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When your baby is between 6-12 months you might want to offer them a sippy cup so they can practice feeding themselves, which can improve hand-to-mouth co-ordination.  We tried out some of the top brand-leaders to see how they compare.

Philips Avent – Always a favourite at TrendLife, this one was light for babies to hold, easy to clean and had a fun design to keep babies interested.  The only downside was that it was a little complicated to put together. Price: £7.49.

Tippitoes Non Spill Training Cup – Tough construction. This is a great,  basic model which suits most children. Price: £3.05.

Munchkin Might Grip – The Trainer Cup is perfect for little hands. Your baby can grasp the handle or easily grip on to it with this contoured cup. The soft silicone spout lets your baby drink comfortably while the built-in valve prevents any spills or leaks, so there’ll be no panic in the house when this cup hits the floor! Price: £2.95.

Safe Sippy 2 – This is a lovely design, made of stainless steel metal and rubber covering with a hard plastic spout.  It is the heaviest cup on trial and mums were worried younger babys may hit themselves with it.  But it is ideal for an older toddler from two year plus, as it will withstand a bit of rough and tumble.  Older children may also like the handles to be removed. This is particularly good as it is free from BPA, DEHA, and phthalates. Price: £13.25.

Oxo Tot Sippy Cup – Very easy to assemble with a non-slip rubber section on the sides. All pieces are interchangeable with other sizes and versions, handles are removable and leak free. The handles are also angled so baby doesn’t have to move their wrists too much. Price: £7.15.

I have tested out both the Avent 24-Hour Digital Steam Steriliser and the Avent Electric Steriliser… read the results below:

On getting the sterilisers out of the box, I noticed that they were extremely similar, almost indistinguishable apart from the display panel.  I made myself read the instructions for each one... regular readers will know how much I am instruction-averse.  However, they were only a page long which shows they are relatively easy to set up!

Once I read through the points they were both (happily) very straight forward to use and surprisingly quick to set up: Simply pour in the water, pop in the items and press the relevant setting button.  The cycles were nice and short,  just six minutes for both models which then keeps the equipment sterile for a certain amount of time.

Simple to fill baskets which also have the same excellent capacity:  6 x 260 ml bottles, or a mixture of other items e.g. bottles, dummies, breast pump

There was very little difference between the design, shape or capacity of the  two, but the key differences were:

1. The better display on the 24-hour steriliser means you know exactly which mode it was on and most importantly, how long the items were going to be sterile for (before you remove the lid)

2. As the names indicate, using the second mode, the 24-hour steriliser can keeps items sterile for up to 24 hours – it basically works by re-running the same six-hour run four times automatically (Mode 1 just runs this six hour cycle the once time).

3. You can also pause the sterilisation to add or remove items at any time

4. Price – obviously you will pay more for these additional functions

Electric Steriliser - RRP £45.00 http://www.philips.co.uk/c/avent-baby-preparing-for-feeding/scf274_01/prd/

Digital Steam Steriliser - RRP £60.00 http://www.philips.co.uk/c/avent-baby-preparing-for-feeding/scf276_01/prd/

So all in all, I give the 24-hour steriliser 9.5 out of 10 and the electric steriliser 9 out of 10 – both were fantastic.

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