The Doidy Cup has been specifically designed to help make the move from breast or bottle to a cup easier for infants and young children. Doidy Cups support current NHS and NICE Guidelines to encourage children to move to an open cup as soon as they are ready and by 12 months of age.
How to introduce the Doidy Cup
When first introducing the Doidy Cup use a small amount of liquid and hold the cup at the bottom. Place the rim on the lower lip to allow baby to take what she wants. Around 5 months the baby will take the handles and try to feed themselves more independently. The Doidy Cup is idea for milk, water and first foods such as fruit purees and vegetable soups.
There may be some spillages but remember this is the only way that baby will learn.
3 MONTHS
The process of drinking from the Doidy Cup uses the same natural jaw and tongue suckling movements as with breastfeeding. Thanks to its exceptional features the Doidy Cup may be used for feeding the baby with expressed or formula milk (leaving the baby’s suckling ability intact);
6 MONTHS
Health Professionals recommend the introduction of an open cup from 6 months of age. Breast or bottle-fed babies may be encouraged to drink from the Doidy Cup. Learning to drink from the Doidy Cup at a young age can allow the move from breast to cup without the introduction of a spout or teated bottle.
12 MONTHS
Bearing in mind Health Professionals and Government recommendations for complete bottle elimination by the age of 1 year, it is often the case that infants want to independently drink from an open cup, to be part of the social eating experience and to show how clever they are!
When travelling it is recommended that all drinks should be kept in a separate sealed container and the cup in a plastic bag and washed after use. Discard any drink that has been contaminated with saliva as it is open to bacteria.
FOR BREAST FED & BOTTLE FED BABIES – Critically, the Doidy Cup is suitable for breast fed babies and for bottle fed babies alike from three months. If you are feeding your baby a combination of breast and expressed milk you can use a Doidy Cup instead of a bottle as it uses the very same suckling action of the tongue as breast feeding. Bottle feeding requires baby to learn a different action of the tongue, one with a strong sucking action rather than suckling and may lead to confusion if you are interchanging between breast and expressed milk. Equally, if you are weaning your child and starting open cup training it makes sense to move straight to the Doidy Cup’s open rim.
CRITICAL SKILLS & HEALTH BENEFITS – Not only does drinking from the Doidy Cup encourage good oral movements and help babies develop swallowing skills, it also helps hand eye co-ordination, aiding infants to learn how to place a cup down properly. In fact, Health Professionals promote the use of an open cup such as The Doidy Cup to help prevent many conditions that may occur from prolonged use of a teat or spout. This can include premature tooth decay (early dental caries) and speech problems, with speech therapists even using the Doidy Cup to teach lip and tongue control. Bottle fed children have an increased probability of iron depletion compared with cup fed children (see Health Professionals references).
