Offering Water

[Bethan_77]

Hello,

I guess I am the first to post in this new forum!!

My BF'd 10 1/2 mo old baby has about 2 "meals" a day of fruit veg or meat diced up pretty small. I offer water when she eats too. She has BM from the tap the rest of the time.

However, my MIL is here and keeps saying the baby is "thirsty." It got me wondering, how much water should she be having now?

FWIW she does not get bottles and has thus far refused sippy and straw cups. I use a regular plastic cup.

Thanks!

[moonphishers]

I replied in the x-post as well - but thought I'd put it here, too

If baby is allowed to nurse on demand the "need" is really unfounded.. but you can offer a bit here and there in a sippy and it wont hurt her (or your supply) since she's older. Here's an exerpt from this resource.

For babies past the newborn stage Too much water can interfere with breastfeeding because it fills baby up so that he nurses less. Babies need the nutrition and calories in breastmilk to grow - water has none of these. Breastmilk has all the water your baby needs, even in very hot weather. When your 4-6 month old baby is learning to use a cup, giving him a few sips of water a couple of times a day (no more than 2 ounces per 24 hours) is fine and fun. Once baby starts solids, you might want to give him a few sips of expressed milk or water with his solids - some babies need this to prevent constipation.

[one_lucky_mom]

I do water when dd is eating and I try to have some water available for her most of the time. Especially when were out, because sometimes she is so busy watching or playing she doesn't want to stop to nurse but is thirsty, so I make sure to offer her some water every now and then when she is playing. Other times at home it is in her site and if she wants some she grabs it.

[Bethan_77]

thanks, mamas!

[MinkaK]

I carry a water bottle with me when I am out and ds will have sips from it once in awhile. He also gets some at mealtimes. He hates bottles and I haven't tried sippy cups yet, he does just fine with regular ones.

[BearBumsBoutique]

I have a 10.5mth old & we offer him water in a sippy cup at every meal. Sometimes he doesn't drink at all, and others he downs most of it in 1 meal. We are still BFing, but he usually only wants it when he's tired, before going down to sleep. Otherwise he's pretty happy with food. They are able to handle water after 6mths, and I really believe that they know what they need & when. If he wants water, he'll drink it. If not, he won't. He will drink anywhere from 2oz-10oz/day, plus nursing & we're just starting milk too for when I go back to work, in case I can't pump as much as he needs. He still prefers water to cows milk.

[fancyoats]

my babe (7 months) will see me drinking water and grab the rim of my glass and bring it to her mouth. usually i give her a couple sips. she has done this for at least a month now. the amount of water she is consuming is negligible, but she is learning the skill of how to drink from a cup. she gets really pissed, though, if i don't let her have some of what i'm having. this gets tricky when i am drinking a beer or a soda or having coffee in the morning or any other inappropriate-for-baby- drink. usually what i do in that situation is let her grab the glass, but i don't tip the glass to bring the liquid up to the edge.

anyhow, what everyone is saying about babies not needing other liquids besides breastmilk is correct, but sometimes it's not that easy to follow

[BNC]

my dd is 6 months and probably gets 2-4 oz of water a day. Sometimes she reaches for her bottle, but doesnt want the formula (she will just spit it all out), so I give her a sippy with water then and she drinks. She still gets enough formula and a few solids though, so she is OK.

[Beebug123]

I asked our ped about that as well because I thought that babies weren't supposed to drink water (she was prob 3 months at the time) and she told me that they can have 1-2oz between feedings of water, especially on hot days it is fine. I think the whole idea with water is that you wouldn't want to give it in place of a feeding.

[jewelzbird]

2-6 oz a day is normal according to my books.