Posted by
sheilachan
20 yrs ago
My baby is 4 months old and I give her 2-3ml of water a day, just to give her a feel of liquid other than milk. But at what age should babies start to "drink" water? And how much should be given?
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if you bf your baby, you don't actually need to feed her water until you start solids as the foremilk is good enough as a thirst quencher. (from what i read before in baby books)
my bub (21 weeks) is on formula so i feed him water to prevent constipation. even then, some books differ on this, some say it's not necessary, some say it's should be given to formula fed babies. mine takes small sips throughout the day, overall about 60ml. he poos everyday, never constipated.
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I started giving my baby water as soon as I started giving her formula ie 4 weeks old. She gets constipated quite easily if she doesn't drink enough water. We started her on about 30 -60 ml and now at 6 months she can drink anywhere between 180ml - 300ml a day. It is alot and the pediatrician said no more than 300ml a day. She sweats and dribbles a lot and when she drinks less than 180ml, her poo is rather dry. She is a big baby as well (18lbs) so maybe that is also why she drinks so much.
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when my bub was 4 months old and we told the doc he drinks 60-90ml max a day, she went good, it's not too much. so i think the idea is enough to prevent constipation but not excessive to the point that it affects their milk drinking...
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thanks everyone. now another question - should i give water using "bottle" or using a feeder cup?
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i asked the same question the other day on another thread:
http://singapore.asiaxpat.com/forums/momsdads/threads/88653.asp
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crj
20 yrs ago
Do you NEED to give baby water?
8 months old.
breast feed 6 x day.
solids 3 x day.
Poo 3-5 x day.
Wee lots!
Under 10% on growth chart, so wary of giving him anything without calories!
We will ask our midwife and pediatrician, but also wanted to ask here.
Thanks
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good question, crj:
i gave water in the beginning for the sole reason of preventing constipation as formula milk do tend to give bubs constipation. some books by authors such as miriam stoppard also recommend water for the same reason.
BUT for bf babies, i am really not sure. my friend has a 15 month old who was breastfed until 9 months. he was introduced to solids at 4.5 months - the mother says she didn't feed water than because she was breastfeeding, her impression was that the foremilk acts a sufficient thirst quencher.
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@@
20 yrs ago
I think it's a good habit for children (and babies) to drink water just as it is recommended for adults.
It's hard to get young children interested in water later if they have grown up with a taste for sweetened drinks.
As for how much, I have always been guided by my kids, they have regular meal times, milk etc but only water in between. Drinking cups with water are always within reach.
Sheila, it sounds like you are doing everything just right. Good luck.
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