playtex sippy cups and teethers review

remember when lilianna was this little? 

i don't either.

i do remember wondering how i was going to get her to drink from a cup when she had never really had a drink from a bottle.  i was ready for her to have more water during the day but had no earthly idea how to get her to drink.

that was about the time i was introduced to the "first lil' gripper" cup by playtex.  for me, this felt like a miracle sippy cup.  i could put the straw in her mouth and then squeeze the cup a little bit to get her started.  as she felt the water in her mouth, she naturally started sucking and began the process of drinking on her own.

you can tell by the death grip lilianna has on the cup in this picture (who cares if i'm in my sunday best and prime for picture-taking?  i will absolutely not let go of this cup!), that we had to make sure always to have one handy.

since we never wanted to be without a sippy cup, i was glad to have this cheaper bpa- and phalate-free option available to us, compared to some of the pricier brands that also are free of the harmful chemicals. 

while the packaging says it is 100% break-proof and leak-proof, occasionally when we are trying to fill it for her, water will come up through the straw.  this makes it seem like it is leaking.  since we only give her water, this hasn't really been a problem for us, but if you are going to put juice or milk in there, you will want to close it carefully (with the straw flipped down) so that the suction doesn't force milk or juice out of the straw before you are ready.

we have four of these cups, and i have been completely happy with them.  even now that lilianna is able to drink out of a variety of sippy cups, i still like the easy-grip handles and the fact that it is so easy to clean compared to other cups.  i just pull the straw out, wash the three pieces in soapy water and let dry.  while it says that the pieces are top-rack dishwasher safe, i prefer not to wash anything plastic in the dishwasher.  regardless, i have not had any problems keeping this cup clean.

what has been a problem (how do you like that segue?) is teething.  for a really long time, lilianna had no teeth.  then, she had two.  then, she decided to make up for lost time and grow 6 teeth all at once.  i don't know who was more miserable, her or me.

i had this great idea to try the new playtex teethers.  they look just like pacifiers, but they have a ridged flatish silicon piece instead of the nipple.  i thought it would be perfect for lilianna.  she could hold it with her hand and bite on it to her heart's content.  i even thought of trying it myself for stressful moments. 

unfortunately, she didn't like it as much as i did.  she tried to just stick it in her mouth and forget about it, just like a pacifier.  it was too hard to hold in her mouth that way so she would give me a dirty look and toss it over her shoulder.

i wonder now if i had used it earlier with her, or if she wasn't so used to a pacifier, maybe it would have been more acceptable to her.  like the cups, they are bpa-free and easy-to-clean. 

i still think they are a great concept.  too bad lilianna didn't agree with me!


i received a free sippy cup and set of teethers from playtex for the purpose of this review.  regardless, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.