Giving baby water

cali1710 · March 2016

just curious what other paediatricians are saying to you about this? Ive read mixed reviews about giving baby some water especially in hot weather. My Lo is 8 weeks today and I asked my family dr (who I trust and has been mydr since I was a baby) and she said as long as its boiled water (not tap or bottled) its ok to give her a little bit as long as its not all the time and filing her up. She says they get thirsty as well. Any other opinions on this?

narissa2013 · March 2016

Ive been wondering about this as its been pretty warm here. We have our 2 month appointment next week and i plan to ask about this as well. For now, im trying to nurse more often, but not sure whats the best thing to do when I'm back at work in a few weeks and it'll probably be even warmer.

MissMheMhe · March 2016

My dr said no water until at least 6 months and even then no more than 2oz in 24hrs

maureenmce · March 2016

My doctor said the same thing as @MissMheMhe 's doctor.

cali1710 · March 2016

My dr said no more then 2oz as well but she said when its hot its ok. Being in canada she will be about 4 months when it gets really warm here so maybe she though thats what I meant. But I don't see the harm if its cooled bouled water and not in excess that its filling her up instead of actual formula.

My mom says she gave us water when we were babies and doesn't see the harm. My dr is pretty old school too.

Ju111310 · March 2016

Not until they're six months old. The AAP says no. The WHO says no. Here's a quick answer the WHO provides:

Why can’t we give water to a breastfeeding baby before the 6 months, even when it is hot?

A: Giving water to young babies puts them at risk of diarrhoea and malnutrition. Water may not be clean and cause the baby to have infections. Giving water may also cause the baby to drink less breastmilk or to stop breastfeeding early and therefore cause malnutrition. If mothers give water instead of breastfeeding it will also cause the mother to have less milk in the future.

Breast milk is more than 80% water, especially the first milk that comes with each feed. Therefore, whenever the mother feels her baby is thirsty she can breastfeed him or her. This will satisfy the bay’s thirst, and continue to protect the baby from infections, and help the baby to continue to grow well. Babies do not need water before they are 6 months old, even in a hot climate. This is one of the reasons that WHO recommends for children to be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.

Mommyduclos · March 2016

Please please please don't give your baby water until at least 6 months and even then minimal water. We were just discussing this in a breastfeeding group I'm in. A mom posted a PSA because she saw a baby in the ER with water intoxication. It can truly throw off their systems so fast. A mom commented saying she knew a baby who died from it, it is no joke. Breastmilk or formula only.

willashbaby · March 2016

There's no reason to, if anything is going into their rapidly growing bodies it needs to have calories and fat (breastmilk or formula). The milk keeps them plenty hydrated.

Wicked4589 · March 2016

My baby was eating so much that the ped told me to give him 2 oz of nursery water. No more than 4 oz a day. Considering he is 91st percentile in weight, he's obviously not having any issues with it. I nurse and formula feed. There are points in time that he will eat 6 oz and want more. So 2 oz of water it is. He's never had diarrhea and is not malnourished. As long as baby is gaining weight in a healthy rate, there isn't an issue. She said this summer he will start sweating and will probably want to feed often because he's getting dehydrated.

Wicked4589 · March 2016

Btw, obviously this needs to be discussed with your ped because every baby is different.

thoughtfulmommy · March 2016

No water until 6 months and even then it is not needed unless starting solids. The issue is not just that they will get full from it,

mrsgetz4000 · March 2016

This thread makes me smile. For some reason my mother asked me about giving the baby water like 5 times. I thought it was a bit odd lol

cali1710 · March 2016

mrsgetz4000 said:

This thread makes me smile. For some reason my mother asked me about giving the baby water like 5 times. I thought it was a bit odd lol

My mom does too. I never thought of it until she mentioned it. She said she always gave us water.

Mommyduclos · March 2016

I don't want to come across as totally rude but if my pediatrician told me to give my baby at this age water I would be finding a new Dr because they are not up to date on recommendations. Where as it can cause weight issues, the true concern is water intoxication which causes a change in their sodium and electrolytes causing kidney failure, seizures, and death. It's hard to know how much will cause those problems and it is entirely unnecessary so the recommendation is absolutely no water, may save you a little money but it just isn't worth the risk. It can become serious before you realize what is happening. Is an ounce here or there likely to be deadly? No, I doubt it. But regular water, or excessive water is definitely not a good plan.

Wicked4589 · March 2016

It's not about saving money. It's about my son wanting to eat 12 oz of formula just because he is wanting something in his mouth that isn't a paci. Eating 12 oz every 4 hours isn't healthy either. And she specifically said nursery water not to exceed 2 oz.

claireloSC · March 2016

Mommyduclos said:

I don't want to come across as totally rude but if my pediatrician told me to give my baby at this age water I would be finding a new Dr because they are not up to date on recommendations. Where as it can cause weight issues, the true concern is water intoxication which causes a change in their sodium and electrolytes causing kidney failure, seizures, and death. It's hard to know how much will cause those problems and it is entirely unnecessary so the recommendation is absolutely no water, may save you a little money but it just isn't worth the risk. It can become serious before you realize what is happening. Is an ounce here or there likely to be deadly? No, I doubt it. But regular water, or excessive water is definitely not a good plan.

I agree. My baby is sick and my dr suggested I give her water for dehydration. My baby is only 5 weeks old! I found this suggestion completely appalling and literally found a new doctor the same day. Milk or formula is sufficient for hydration.

carlyhammond · March 2016

LOs pedi reccomended I gave him 1oz of juice (he was a little constipated) and I went to the store saw it was for 6months old babies and I decided even though the dr reccomended it I wasn't going to use it because I wasn comfortable with giving it to him yet. ( he was 8wks at the time)

what pedi tells you to do and what you do are two different things.
I've always heard after 6months (after their teeth start coming in)

Mommyduclos · March 2016

Wicked4589 said:

It's not about saving money. It's about my son wanting to eat 12 oz of formula just because he is wanting something in his mouth that isn't a paci. Eating 12 oz every 4 hours isn't healthy either. And she specifically said nursery water not to exceed 2 oz.

I get that it's frustrating, have you tried lots of different pacifiers? Maybe he will take one you haven't tried yet! You could also try a super slow flow nipple so he can suck longer without getting so much formula. I agree that 12 oz every 4 hours is excessive, but I still wouldn't give daily water. There is nothing special about nursery water that prevents the problems I addressed above. It truly is distilled water just marketed at moms to use with their formula, to get moms to spend more money. I'm not going to continue to harp at you though, this is the last comment I will make- you can make your own choice, just be informed. That's the best any of us can do, make informed choices. I'm just feeling extra concerned about this right now because a mom I know literally saw a baby being taken up to the icu because he drank water, the mom was not informed and had listened to outdated information and her baby got very sick. My friend doesn't know the baby, she was in the ER for something else so I don't know the final outcome of that story, but it was scary to see especially knowing that so many people, even Drs, still recommend giving these little guys water.

PedsIsHardcore · March 2016

Your child's doctor has to take medical responsibility for them at the end of the day. Period. So whatever they tell you, they can be held accountable for. My DD2 doesn't get water because she isn't dehydrated and she gets plenty of fluids from her formula. We can argue all we like, but you also don't see this persons kiddo the same as their doctor. I am not a fan of the giving them water until 6 months old, but there are certain reasons why a doctor would say that. Anything by mouth is less invasive than an IV.

Also juice for constipation is actually pretty common. Apple juice is one of the go to juices for kiddos, infants and older. Either you trust your kiddos doctor or you don't.

aknest_1 · March 2016

PedsIsHardcore said:

Your child's doctor has to take medical responsibility for them at the end of the day. Period. So whatever they tell you, they can be held accountable for. My DD2 doesn't get water because she isn't dehydrated and she gets plenty of fluids from her formula. We can argue all we like, but you also don't see this persons kiddo the same as their doctor. I am not a fan of the giving them water until 6 months old, but there are certain reasons why a doctor would say that. Anything by mouth is less invasive than an IV.

Also juice for constipation is actually pretty common. Apple juice is one of the go to juices for kiddos, infants and older. Either you trust your kiddos doctor or you don't.

Eeerrr I would never say 'let your Dr take responsibility....' if it's your child's health you gotta be a lot more proactive then just trusting and then having someone to blame if it goes wrong!

I should hope you never want to come to time where you have someone who can take the responsibility for the wrong actions they advised!

Each parent must do what they think is best for the child but If what your Dr is reccomending may have a risk to it then i should hope the parent looks into it before trusting the dr blindly.

PedsIsHardcore · March 2016

nearlymum said:

PedsIsHardcore said:

Your child's doctor has to take medical responsibility for them at the end of the day. Period. So whatever they tell you, they can be held accountable for. My DD2 doesn't get water because she isn't dehydrated and she gets plenty of fluids from her formula. We can argue all we like, but you also don't see this persons kiddo the same as their doctor. I am not a fan of the giving them water until 6 months old, but there are certain reasons why a doctor would say that. Anything by mouth is less invasive than an IV.

Also juice for constipation is actually pretty common. Apple juice is one of the go to juices for kiddos, infants and older. Either you trust your kiddos doctor or you don't.

Eeerrr I would never say 'let your Dr take responsibility....' if it's your child's health you gotta be a lot more proactive then just trusting and then having someone to blame if it goes wrong!

I should hope you never want to come to time where you have someone who can take the responsibility for the wrong actions they advised!

Each parent must do what they think is best for the child but If what your Dr is reccomending may have a risk to it then i should hope the parent looks into it before trusting the dr blindly.

No. You do not seem to understand that you can google a lot but it will never replace formal training that doctors receive. I'm a pediatric nurse. Either you trust your child's doctor or you don't. And I am talking about medical responsibility, not just responsibility as a parent. Whatever your child's doctor advises you to do, they are held legally accountable for. Parents haven't all gone to 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and 4 years of residency with years of practice added on to that.
Thats like saying if my child had meningitis I should go doubt check everything. Either you trust your child's doctor or you don't. This is not an area where you should have to question their medical decisions because with children you don't have that kind of time when it comes to them being sick because they aren't on a longer time frame for things compared to adults.

aknest_1 · March 2016

PedsIsHardcore said:

nearlymum said:

PedsIsHardcore said:

Your child's doctor has to take medical responsibility for them at the end of the day. Period. So whatever they tell you, they can be held accountable for. My DD2 doesn't get water because she isn't dehydrated and she gets plenty of fluids from her formula. We can argue all we like, but you also don't see this persons kiddo the same as their doctor. I am not a fan of the giving them water until 6 months old, but there are certain reasons why a doctor would say that. Anything by mouth is less invasive than an IV.

Also juice for constipation is actually pretty common. Apple juice is one of the go to juices for kiddos, infants and older. Either you trust your kiddos doctor or you don't.

Eeerrr I would never say 'let your Dr take responsibility....' if it's your child's health you gotta be a lot more proactive then just trusting and then having someone to blame if it goes wrong!

I should hope you never want to come to time where you have someone who can take the responsibility for the wrong actions they advised!

Each parent must do what they think is best for the child but If what your Dr is reccomending may have a risk to it then i should hope the parent looks into it before trusting the dr blindly.

No. You do not seem to understand that you can google a lot but it will never replace formal training that doctors receive. I'm a pediatric nurse. Either you trust your child's doctor or you don't. And I am talking about medical responsibility, not just responsibility as a parent. Whatever your child's doctor advises you to do, they are held legally accountable for. Parents haven't all gone to 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and 4 years of residency with years of practice added on to that.
Thats like saying if my child had meningitis I should go doubt check everything. Either you trust your child's doctor or you don't. This is not an area where you should have to question their medical decisions because with children you don't have that kind of time when it comes to them being sick because they aren't on a longer time frame for things compared to adults.

I'm not trying to create an argument and im most definitely not putting down the level of experiance of drs - i definitely trust whatever my dr says healthwose whenever i take my child bc yes your correct he has studied this area and i have not. But when it comes to something that's controversial between Dr's too, I would definitely do my research.... Giving water Is not something you can compare to an illness like meningitis - it's not definitely dangerous - there is a CHANCE of danger which you agree and I personally would not want to blindly trust a Dr however many years of study or experience if there is chance that it could put my child in danger....

Edited to add - this is something each Dr will say differently it's not to do with the formal training.

Wicked4589 · March 2016

He only takes one pacifier and is only on low flow nipple. He just wants to eat all the time. And it's not daily. He gets water maybe twice a week when he gets that way. It's not often. I trust my ped completely.

stephanienjer · March 2016

Wicked4589 said:

He only takes one pacifier and is only on low flow nipple. He just wants to eat all the time. And it's not daily. He gets water maybe twice a week when he gets that way. It's not often. I trust my ped completely.

I can sympathize with this. We were having a similar problem with our daughter. Luckily, someone introduced us to paced feeding. Since she's eating slower, she fills up on less. (It takes us about 30 minutes to eat 4 ounces, and that's fine, because now she's not puking on us.) Think about it in adults--those who wolf down their food are hungry again after they eat, because the signal hasn't reached their brain that their stomachs are full. Same with a baby. When you pace feed, it's like taking a bite, putting your fork down, taking a breath, maybe wiping your mouth. Our LO is really frantic through the first ounce, and gets angry, but has started smiling around the nipple and really studying us while eating after that. It also helps us get her back to sleep at night, because it's so relaxed by the time we get to ounce 4.
It sounds like you have a healthy baby, and you have to make the decisions for him and you. We were advised against water recently when LO had a high fever, but with formula feeding, we have a little leeway on upping her amount she eats (since I don't rely on my supply.) I wish you the best of luck!

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