Dr Brown's: Interchangeable Training Cup System

We were sent two training cups by Dr Brown's to review and see what we thought of their interchangeable training cup system.

I have always been a fan of Dr Brown's' products from when I was recommended their complete bottle feeding system by my Midwife.

All parts in Dr Brown's training cup system are interchangeable which is brilliant as you can mix and match colours, spouts and cup sizes.

Soft-Spout Cup

All Dr Brown's Trainer Cup System spouts have sip-activated valves which means that only baby's mouth will activate the spout meaning when they aren't drinking, there is no spillage or mess caused by the cup being left on it's side or upside down as our little ones do regularly!

Lexi liked it instantly although she was confused by the spout being soft as all her other beakers have hard spouts so she was a little perplexed by the spout moving against her lips as she sucked it. She soon got used to it though and absolutely loved it.

The soft-spout cup came with a 170ml cup which is the perfect size for younger toddlers and older babies. The handles are removable too which is great for children who get older and don't want to use a "baby cup" anymore, they have their own proper "grown-up" cup without handles so feel they are advancing. The cup really does grow with your child.

The soft-spout training cup is suitable from 6 months old. You can find more information about the soft-spout training cup on Dr Brown’s website here.

Hard-Spout Cup

As I said, all Dr Brown's Trainer Cup System spouts have sip-activated valves which means that only baby's mouth will activate the spout meaning when they aren't drinking, there is no spillage or mess caused by the cup being left on it's side or upside down as our little ones do regularly! This is a must for us Mummies as juice can be so sticky and brightly coloured leaving mess and stains and milk and water are also so messy that it's an absolute must that our little ones' cups don't spill!

The hard-spout was Lexi's favourite of the two. I think this was mainly because she is used to using a hard spout beaker usually anyway so took to this one instantly. For some strange reason, she did insist on drinking from it the wrong way round (the spout at the top of her mouth as oppose to the bottom to get maximum flow from the cup). I think she was just having a funny five minutes as she thought it was hilarious when I was trying to get her to turn it around and drink properly! (She definitely takes after her Daddy not me! Heehee). Nevertheless, even with the spout the wrong way round and acting little a monkey, Lexi still drank freely from it and loved the novelty of having handles on her cup which she hasn't had for a while.

All in all, she absolutely loved it and even insisted on taking it to bed with her when she had her nap in the afternoon (I don't normally allow her to take a beaker to bed with her but she was insistent so naughty Mummy caved in!).

The hard-spout cup came with a 270ml cup which is just the right size of a 2 year old like Lexi as it lasted her a long time so would be perfect for taking with us when we popped out as I wouldn't need to be refilling it every 5 minutes. As I said; even more useful with the hard-spout than the soft; the handles are removable too which is great for children a little older than Lexi who are either already used to not having handles, or feel it is a little "babyish" to have handles. Although, as I said, Lexi loved having handles and found it a real novelty to be carrying her cup around by it's handle.

The hard-spout training cup is suitable from 9 months old. You can find more information about the hard-spout training cup on Dr Brown’s website here.

What We Thought Overall

Like it needs anything else to make it better but to add to the fabulous list of great attributes boasted by the Dr Brown's Training Cup System: The lid cap on the training cups fits snuggly so there is no spillage or leakage yet is still simple and easy enough that Lexi could pull it off herself whenever she wanted a drink. Another plus for this amazing training cup system.

All Dr Brown's Spouts, as well as being brilliantly non-spill, are BPA Free AND dishwasher safe (top rack only) so they are so simple to clean as they pull apart so easily just by unscrewing the cup, removing the cap, spout and handles then pull apart the silicone valve from the valve disc and hey presto, pop it into the dishwasher and it comes out sparkling. It's also so simply to put back together just by reversing the above instructions. No fuss whatsoever! Brilliant!

The RRP for each cup no matter what colour or spout type is £5.10 and you can buy them in lots of stores and online here. At first glance, £5.10 may seem a little expensive for a training cup BUT after trying them out, I would definitely recommend them and would definitely buy one or two for Lexi as there is no need to buy anything else after baby stops using a bottle. These training cups grow with your child from soft spout, to hard spout, to larger cup to removing the handles; this robust, fantastic training cup system is all you need to fulfil your toddlers' drinking vessel needs!

Dr Brown's make lots of fantastic products. If you'd like to see their full range or find out more about the company, their products and promotions, then either pop over to their website here or their Facebook page here. And don't just take my word for it, Dr Brown's have been awarded countless Awards for their excellent products which is proof in itself of just how amazing they are!

As you can probably tell from my enthusiastic writing - the Dr Brown's Training Cup System is brilliant which is why it is most definitely Loved By Lexi.