Well Duh!

Ellie is pretty good at drinking from a glass. Well, good for her age. However, it's still messy as one might imagine. She's never really liked sippy cups, at least not with the part that requires her to actually suck from the cup which defeats the purpose. So, I've been thinking for a while now that it sure would be nice if she could use a straw.

How do you teach a baby to use a straw? No idea. I would put the straw in her mouth and all she would do was chew on it and think it's a new toy. I even mentioned this to multiple people and no one had any brilliant ideas. Something so simple, yet so tough.

Then today I had lunch with my very wise mother. I once again mentioned how nice it would be, but had no idea how to teach her. My mother said "Well, you do this, of course..." and then she put her finger over one end of the straw so that it would hold the water in, and then put the straw into Ellie's mouth. Within minutes both Ellie and I understood how effective the straw was at getting water.

Next step was to keep our finger on the end so that Ellie would have to suck at the straw. Finally, the next step was to keep the straw in the cup.

By dinner time, Ellie is practically a pro at using a straw.

Well duh!
You have no idea how long I've been wondering how to teach her such a fine skill!