Sippy Cup Review

UPDATE:

I couldn't resist trying out the Playtex Sipster. I bought a set of them, and I think they WILL work well once they get better at drinking from the spout. They still drink more liquid and quicker from the Nuby cups, but I think the liquid comes out well from these Playtex cups too. Currently, it seems N & C like the softness of the Nuby drinking spout. So, we will keep the Playtex and Nuby. Avent and the Nuby Grip & Sip were the least preferred with my two. :)
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Well, I am on a quest for the best sippy cup. I want cups that are small enough for them to hold themselves (at least learn easily to hold themselves), a flow that isn't too difficult to drink from, easy to wash, and inexpensive.
The First cup I tried, was Avent Magic Trainer. I registered for these cups for our baby shower and recieved a set of 2. They are relatively inexpensive. There is a plastic valve part inside to wash. I tried sucking on the spout myself and found it needed quite a bit of suction to get a small amount of liquid out. I seem to remember SOME leaking at some point, but the parts could have been incorrectly assembled. The babies didn't mind them, but the drinking was slow-going. I will be giving these cups away since I wasn't very impressed with them.
I purchased this Born Free trainer cup from newbornfree.com. These cups are BPA-free. The cups are quite pricey. I paid over $20.00 for 2 cups. There are a few parts to clean, but the liquid-flow is better. Celia has a stronger suck than Nicholas so she is able to drink from these cups relatively quickly and easily. Nicholas likes the cups, and drinks well-enough. These cups are quite leak-proof. However, I am not impressed ENOUGH to continue to pay the money for these cups as 2 cups are not enough once bottles are eliminated. If money was not an option, then I would consider buying more of them.


I also tried these Nuby flip-top straw cups. The straw is a silicone soft straw. Nicholas is/was able to sip from a crazy-straw I had at home, so I was curious if this would work for him or Celia. Also, since my babies haven't learned to lift the cup up to drink while sitting (they can do it laying down) I thought they would be able to sip from the straw without the lifting. However, perhaps due to teething (YES! the tooth IS close), Nicholas wanted to chew on the straw and had no interest in the sucking. Celia was also unsure what to do with it. While I was washing the cup, I found that there are a lot of pieces to take-apart and it is difficult to put back together. SO, this cup is out.
I Read about the Nuby sippy cups on-line. These cups are quite inexpensive, have only the silicone top, handles and cup part to clean. The flow is faster and easier to suck from. Nicholas was able to drink about 4 oz from this cup in about 5 minutes - holding it himself while laying on the floor. Since I purchased only 1 of these cups to 'try', Celia also tried it and seemed to really like it. The handle/lid part does need to be twisted on tightly, but once put on well, does not leak. I will purchase more of these cups soon.

The Verdict: Nuby Soft-spout Cups
Twins advice: only buy one of the cups so you can try them before you buy a second cup :).