update on the sippy situation

Warning: For most of you, this post is going to be ridiculously boring.  Please feel free to skip. :)

Thanks to all of you for your helpful advice!  It was great to have so many different brains helping me out.

I failed to mention that Silas has to have a silicone spout (rather than a hard spout) because he doesn't get sucking at all.  He never even took to a bottle.  But for some reason he did take to the Nuby silicone spouts and figured out how to get milk out consistently.  The problem is that he makes a mess.  Hence the unstoppable mold.  (I've thrown out all but two burp rags by now.)

Here are all the things I tried in the last few days...

• Removing the valve from the Tommy Tippee cup to get him used to it.  No good.  The milk came out too fast and he was basically just pouring it into his mouth until he was choking, then taking it out and letting all the excess milk spill out of his mouth.  Not exactly teaching the sucking technique.
• Straws.  I had some laying around.  All Silas wanted to do was chew on it.
• Sucking on the Tommy Tippee myself to get him interested.  I even did this several times in public.  He just laughed and then when I gave it to him he would just hand it back to me because he thought it was sooo funny for me to drink from a sippy.

Finally, I discovered something important.  After examining those doggone Nuby cups, I realized Silas has chewed through both of the spouts.  Instead of the milk coming out only through the little slits, there is now a whole flap that can open and shut to let milk out.  Aha!  This could be a primary reason for the mess.

So I researched sippy cups on Amazon for like 2 hours (one of those things I would have mocked someone for before having Si, sure that it could only be a sign of an over-anxious mother...)  I looked at the Avent ones (thanks, Erin!) but I am unsure about whether Silas would go for that spout.  I finally ordered three different kinds.  The Safe Sippy from Kid Basix, the ThinkBaby Trainer Cup, and the NUK learner cup.  $30 for a bunch of sippies...I'm getting desperate.  Obviously.

But hopefully we'll find another kind that works that Silas doesn't chew through and don't spill milk everywhere.  Plus, I'm sick of having to cover our Nubys with plastic baggies whenever we go out, since they don't have caps (all of these do!).

I'll keep you updated.