Unusual Q: Breastmilk and water

Hickey2Alvarado · November 2012

Hello girls!!

I have a weird Q but I will intro myself a bit first :

I am a FTM, planning of breastfeeding as exclusively as possible ( i know that many things can 'go wrong/just not work" but want to give BFing the biggest chance I can! At the moment, I am overdue but have a induction day of Monday (yay baby day!)

OK now weird Q: A very trusted source has told me that for every 2 oz of breastmilk my baby 'eats' I need to bottle feed him 4 oz of water within the next hour. I have never seen/heard this anywhere else! I can understand if my milk is lacking or something, but I have yet to have anyone else confirm this! Anyone else do/heard/have advise on this?

Thanks girls!! HUGZ

Shortcake2675 · November 2012

NO! All your baby needs is breastmilk or formula to start.

https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/baby-water/

Hickey2Alvarado · November 2012

Thank you girls for the quick replies!! I knew there was a reason I had not found any info on this! I think I may have 'misunderstood' my source, could she have meant that advice for an older baby, maybe in a weaning scenario? This makes me feel better b/c I thought it was a bit crazy sounding myself!

Thanks! HUGS

shotzie · November 2012

kitchencolors:
AmyG*:
too much water is very very dangerous for newborn/young babies.  heck 4 oz of water every few hours would most likely KILL your baby due to water toxicity.

 

Do not give your baby water!!
This. It really could be deadly.

I will third this. If you gave that much water to a baby, it would kill them. It would throw off their electrolytes. Google water intoxication.

Take a class on bf'ing, read kellymom.com, set this "trusted source" straight, and do not listen to another word they say.

Does this person even have kids? A newborn's stomach wouldn't even hold that amount of liquid, never mind any of the other reasons that is terrible advice.

kami1977 · November 2012

Absolutely untrue. I would not take breast feeding advice from this source. When my mom was breast feeding it was commonly accepted wisdom to give the baby a bit of water in the day but we now know that breastmilk provides everything a baby needs and water should not be given because it fills them up and has no calories. Your source is either misinformed about breast feeding or has very outdated information.