Learning to Drink

Yes, that is a shot glass in Abby's hand. It contains diluted apple juice, and it marks an early step in our weaning plan :) We've been trying to get the girls to drink from sippy cups and straw cups in anticipation of their (rapidly approaching!) first birthday, which will mark the transition (or at least a partial transition) from mommy's milk to cow's milk. Thus far, it has been a largely unsuccessful endeavor. The girls LOVE playing with their cups, but they have yet to get any liquid into their mouths. They have no problem dumping it in their laps or on their trays, and then splashing around in it, but alas...

One of the twin moms posted on the message board that she had a similar problem and had her girls go right to drinking from a cup (without a spout or straw) by teaching them using shot glasses (because they're the right size for little hands), so, out of desperation, we tried it! Abby thought it was a hoot, and got the hang of it pretty quickly. Izzy, clearly wanting to investigate the glass before trying it out, consistently dumped it upside down before putting it to her mouth, so we didn't document that particular "first try." :) You can hear her protesting Daddy's helping hand in the video...

It's not a perfect solution, and we may try to find some plastic shot glasses soon, as I foresee them becoming projectiles in our near future. If anyone has any suggestions for teaching kids to drink from a cup (sippy, straw, or otherwise), we heartily welcome them!