones because they were so intricate! But I will say, pick a one brand - that way all the valves are the same.  Otherwise it's really confusing.
Good luck.  And don't stress.  :)

Ok, all this talk is stressing me out.  Give DD anything other than a valved sippy and instantly she is wearing all of the water (as is anyone nearby).  The valve is the only thing that keeps the water in, and she can drink fine out of it.  I think our sippies are Avent and DD does very well with them.  She loves drinking out of a cup or plastic water bottle, but she tends to inhale the contents, then cough and splutter.  She also has decided it's fun to get a mouthful and then spit it out while going "Ah!"

Amy-lynn - glad you mentioned the bedtime cuddles because the last bottle before bed is pretty much my favorite part of the day.  Glad to know you've been able to maintain that with the cup of milk!

Poppy - my kids went through that too.  Loved getting a huge sip of water and spitting it out.  And at first, valves were the best for when they were out of the highchair.  We still do valves for snacks and outside.  Take 'n' toss for the high chair.
And don't worry about all this talk from the SLP.  My kids have an SLP from EI for their hearing loss and she's not at all concerned about what they drink out of.  Besides - at two they are using valves, non-valves, straws and sometimes sipping out of open cups or small water bottles.  Your LO will get better with practice.

In Response to Re: September - Infants and Toddlers:


Well, I bought these and they are NOT the same as what I had for DD.  They break up in DS's mouth really easily and he could easily choke on them.  So, I got Baby Mum Mum's and those are a huge hit!  He also had some mashed potatoes at dinner last night, he was smacking his lips!

DS had his 6 month check up late last week, he is 27 3/4 inches and 21 1/2 lbs.  He is doing great rolling, sitting, and starting to want to crawl.  He does wheeze a fair amount so I'm keeping an eye on that especially when he gets a cold.

We are winding down at our current daycare this week and moving to a new one next week - very excited!

As far as sippy cups go we use the Gerber ones, they seem to hold the most and DD has always liked them.

My pedi is pretty low-key about stuff like this, he was more relating what "they" say (I'm guessing they are pediatricians.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that he's on that team). 

I'll try the tilty and the straw kind to see how that goes.  I'm more preoccupied with getting water in her than the transition at the moment.  DD tolerates prunes very well -- she gets a couple small jars a day, although we may dial back a touch as I think we overshot the "ideal p**p consistency" marker.  I am like the Goldilocks of bowel movements. Too hard, too soft ...

All this cup talk has me wondering.....should I be worried that my DD (14 months) can't seem to drink from a straw?  I try to show her how it works by using my finger to hold the liquid in the straw and then letting it come out in her mouth, but she doesn't seem to understand.  When I put the straw in her mouth she just bites on it or plays with it.  Any ideas?  She does great with sippy cups, so I am not worried about her fluid intake, just sounds like she should be able to drink from a straw based on her age.

memes- my DS couldn't get it at first either, particularly the small straws on sippy cups. However, he tried one of our water bottles, that had a wider mouth, and got the idea (still tilted the cup though). then he could transfer the skills.

Memes - it took mine a while to get the hang of a straw too.  Then one day they just got it.  They still try and tilt the cup up when it's getting empty though. :)

Memes-My DD got it from drinking out of our insulated cups and transferred her knowledge to the sippy cup.  I think the only reason why she got it was because she frequently saw me drinking my iced coffee and she always tries to mimic what I do.