Kayla - posted on 06/09/2010 ( 21 moms have responded )
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When I was breastfeeding my daughter (from about 0-4months), my mother-in-law, and grandmother-in-law would always try to tell me to give her water because she was thirsty or she needed it. Thank god my mom is a nurse and told me to not do it because she gets enough from me and it just empty nutrients and she will get filled up by the water. What are you thoughts on the proper age to give a child water?
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No. You shouldn't give your newborn water or sugar water. And if you're feeding powdered or concentrated formula to your baby, never dilute it with more than the amount of water called for on the label.
Your infant will get all the necessary hydration from breast milk or formula. Even when a mother's milk supply is just coming in during the first few days after delivery, the baby is getting colostrum, which is enough to keep her well hydrated.
Water can interfere with a young baby's ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula and, because it can make her feel full, it may prevent her from feeding as much as she should.
Giving water to an infant can also cause water intoxication, a serious condition that happens when too much water dilutes the concentration of sodium in the body, upsetting the electrolyte balance and causing tissues to swell. It's uncommon but serious, potentially causing seizures and even a coma.
If a young baby needs more hydration – because of a bout of gastroenteritis, for example – the doctor may recommend an electrolyte drink like Pedialyte or Infalyte.
You may have heard of researchers using sugar water to pacify babies during immunizations. While this practice might safely be used during a medical procedure, giving your baby sugar water at home (whether in an effort to pacify her or quench her thirst) isn't a good idea. She doesn't need the water, and the sugar isn't good for her.
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In general, it's not a good idea to give your baby water until he's about 6 months old. Until then, he'll get all the hydration he needs from breast milk or formula, even in hot weather.
Giving a baby younger than 6 months old too much water can interfere with his body's ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula. It can also cause his tummy to feel full, which curbs his desire to feed. (While small sips of water probably won't hurt your baby, it's best to check with his doctor beforehand during those first six months.)
In rare cases, a baby who drinks too much water can develop a condition known as water intoxication, which can cause seizures and even a coma. Water intoxication happens when too much water dilutes the concentration of sodium in the body, upsetting the electrolyte balance and causing tissues to swell.
Adding too much water to your baby's formula not only risks water intoxication, it means that your baby is taking in fewer nutrients than he needs. Carefully follow the package directions for mixing powdered or concentrated formula and don't try to stretch formula by using more than the recommended amount of water.
In some instances – if your baby has gastroenteritis, for example – the doctor might advise you to give him an electrolyte drink like Pedialyte or Infalyte to help prevent dehydration.
Once your baby is 6 months old, it's okay to give him sips of water when he's thirsty. You still don't want to overdo it, though, or you might give him a tummy ache or make him too full to eat well. After his first birthday, when your baby's eating solids and drinking whole milk, you can let him drink as much water as he likes.
Rosie - posted on 06/10/2010
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i agree with jodi as well, i believe these recommendations are there because some people out there don't know when enough is enough. a couple sips here and there isn't going to hurt a baby younger than 6 months as long as they are getting all of their other formula or breastmilk.
i'm seriously starting to wonder how many idiotic people there are out there that are doing these things to their children that they have to make these rules. putting rice cereal in bottles doesn't cause choking, putting TOO MUCH rice cereal in a bottle does, cold medicine doesn't kill children, giving them too much of it mixed with other drugs does. use common sense and your kid will be fine.
Joanna - posted on 08/09/2010
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The only time I ever gave my daughter water as a newborn was when she was 5-6 weeks old and there was a big fire nearby, so we kept all the window's closed due to ash, and our air conditioning was broken. So I'd give her a little bit, maybe an ounce total, just to help keep give her extra hydration (I was drinking a ton of water, so I figured a few sips would help her, too).
Otherwise I didn't start giving her water until the next summer when she was about 7 months old, and only then it was 2 oz tops a day and only when it was very hot.
Nikki - posted on 06/13/2010
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My health nurse told me that breast fed babies should not have water at all until they start solids as it messes up the electrolyte balance in their tummies, also you risk water intoxication. She said breast milk adapts to your babies need, eg if it's hot it will quench thirst and hydrate, I have never really looked into it, I just took her word for it. My Doctor told me to think of formula more as a food, if it was hot (which it was when my daughter switched from breast milk to formula full time) offer small sips of boiled water throughout the hottest periods of the day, she was about 5-6 months at this stage.