When do you introduce water and juice??

rslhmg

DD was cleared on dec 28th to go back to baby foods, which was great since she was fine with them before and they were only taken out to rule out the sugar as a cause for her not sleeping and she loves eating them. She's doing wonderful with them, will eat an entire stage 1 container in one sitting, plus 2 oz of formula 2-3 times a day, depends on if she refuses a bottle and is hungry). I'm not sure if her interest in cups and whats in them is related to her high interest in food or just from watching us, but the last couple weeks any time she thinks she's in reach of a cup she will try to grab for it, she actually got my cup of water when I was cleaning her up in my lap and got it to her mouth which really just meant water all over her and me. Looked away for one second to close the wipes container and had a wet lap and baby lol. I'm not sure if this is a sign that she's ready for other fluids besides her formula or not, DH did get her a sippy cup when we noticed her really trying to get our cups, she will drink from it fine, he put water in it when I went to the groceries and said she drank it better from the sippy then she will her formula. I know water is good for her, and we don't have to worry about the extra sugar keeping her up, but I'm really not sure if we should be giving it to her yet. I'm worried about her thinking she's full from just water and missing out on the calories in her formula. I know juice has calories so I started wondering if that would be ok. Sorry if I'm babbling, just so many different thoughts bouncing around in my head about the pros-cons of water and juice that its hard to get them out and make sense lol. We go to the pedi on the 28th, he wants to flow up with her again from her being sick a couple weeks ago just to be 100% sure her new sniffles are from the drastic weather changes (he saw her last wk) so I plan on asking then, but thought I'd ask you ladies in the mean time.

vonne0

My LO had his 6 month appt. (5 months adjusted) on Monday and Pedi said he can start on juice. I brought the Gerber Apple Juice. I gave him 1 oz. yesterday just to try it out and he seems to love it. As for water Pedi said I can give him a little, but he doesn't needed everyday because he can get that from bm.

Missa_g

How much formula is she drinking?  It's unclear from your post.  At her age formula should be the highest priority, followed by solids, followed by water.  Small amounts of juice are okay but my personal opinion is that it's too much sugar without most of the benefits of fruit.  Each to their own there.  We give our boys 1oz of water in a sippy with solids.

Pips09

We introduced water when we introduced a sippy cup, at a little under a year old, when we were upping the solids. We do not give her juice; it's just sugar. She has had a sip of someone's here or there, but we have never given her a cup of juice to drink.

jcsntms06

We were told at around 9 months it was okay to give water and juice. As for juice, which DD#2 has only had two times, I normally water it down so it's not as sugary. I give DD a sippy cup for water each night with dinner.

rslhmg

Missa_g:

How much formula is she drinking? nbsp;It's unclear from your post. nbsp;At her age formula should be the highest priority, followed by solids, followed by water. nbsp;Small amounts of juice are okay but my personal opinion is that it's too much sugar without most of the benefits of fruit. nbsp;Each to their own there. nbsp;We give our boys 1oz of water in a sippy with solids.

She takes 4oz every 3 to 4 hrs. We only do baby foods twice a day, 3 time max since some days she will refuse her bottle until she's had some baby food in between her normal times we give her baby food, she still takes 2 ozs at those feedings.

TriciaandSean

I think we started offering water around 9 months when we did a sippy cup at school, but he didn't really drink much out of it until we weaned him of the bottle at 15 months. 

I would make sure the formula is number one on the list and only offer water occasionally if she's not drinking a ton of formula.

Also there is no nutrients in juice at all.  My son is almost 2.5 and I've never bought juice for him.  He's occasionally had a sip of my husband's orange juice if we go out to breakfast but even that has only ever happened once or twice.  

rslhmg

Usm123:

We give juice strictly for constipation issues. I'm not as worried about the sugar content and the amount of diapers I would need to change. My 2.5 yr old only gets VERY diluted juice on occasion.

We were ok'd for 15ccs of prune juice a day for constipation but we rarely have to do that anymore. I don't offer her anything but formula and her solids that were cleared atm. It's just really hard sometimes with a preemie knowing when to just follow cues and when to not for the sake of calories. If she had made it to term I don't think I'd have all the concerns about possible loss of calorie intake and would just go along with her cues. We go Monday to her pedi so that will give us a direction. I just feel like its a constant balancing act between not holding her back when she acts ready for something and not losing the calories she needs.

rslhmg

Our pedi is well versed in preemie care due to the unfortunate large number of preemies in my area, so I don't feel the need for a nutritionist right now. He's been pretty proactive about giving us info on increasing calories for her. He actually gave us a list of the highest calorie baby foods when he cleared her to start them, and said if her weight gain gets off track he has a list of things to bump up the calories. So far she's staying on track and actually got on the growth chart for actual age last month, only in the 1 range but he's really pleased with her growth.

DawnJM25

DD is 16 mo and has only had milk and water per my own preference and recommendation from pedi.  I don't plan to give her juice anytime soon.

 

 

nicole0066

We started solids at 6 months actual and introduced water in a straw sippy at that time.  We offer water at meal times but otherwise she gets formula for her liquid intake.  We have never offered juice.  I am not opposed to it eventually, but right now she is just fine with her formula, solids, and a little water.  How many ounces a day is your LO drinking from formula.