Best Baby Water Bottle

It is recommended that water is introduced to babies from around 6 months old. Zac is formula-fed so we started giving him cooled-boiled water during the Summer heatwave. To begin with I gave it to him in one of his old, smaller, milk bottles. He would drink the water fine from this, however after speaking to my health visitor I discovered that it isn’t advised to do this, at least not long-term.

Once water has been introduced it is important to distinguish between milk (food) and water (drink), so that baby doesn’t get confused between the two. Which seems obvious now that I think about it!

So recently I have received a number of different types and brands of water bottles. I had no idea which one would be best for Zac so I decided to give each of them a try and thought I’d share my views with you!

So in order (in my opinion)…

6. Tommee Tippee First Cup

This was the first ‘sippy cup’ that I tried Zac with. I liked that it was light, easy to hold and free-flowing. I want to get Zac used to a free flow bottle as I feel this will help with weaning him onto a cup. However free flow obviously is not ideal when you are out, as the water literally goes everywhere!

Zac actually took to this cup better than I thought. He picked it up straight away and managed to put the spout in his mouth. He was a bit shocked by the quick flow of water at first and coughed and spluttered a bit, but he did get used to it. As a simple first free flowing cup it isn’t bad. However I wouldn’t be able to take this out with us, unless I also took 5 changes of clothes. I also didn’t like that it doesn’t have a lid, the spout just folds down, so not very hygienic.

Verdict: great for use at home to practice drinking from a free flowing cup, not ideal to take out.

5. Tommee Tippee Weaning Straw Cup

I was a bit sceptical about this one, as I thought it looked way too advanced for Zac. He hasn’t mastered a cup yet let alone a straw. But it does say 6m+ so I thought I would give it a go! Turns out I was right! He deserves more credit than I give him though because he did put the straw in his mouth and made some attempt to drink from it. I think the straw was just too narrow for him though so he just couldn’t quite do it.

Its a great concept for a cup and I think once Zac is a bit older we will definitely be trying it again. I always drink from a straw, because I think its better for your teeth. So I will probably also encourage Zac to drink from a straw and this will be great for helping with that.

Verdict: Not great for a first water cup but would be perfect for toddlers.

4. Nuby 360 Drinking Beaker

I have seen lots of people use these cups and they are such a great idea! They are the perfect way to help little ones transition from bottles to a normal cup. It says it is suitable from 6m+ however Zac struggled to drink from this, without a spout he just didn’t know what to do with it.

Verdict: A great cup for toddlers, not ideal for a first water cup for babies.

3. MAM Learn to Drink Cup

This cup is genius! It can be converted from non-spill to free-flow by just removing a part from the spout. Why has nobody thought of this sooner?! This means that the same cup can be used at home, when practicing drinking from a free-flow cup, and out and about, when you need to be able to keep the little ones dry! This therefore doesn’t cause any teat confusion.

Zac struggled a little bit with this cup as the teat is firmer than his bottle teats, he was confusing it for a teething toy rather than a bottle! Whilst it isn’t ideal for us right now, I am definitely going to keep trying with this one though as he does seem to be getting used to it.

Verdict: Amazing cup, would definitely recommend, just didn’t work for us to start with.

2. Nuby Grip N’ Sip No Spill Cup

This cup has a soft silicone spout which was much better for Zac, as this is similar to his normal bottle. It’s non spill which is great for avoiding drenched clothes. Zac seemed to know to suck this teat rather than chew on it, which he done with some of the other bottles we tried. However I found the teat a bit short and wide, so Zac struggled to keep it in his mouth. If you imagine a hamster drinking from their water bottle, this is what he reminded me of when using this cup.

Verdict: Soft silicone teat is great for transitioning from a bottle to cup for the first time. Again, I think with a bit of practice this could be a great cup to use and take out with you.

1. MAM 2-in-1 Trainer Cup

There is no surprise that the water bottle/cup that Zac took to the best was MAM. Since he was born Zac would only ever take MAM bottles and dummies. This bottle comes with 2 soft silicone teats, one is a fast flow teat the same style as the regular milk bottles, and the other is a non-spill spout. Zac used both of them with no issues. He definitely preferred this cup, he drunk twice as much water form this bottle than any other.  It is also super easy to clean which is a bonus.

Verdict: For us this was the best ‘first’ water cup. Because of the similarities between this and Zac’s regular milk bottles he was able to transition to this the easiest.

The Result

Each of these bottles have different benefits and I think each of them would be great for different stages in Zac’s life. However for us, the best bottle to start with was the MAM 2-in-1 trainer. It was:

• Easy to hold
• Easy to clean
• Soft spout which Zac found easy to drink from.

I would recommend trying a few different cups or bottles as every baby is different and so may find a firmer or shorter spout easier to drink from. I also think it is a good idea to have a free flowing cup for at home to practice with, and a spill free one to take out.

I hope you found this useful, if you did then please leave a comment and subscribe to be notified when my next blog is posted! I love hearing form you all !

Bye for now,