iCup

Remember saying that when we were kids? "I-C-U-P!!!" So mature. So very, very mature.

Anyhoo, today we have the story of three sippy cups. (Or, at least that's what we call them. Sippy cups.)

Bam.

We have #1, The Original. Our favorite.

I'm inclined to say that these are all Nuk brand, but the ultimate issue here is that they change styles so. Damn. Quickly...who's to say? What the Nuk.

So, yeah, Numero Uno. Two in a pack. No BPA ('cuz homey don't play that). Ultra squishy, silicon mouth piece sucker thing. Easy to use (no lining up of this with that 14 times before getting the lid on properly -- believe me, we've had those). Great for a teething Monkey who likes chewing just as much as drinking.

Er. Juice. And milk.

We loved these. But, of course, when it was time to pick up another pack...none to be found. *sigh*

On to #2. Or, as I like to call it, The Dud.

Note The Original peeking over its shoulder saying, "You'll never be as good as me. NEVER." He's right, y'know.

Everything about these cups is the same -- the handles, how the top screws on, the cute designs, the colors. Except for, of course, the most important part -- the sucky part. (Literally.)

See, this one was COATED in some silicone-type material with a solid form on the inside -- hence being less squishy and more rigid. Apparently when Monkey tried to chew...he did a little too well. Yeah, I don't know how much he ingested, but I'm pissed about it.

*sigh* So, we went on a hunt last weekend. We didn't care about the cost. We didn't care about the brand. We just wanted a squishy sucky part!!!

The woman at Babies R Us asked several times if we needed help. Apparently the intensity of our brow furrows and super serious conversation were cause for concern. "No, no," we dismissed. "We've got this."

Picture us trying to squeeze through packaging to see how squishy the mouthpieces were. Strange, strange people. The weirdest part is that the Monkey in the cart just sat there, quiet as a mouse, fully accepting of the absurdity his parents were displaying.

This is what we came up with. Let's call it "Sure, That'll Do." Because it's not The Original, but it'll do. Not perfect, but fine. And, these days, fine is awesome.

It was a bit of a gamble, actually. We THOUGHT it had a squishy sucker part...but weren't sure. But, yay(!!!), it does! The cool feature about this one is that it has a part that flips to cover the mouthpiece (ie save the inside of our diaper bag), and Monkey's not the sort (anymore) to put that piece in his mouth if he happens to pop it loose (which he IS the sort to do). It even recesses into the lid when open, which is pretty neat.

Plus, he uses it. If you don't know this about kids, they're verrrrrrry particular. Like, "I won't drink for a week+ if I don't like the receptacle. Deal with it." (Not that we'd let him go a week...but, yeah, they're stubborn beasts.) So, that's half the battle right there. Getting him to USE it.

Side note: Why does my kid NOT like chocolate milk? I mean, he's not a big milk drinker in the first place, but when I add chocolate it's like I've OFFENDED him. Like. Huh?? Maybe it's a girl v. boy thing? He prefers sourness (pickles) and cheese, I guess.

So, anyhoo, these are my trials and tribulations of recent sippy cup usage. If I gave you the whole story from bottle to bib to sippies, we'd be here for a month. Seriously, I've got a bagful of once-tried sippy cups and bottles in the basement that never made the grade. I keep them in case they agree with a future (less finicky?) kiddo.

I won't say that kids are super picky people, because aren't we all kind of picky in our own ways? We like what we like. Kind of like cats.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.