Before my daughter was born, I spent a lot of time researching which baby gear items to get. However, I primarily focused on products necessary for the first few months of life, figuring I’d have plenty of time to find items like the perfect sippy cup down the road.
Well, once my daughter was born, there wasn’t as much free time as I had imagined, and I ended up just buying whichever sippy cups were available at our local drugstore and grocery store, adding them to the collection of sippy cups we received as gifts.
The result is that my 19-month-old daughter has a hodgepodge of sippy cups and straw sippy cups of all different brands and styles (see the image above), and we don’t use a number of them anymore since we’ve lost either a lid, a sippy spout or another key part, and haven’t gotten around to buying replacement parts yet (though we have come up with a clever fix-it hack for one sippy straw cup).
This is why I wish that I had gone from the get go for just one brand of sippy cups where all the cups, no matter their style, come with interchangeable lids, a feature of certain sippy cup brands that I just learned about recently and a baby gear buying strategy that is today’s hint.
So which sippy cup brands fit this bill? The First Years brand sippy cups feature lids that are interchangeable across the brand’s sippy cup line, a feature the brand calls the “One Piece Lid.” The First Years now offers about two dozen sippy cups with interchangeable lids, up from roughly just two styles in January 2013, when the brand first rolled out the feature. The First Years is giving away three sets of its sippy cups (such as those in the images below) to one lucky Hint Mama reader – enter below.
Within The First Years’ two dozen models with interchangeable lids, you can find traditional sippy cup designs as well as soft spout and straw sippy cup models, and The First Years says the “One Piece Lid” feature makes “it easier for parents to mix and match cups and lids.”
Among other brands, the Oxo Tot Web site says that all Oxo Tot Sippy, Straw and Training Cup lids are interchangeable, while the Playtex site similarly notes that lids are interchangeable on all Playtex cups (a feature moms, like one over at What to Expect, seem to like).
In addition, if you really plan ahead, you can opt for bottles that can transform into sippy cups. For instance, Philips Avent says in its marketing materials that the spout and handles on its sippy cup models (including this one) can be used with all Avent feeding bottles and cups, and you also can buy Avent sippy cup parts separately and just pop them onto the bottles (as at least one parent commenting over at the Baby Bargains site has pointed out). Meanwhile, parents commenting over at Amazon.com say they have similarly transformed Nuk bottles into sippy cups using Nuk replacement silicone spouts.
To be sure, if you just buy multiple versions of the same sippy cup, you’ll automatically get interchangeable lids and handles. But going for an entire brand with such features allows you to experiment with different types of spouts and straws.
What are your sippy cup buying tips and favorite sippy cups? What interchangeable sippy cup brands did I miss?
Share your thoughts below and enter to win one set of The First Years Soft Spout Cups, one set of The First Years Insulated Sippy Cups and one set of The First Years Straw Cups.
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More Hints
Today’s Hint: Drink From Your Child’s Straw Sippy Cup
Today’s Hint: A DIY Fix For Lost or Broken Sippy Cup Straws
Today’s Hint: Toddler Feeding Products That Contain Messes & The First Years Giveaway
Today’s Hint: Another Use for a Paper Soup Bowl (Think Sippy)
Today’s Hint: Sippy Cups 2.0 & $100 Silikids GIVEAWAY
So far, what’s working best for my 15-month-old are these Avent cups:
http://www.diapers.com/p/avent-natural-cup-9-oz-457619
I’m hoping to find a straw model that she likes as well, though, because of the benefit to the mouth muscles (as recommended by her occupational therapist).
We love Zoli cups in our house, but we definitely need to add more sippys to our stash.
I actually like the one and only sippy we have (we really should get more) but its a lifefactory bottle with a sippy lid. the flow was crappy at first but i just widened the valve!
We used Take & Toss sippys and migrated to the straw version, which we still use to avoid spills of drinks around the house or in the car (my kids are 5 and 6). We use them for several months, but eventually no matter what you do I think sippy spouts get nasty and need to be chucked. Straws get chewed on, too — so with these I’m out less cash when I do eventually toss them (or if they get lost). I wrestle constantly with wanting to be eco friendly yet also practical and mindful of our budget, and these cups were the compromise solution. When my son was a toddler we used “spill proof” sippys with valves inside and not only was cleaning them a nightmare, but I think the sucking required to get drinks out through the valves contributed to his first ear infection at 19 months old. It’s worth a few spills to skip the valves or overly complex sippys, in my opinion.
for my baby girl we like the nuk beginner cups so far, for the boys we use playtex insulated cups
My grandson just turned a year old not too long ago, he is learning how to feed himself . But he sure can leave some messes behind. This product would be nice to have from their site; Divided Feeding Dish.
I love the little owl one. We definitely need more!
Any sippy cup that doesn’t leak is my favorite!
We loved the Nuby sippy straw cups. The pieces are big and easy to clean. If you lose the straw (or as the kids get older), you can still use it as a regular sippy.
I like the no spill, no straw cups in bright colors.
I look for cups that have a soft spout and no valves that will fall out and leak
I like straw cups the most. I switch over to them as soon as they learn to drink from them. I have so much trouble finding a good sippy
I wasn’t afraid to try different cups until I found one my son liked! And then I stocked up 🙂
You probably need to wash the sippy cups in the top dishwasher rack or even by hand for best quality service and longest use. (Of course, follow manufacturer’s instructions for washing.) Every once in a while check for cracks before you pour in the liquid drink!
I actually don’t have a favorite type yet. I can you my son hates Dr. Browns. 🙁 I’m reading the hints here to help us find a good brand.
I like any sippy cup that doesn’t leak.
Buy a cup that your child likes!! They have to like what it looks like and what it feels like in order to want to use it.
My kids really like the tummy tickler refillable/disposable sippy cups that come filled with juice at the market. They have fun character tops
I like straw cups the most!!
I love cups that won’t leak…and also like the ones with pretty design.
can i buy the tops in local stores, or can I only order? I really would rather buy tops for my avent bottles. thank u! for this article.
I believe you can buy them in local stores, though the selection is probably better online.