Giving Baby Water

You can give her water now. It's best to give water before or instead of juice. Keep the sweets away as long as you can and you'll have better luck introducing veggies.

Hi
My second child was born July 9th and it was HOT! I gave her water pretty much after the first couple weeks. I have 2 girls 12 and 4 1/2 and they both got bottles of water early. Now that is pretty much all they will drink! My oldest will drink nothing but water and my youngest would rather have "watered down" juice than regular juice, but preferrs water. And their skin is beautiful!

My doctor told me no water or juice for the first year because it fills them up too much to get what they really need and that's breast milk or formula. That's really all they need for the first year.

As far as I know - its water ... you can introduce it anytime. People mix water with formula, etc. I give my daughter purified water because my town water is gross.

I started giving my daughter water when she started eating solid foods at every meal. I thought of it this way, when I eat, I get thirsty so she probably would too. She had her formula before her meal and then in between meals she would have a little water, not much, just a few sips.
As far as juices go, it's really not necessary. Lots of people think that it's important to give kids juice, but it's totally not if they're getting good nutrition from the food they eat.

I never bothered with giving them water til they were using a sippee cup. It will just fill them with empty nutrients. They need to be taking the BM/or formula. About juices, when you do start her with those, it is a good idea to dilute them with water. So I dont think I started them til close to 10mo old. I would be careful with water and thin juices, they arent as thick as the BM or formula so they can tend to choke/cough when swallowing them.
Best of Luck

don't give her water yet.. I think after a year old they can have it.. check with your ped....

If you are exclusively breastfeeding then she doesn't need any water or juice. As soon as you introduce foods you can offer her water. It is best never to give your baby juice unless it is fresh and not pasteurized. My son is 2 and he drinks a ton of water and never has any juice.

When I started introducing a sippy cup instead of a bottle, I used water. That was around 6 months. I don't give my daughter juice because of the high sugar content. I prefer to give her the whole fruit so that she gets all the vitamins and fiber.

my pediatrician said to limit water to no more than 2-4 oz each day and only to use when the baby was at risk of being dehydrated due to sickness or weather. We still do not give my 16mo daughter juice. The pediatrician told us that it is only extra calories without any health benefits that she does not need and if she was to drink juice or too much water it would decrease her milk intake which is more important for her to have.

hi, if you're breastfeeding exclusively, there is no need to give her water til solids are introduced... i would hold off on the juices (just because it's sweet) until your girl is full establisded with water. but if you have to give juice, dilute it a lot!

i am also big introducing natural things to my son, Michael is now 6.5 months old... try homeopathy if she ever gets sick!

take care and namaste (i did yoga throughout my pregnancy and gave birth naturally without drugs to my boy, who weighted 8 lbs 9oz!)

K.,

It is never too late to start! When my youngest was an infant my mom would watch him for me while I worked. She would always give him water, first in his bottle and then they'd share cups of ice water all the time. He never went to bed with anything but water in his bottle. He has also been a fantastic eater so I don't feel it affected his eating. He was born at 10lbs. 1oz. and he went home from the hospital weighing 11lbs. 4 oz. three days later! To this day he is a fantastic water drinker. He still takes a sport bottle to bed with him for the night, and he's 9 now. I encourage all mothers of young ones to give their children water. Start the habit young and it will stay with them. Ultimately, it is up to you as to when you introduce it to her. Happy Beltane!

Hello K.,

I introduced water and apple juice dilluted with water to my now 10 month old daughter around 6 or 7 months. Of course, every child is different. If you have any doubt, give your daughter's pediatrician a call. Usually if your child is on solid foods, that's when you can introduce apple juice.

Everyone can have water - no matter how old you are. And babies, especially as the days start to get warmer, need it. There are lots of bottled waters out there that are appropriate for infants. Also use that water if you end up preparing your own food for her. Tea can be given to small babies also - even if they are only a few weeks old. Fennel tea is best for them, especially if they have a lot of gas. Chamomille is also good. Wait till your child is over 6 months for juice and when you do give it to her, add water. She will, however, probably not drink very much at first, but that is OK. If you offer her anything, do it after you have nursed her.

You can give a baby water from birth. If you want to give her juice, I'd suggest watering it down.

Hi K.,
I never gave my kids water, other than mixed with the occasional bottle of formula, until well after they were eating lots of solids. For the first year, really, they are getting almost everything they need from breastmilk/ formula, especially the breastmilk. Water tends to fill them up so they're not hungry for the caloric intake they need. I actually, with my 6th, who refused to do anything but nurse for his first year, gave him water instead of juices, because it's healthier for them to eat the actual fruit instead of the juice. The juice is too much sugar, even when it's natural juice. When he does get it, it's 2/3 water. So he drinks a lot more water than my first few kids do, because he didn't get as much juice. I don't see a problem introducing little sips of water here and there, just to get her used to the taste, though. It's certainly not going to hurt her. I've gotten a lot more into natural, organic eating since I had my first few kids, and now I do things a lot differently with diet than most pediatricians recommend. You kind of find your way as you go along. Have fun.

Hi K., it is appropriate to introduce water in a sippy cup once she has started eating solid foods. It is an opportunity to introduce the cup. If she is nursing she should be getting all the fluids she needs. Limit the water to 2 ounces per day. She doesn't need juice at all if she is eating fruits and vegetables. You could introduce 100% juice if she experiences constipation.

I started giving water when I introduced solids and we were more or less beyond the puree stage.
We are still breastfeeding/no formula.
It's important to learn how to use the sippy cup. Pull the plug out if there's one, it should be easy to get at the water- not a sucking like at breast or bottle.
I stay away from juice for now- it's been a watered down occasional "treat" or used instead of a fruit puree to flavor that cardboard-tasting baby oatmeal- part of our exploration of various tastes.
At 9 months my baby is now able to indicate he wants the water by reaching out for the cup (kept out of his reach on the table or he'll start to play with it) and can give it to himself (I help by tipping the cup as needed). He doesn't drink *that* much- maybe a few sips and an occasional glug (if he eats something salty, like cheese). I think having water always offered with food and snacks is important- some foods just need chasing with water to aid in swallowing.
Trust your instinct for what feels right for your baby. Have fun!

Baby can start having sips of water any time, but limit any kinds of juices, you may wish to water them down if you do offer them. Babies can get hooked on that sweet taste and then won't take your milk or formula or water. Introduce water and/or juice in a sippy cup, not in a bottle. Good luck & enjoy this wonderful time!

Hi K.,
This is a tough question, because if you were to ask my Mom or Grandmother they would say it was perfectly fine, but with all the studies done now of days it has been found that healthy babies do not need to drink bottles of water or any other liquid except breast milk or iron-fortified infant formula during the first year of life. The reason is that a baby's stomach is quite small and if she 'fills up' on water she might not drink enough formula or breast milk to get all the nutrition she needs to stay healthy and grow. So don't worry, as long as your daughter is feeding well, she is getting all the "water" or "liquid" she needs from the breast milk or iron-fortified infant formula she's consuming.

Also, another thought is if you are breast feeding and she is getting filled up on the water. She may not be nursing as much and it could in turn cause your milk supply to decrease. I hope this helps. Take Care!

Hi K.,
I gave my daughter water in a sippy cup at 5 months, just to get her used to the cup, she never drank much but it was more for familiarizing her with a cup. I bf her until she was 13 months and she rarely got a bottle, so I wanted to transition her to a sippy cup instead of a bottle. It was just a way to do it... occasionally I did put bm in it but that was when she was older and cutting down on her nursing. She also transitioned to whole milk pretty good too, although I had to mix drinkable stonyfield yogurt in it for the firt few months!

Good luck!
C.

water is always good, I think they say as long as its not too much to interfere with nursing/feeding. Sometimes they wont like it if its too cold, and mine wouldnt drink it unless it was sweetened a bit...good luck!

Hi K., My name is E. Taft, and I'm not comfortable advising you about the water as it seems to vary with each pediatrician these days. However, since you say you are big on natural/organic/etc., I wanted to introduce myself as I spend much time speaking with Moms such as yourself about using non-toxic home cleaning products as well as all-natural skin care & cosmetics and all-natural nutrition. If you would like to chat one-on-one or invite me to your home to speak with you and some friends/neighbors, I would be happy to do that. Please check out my web site www.emilytaft.com You might also want to look at www.shaklee.com/emilytaft/getclean Please let me know if you have any interest in hearing more about Shaklee products. Shaklee has been around for over 50 years and maintains Dr. Shaklee's original philosophy of "keeping in harmony with nature". Thanks for your time. E. Taft ____@____.com ###-###-####

I would ask your Ped. We asked our's and she said not to give the baby water until she is eating solids really well because the water can be dangerous. It can cause there sodium levels to drop and send them into seizers.

She doesn't need it yet, so I would skip it. She's getting plenty of fluids in either breastmilk or formula, plus whatever solids she's eating. You don't want to fill her little belly and have her pass on the nutrients. As for juice, I would wait even longer. Kids tend to really like them because they're so sweet, but they don't offer a lot nutritionally and have tons of sugar (even natural sugar they don't need at this point). There have been lots of studies done on juice consumption and obesity. I am not a total nut about this point - my kid drinks juice, but I figure the longer you can avoid it, the better. I would have her start water when you're teaching her to learn to drink from a cup, and juice at about a year (unless she's constipated).

Hi K.,
I used a great book, called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, talks all about what foods to introduce and when to introduce them. (she is all about making your own food).
She says that when you introduce solid food is when you introduce water, as the kidneys need to work harder at that time. Made sense to us! I found it a good resource, and used many of her ideas.
Good Luck!
Warmly,
E.

My son is 19 months and we still haven't given him juice. We give him water and probably started giving it to him around 6 -7 months. Hope that helps!

Please check with your pediatrician about giving your baby water. As ridiculous as it sounds I have heard it can be dangerous to give a baby too much water. I am just not sure how much is too much or at what age so I would be on the safe side and check it out!!!

There is no reason to introduce juice at this age. As for water it really isnt necessary either. I offered it to my son during the hot summer months last year and to hydrate him during meals.