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drinking water for baby

Posted 03 September 2010 - 01:49 PM jr7 Posts: 26

Ive been breastfeeding my 8month old exclusively since day one but i seem to have neglected the drinking water for her. ds always had water with him as he was a formula baby but now as im breastfeeding i never have bottles around. How much water should i be giving her each day and is it absolutely vital? I should state that im also feeding on demand.

Posted 03 September 2010 - 02:14 PM Aimee_R Posts: 472

You should be offering water with meals, but they might not drink much. DD is now 10mths and drinks about 1/2cup of water throughout the day, plus BF.

Posted 03 September 2010 - 03:24 PM

I didn't think that babies really need it. When you BF the foremilk that comes down first is the 'thirst quenching' part of the milk and the hindmilk is the good, fatty stuff.

Posted 03 September 2010 - 03:41 PM ross_544 Posts: 1416

It is not necessary for bf, although it can be a good idea to offer it with solid meals so that they get used to the idea. I offered it to DS with all his solid meals, but didnt push the issue until he weaned to 2bf/day. by then he was happy to drink water from a cup, that was at 12mths

Posted 03 September 2010 - 04:30 PM

BF babies don't really need it, however, I would definitely offer it on hot days.

Posted 04 September 2010 - 07:36 AM 1244AE73 Posts: 1

jr7, on 03 September 2010 - 01:49 PM, said:

Giving water is likely to cause your milk supply to decrease and baby to stop gaining weight. Do you want to stop breastfeeding? J C

Posted 04 September 2010 - 09:51 AM Gem_89_ Posts: 95

I was told they dont need extra fluids till they start on solids

Posted 04 September 2010 - 07:56 PM BW4368 Posts: 7

Gem_89_, on 03 September 2010 - 11:51 PM, said:

I was told they dont need extra fluids till they start on solids

If baby is 8 months, then she will be eating solids. Water with meals, from a sippy cup (not a bottle) would be useful for training her to drink from a cup. She will still get most of her fluids from breastmilk, so your supply won't be affected significantly.

Posted 04 September 2010 - 10:28 PM imgoinnuts Posts: 2

my 11mnth refuses to drink water, i always have to trick him when he has a bottle at night, while he drinks his milk, i quickly swap it over for water.

Posted 05 September 2010 - 02:43 PM joyciebug Posts: 113

I bf both mine and they didn't have water until much older. I was told that breastmilk adapts to the baby's needs - on hot days it becomes more watery etc. As long as you are demand feeding there shouldn't be a problem, but just check with your babynurse.

Posted 09 September 2010 - 10:24 PM jr7 Posts: 26

Thanks everyone, now i dont feel like such a bad mummy! ive been trying to keep the water nearby when feeding her solids but not using bottles its so easy to forget! sippy cup sounds like a good idea, no plans on cutting out breastfeeding yet i love it

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