Fancy a brand new swimming pool in your dining room? (Tommee Tippee 1st Beaker)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	Tommee Tippee 1st Beaker
Date:	08/05/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy flow teat

Disadvantages: Easy flow teat and hard to clean

Noah had one of these cups when he was first weaning so I thought I'd pick one up for Elijah now that he isn't breastfeeding as much as he was. I managed to find one in Sainsburys but unfortunately for Elijah, the only colour they had left was a neon pink! I remember the cup being around 86p when I bought one for Noah around eighteen months a go so I was a bit annoyed to see that it was going to cost me £1.70. I think you'll all agree that, that's quite a jump in price for such a short space of time but I suppose that's with everything these days!

The cup comes in a variety of different colours including blue, green and coral and they are the ideal first cup for babies. Both my boys are/were breastfed and they tend to suck differently to bottle fed babies. The great thing (in some ways!) about this cup is that they don't really have to do much sucking. The teat flips up and the juice pours out so they quickly realize that the liquid comes from the teat instead of letting it sit in their mouth looking at you bewildered. It doesn't come out too fast but as soon as they get to an age where they want to hold the cup themselves then I would advise that you don't leave them with it or you may end up returning to a swimming pool as I have a few times!

The cup has two handles on either side which both of my boys found very easy to hold. The cup isn't heavy even when it's full and Elijah can easily grip it with just one hand. I like this because he will normally have his cup whilst eating a sandwich so if you try to pries the sandwich out of his hand so he can hold his cup he will scream the place down so at least this way he can hold the cup in one hand the sandwich in the other.

I really like the fact that the lid is flexible because it makes it very easy to take on and off. In the past I have found that some cup lids are so stiff that you try to pull it off carefully but end up with juice or milk down your front. This lid has a little 'give' in it so there is no chance of that happening unless you are very silly!!!! (No offense meant!).

The cup has quite a vast bottom so when you put it down on a surface there is no chance of it tipping over. My son has a taller cup with a straw and I have often filled it to the top with milk and tried putting the lid on with one hand as I hold Elijah in the other and spilt the stuff everywhere because of the small bottom. This cup has never done this which makes it a great one to use when you child gets older. You can take off the lid and start the process of teaching them to drink from a normal cup.

The only down sides to this cup is the spillage scenario which I explained earlier and it's quite hard to clean around the teat. There are a few crevices that just won't allow a sponge, cloth or brush to get into.

Over all these cups are great to start out with but remember to pop the teat down if you leave your child unaccompanied. I would definitely recommend for anyone to pick one up as they are widely available and suitable from 4 months old.

Summary: A great cup for weaning.