The Quest for the Perfect Sippy Cup

I've been involved in a lot of "The Quest for the Perfect (random but very specific thing)" in my life, including:

The Quest for the Perfect Leather Bag (in Italy in 2000, I was a supporting member of this quest)

The Quest for the Perfect Crock Pot (last year)

The Quest for the Perfect Hair Clips (ongoing)

The Quest for the Perfect View (on the Routeburn Track in 2005)

The Quest for the Perfect Cuticle Nippers (I found them once, but can't find another pair!)

The Quest for the Perfect Spot to Propose (all over Europe in 2000 -- I was part of this quest, but didn't realize it at the time)

Most recently, I've been looking for the perfect sippy cup. I've purchased several sippy cups over the past few months, and each time I purchase one, I learn more about them and my criteria become more specific.

The first sippy cup I purchased was based on two factors: color (a very nice blue) and cost (it was very inexpensive). Adelaida looked at it a lot but her little hands were so small that she couldn't grasp it well.

it had handles, but Adelaida couldn't drink out of it!

The second sippy cup had handles. I thought a lot about the handles before I bought the cup and decided it was important that the handles be attached to the top of the cup rather than the bottom of the cup, so that they would always be aligned properly with the spout. Adelaida enjoyed playing with it, and even put the spout in her mouth, but the spout was so hard that she never even tried to suck on it and she didn't like it to be tipped up. I didn't like this sippy cup because it was difficult to clean: a small silicone valve had to be removed and both the valve and spout cleaned, which was not easy because they were so little. I vowed that the next sippy cup would be easier for her to use and easier for me to clean.

the straw sippy cups were hard to clean and hard to drink from

The third and fourth sippy cups (I bought a two-pack because I was certain they were perfect) seemed to solve these problems. It was a sippy cup with a straw in it. The straw was made of silicone, so very easy for her to manipulate, and she wouldn't have to tip it back to drink out of it. The problem was that she had to suck on it for a long time before any water made it all the way up the straw and into her mouth. Additionally, she had to clamp down slightly on the straw while she was sucking so open the valve. These sippy cups got a lot of use, but very little water was transferred to Adelaida's mouth. They were also very difficult to clean, with a straw that came apart in two pieces and a straw closure that had small crevices for food to get stuck.

The best sippy cup ever

Earlier this week, I was shopping and thought I'd just look at the sippy cups. They are all pretty cheap, and we do need Adelaida to be able to drink by herself at some point, so I bought yet another sippy cup.




I took it apart and love everything about it: it is easy to clean, doesn't have any small valves, has a soft silicone spout that is very similar to the bottles Adelaida already drinks from, has handles that are big and easy to grip (they are attached to the bottom of the cup, but there is a mechanism for putting the top on that ensures the handles will align appropriately), has a non-skid bottom so it doesn't fly off the table very easily, and even has a cover so I can throw it in the diaper bag and not worry about the spout getting nasty.

she can drink from it!

The best part was that I gave it to Adelaida and within five minutes she was drinking water out of it! She isn't very good at tipping it back herself yet, so I have to hold it for her while she drinks, but she has started holding it with me and I know she'll learn how to do it soon. And, she loves it! She smiles whenever she sees the cup and laughs after almost every little sip.

Quest completed.