When did you introduce water?

teamsweet · May 2011

DS was EBF and even now on solids, the only liquid he's getting is breastmilk. We've done small amounts of water in a sippy cup but he will usually just drink a sip more for fun than thirst.

I'm confused as to when babies start drinking water on a regular basis. And how much they'd then drink. I'm sorry if this is a stupid question. I plan to keep bf'ing so he'll get his milk from me for a while at least, but toddlers are drinking water too, right?

Thanks in advance.

teamsweet · May 2011

I'm worried about finding a good balance between bfing and giving water. Did you gradually start replacing some of the bfing sessions with water?

jkalmommy2b · May 2011

We just did water at meals and then had a straw sippy available. Water doesn't ever replace any kind of formula or bm.

3003girl · May 2011

We give her water when we are drinking and she grabs for the cup.

we don't drink soda or juice, pretty much just water in our house. If she wants some she willoint to the pitcher or try to grab the cup when we are getting a drink. If she seems really thirsty I will offer to nurse her, but generally she just takes a sip or two. It doesn't seem to interfere with nursing at all.

DreadLoc · May 2011

We give her a straw sippy cup with water at every meal. She recently figured out how to suck the water out but she just spits most of it out and plays with it. She probably doesn't ingest more than a couple of ounces a day.

Water should never replace a BF session.

StarlitRN · May 2011

We started giving around 2 ounces with lunch and 2 more with dinner. She eats 3 meals with 1 snack. She nurses around 4-5X a day and 1-2X at night. I don't really stress about giving her water (unless we are outside in the TX heat for a long time) but she seems to enjoy it so I offer with meals since I still try to nurse before eating. I haven't noticed any decrease in nursing!

I do not plan to wean until at least 18 months but I want her used to the taste of water so hopefully she likes it! (we don't drink juice or coke so water is all we have!)

BrittKav · May 2011

I started introducing water with every meal once she could hold a sippy cup (9 months-ish?). At first she only had a couple sips here and there. She started drinking more around 1 year. Now she drinks probably 3 or 4 oz with each meal, plus some in between meals if she says she's thirsty. Water doesn't replace a nursing session, it just compliments a solid food meal.

mrs.baum · May 2011

We started DS with a small sippy of water just for practice when he started solids. It was such a gradual move to drinking water all the time that I don't even remember when he started asking for water on a regular basis. I just followed his cues and gave him water when he asked for it.

stayathomedaddy · May 2011

We started (randomly) offering sippy cups with water around 7 months. It's still very sporadic (we're not the best at remembering) but we just pour some water in it and give it to him with his meals. We don't measure it but it's probably not more than a few oz. Probably 1/3 - 1/2 of it ends up on him anyway.

It definitely hasn't effected his nursing either.

BelhurstBride · May 2011

We started offering it with meals around 7 or 8 months. In the past month or two she's gotten to where she really drinks it and asks for it throughout the day.

It hasn't affected our nursing.

Army_Wife_04 · May 2011

We introduced water at around 6 months old with his BLW meal, just a little bit for practice with a cup. He got it with meals, so once a day for the first few months or so and then as he started getting more meals he got more water. We also were sporadic about it for a while. At around 11 months old, I started giving him a sippy of water when we would go out, and now, at 15 months, he always has a sippy cup of water available if he wants it. He still nurses at least 4 times a day too.

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