The Silver Baby Cup

Silver baby cups have become a very fashionable baby present. For my husband's family, it is a long standing tradition however.  In my in-laws china closet sits cups that belonged to my husband Adam, both his parents, at least one grandparent, and even a great-grandparent.

Today we tend to think of them as keepsakes, something pretty and precious that will last a long time. My mother-in-law had to explain to me that traditionally they were meant to be used, and not just for when the baby learns to drink out of a cup. The cups in her china closet have the dents to prove it. So when it came to start feeding Alessia solids, I pulled out her silver cup.

I have to say it's incredible practical. Silver conducts heat very well, which makes it easy to warm or cool food simply be putting the cup in a small bowl of hot or cold water.  Silver is very easy to clean and doesn't stain. Now that Alessia wants to "do it herself" we're finding the cup is the perfect size for her to hold in one hand with the spoon in the other. Its small size also makes it easy to throw in my diaper bag when we go out to dinner, and I can wrap it in a bib to get it home again.  It's also relatively indestructible, perfect for being banged on a high chair tray or dropped on a tile floor, and when Alessia does finally manage it to dent it, it will be a sign of love and use, like the generations of cups sitting in my in-laws' china closet.