sippy cups

Some people skip sippy cups entirely (see RIE), but we used them starting around 8 months, and we fully phased out bottles by 10 months. Most sippy cups have real drawbacks, but below are my top picks. If you are interested in non-plastic and non-toxic cups, this Gimme the Good Stuff Sippy Cup Guide is very comprehensive.

zoli baby bot

When we first transitioned from a bottle to a sippy cup, the Zoli Baby Bot was great because it has a narrow straw that prevents too much gulping. It also has a weight at the end of the straw, so the cup and straw function even if the baby holds it upside down. That said, there are some real downsides: this cup is prone to leaking and it's pretty annoying to wash all the tiny parts. The Zoli cup works well if you are preparing a bottle/feeding for immediate consumption, but it's not the best for an outing because there's a good chance it'll leak all over your bag. Our on-the-go solution was to put the milk in a S'well bottle to keep it cold and contained, and then pour it into the Zoli cup only when it was time to drink.

thermos foogo

The Thermos Foogo has a wider straw than the Zoli so we didn't use it for the transition from bottle to cup, but introduced it a bit later. It does an incredible job of insulating and keeping cold, and the only drawbacks are that it is prone to some leaking (less than the Zoli, but not inconsequential) and it has lots of parts that are annoying to clean (little pipe cleaners for the straw, for example). Also, be careful if you open this on a plane: we've had projectile situations where milk went everywhere!