[mammalicious]

i'v read in many books and also heard by word of mouth that babies should not drink from taps that have water softeners attached. does anyone know why this is the case and is it very very bad if they should do?

Thanks!

[K8sMum]

For my 3, I've always boiled their water... whether it's bottled or from the tap for the first year. I even boiled my first child's bath water for the first 6 months of her life (yes, really). However, we were in another country at the time. I just didn't want to take any chances. Did it help??? My first child wasn't sick until she was 18 months old. My twins, however, were sick at 3 months. My point??? Do what you're comfortable with!

[HappyV]

Dear mammalicious,
The reason why it is not recommended for babies to drink water from a softened water tap, is that the chemicals used contain a high amount of sodium, which is difficult for baby to digest, and can lead to kidney damage.
However, if you give your baby bottled water, they will be missing flouride, as well as other trace elements. (The debate over mineral vs distilled water has been done here before, la)
Apparently, you shouldn't even use softened water in steam sterilisers.....(well, according to my mother-in-law.....)
Hope this helps,
HappyV

[eplo19]

so, what is the best way- to boil water from our tap so the flouride is included? my dd is 121/2 months now-ccan she drink straight from our filtered system?

[Sleuth]

If you need water, Taste in Festival Walk sells baby water from Austria. It contains flouride, etc....