[vivianhui]

My baby is now 6 weeks' old. The nurses at Sanatorium said I do not need to feed water, but my friends and colleagues have been saying baby will need water.

So do we need to feed baby water? and how much and how often?

Any advice will be appreciated!

[mosmom]

I also read everywhere that it's not necessary to give any water at this stage. They say your milk will provide the baby with enough hydration. But my sister's new-born developed a severe colic (tummy ache due to gas) at the beginning, so her doc in Switzerland recommended her to give him fennel tea. Ever since, he kind of got used to it and he drinks it on a regular basis, although his colic is gone.

[LLL_Sarah]

Are you breastfeeding?
If so, then there is no need to give extra water to your baby. Indeed it can cause lots of problems because the baby will fill up on water and is likely not to want enough milk, which in turn means less breastfeeding with the result that it can affect you milk supply.

Dr. Sears discusses this on his web site,
Does my breastfeeding baby need bottles of water?
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T023000.asp

Breast milk is itself mostly water and in hot weather, babies tend to go to the breast more often, for short feeds. (Usually lots of short feeds help babies with colic too.)

Best wishes,
SARAH

[jools]

If you are breastfeeding your baby you do not need to give them water.
The idea of giving babies water was introduced for formula fed babies. There have been cases where mothers, with the best intentions or unknowingly, have put too much of the powder in the bottle, for example by not scrapping the excess formula from the top of the spoon. This led to their babies becoming seriously ill. Therefore it was suggested as a blanket measure that babies should be given water to make sure that should any mothers put too much formula in the bottle, then it would be diluted by the extra water. This was then taken to mean for all babies, but it is not the case for breastfed babies. The milk that comes from you will quench their thirst and feed them at the same time.
With my three I have introduced a sippy cup at around ten months, just for them to play with and get used to drinking from. As far as I know, breastfed babies who are fed on demand, don't really need any additional water until they are about a year old.
I hope that helps.

[kashismum]

Originally Posted by jools

With my three I have introduced a sippy cup at around ten months, just for them to play with and get used to drinking from. As far as I know, breastfed babies who are fed on demand, don't really need any additional water until they are about a year old.
I hope that helps.

I think it's quite normal to start a bit of water once solids are established and can help especially if constipation becomes a problem. I did introduce a little water soon after starting solids.

Of course, water is not necessary for breastfed babies before then.

[vivianhui]

Thanks for your help!

I couldn't breast-feed and so baby is on formula almost exclusively. My baby is now 6 weeks' old, so I reckon I do not need to give him water if I make sure the excess powder is scrapped off the spoon?

[ELT]

Our bb is formula fed. We started giving him water since he's around 3 months. The pd we go to is very pro-water. He said water is good to our body and since formula is more 'heated' than breastmilk it is important to give the baby some water after each feed and between feeds (but never right before his milk as might fill up his tummy). Our little one loves having some water after his bath and before going to bed too!

[Neha]

We started giving our baby water when he was 2 weeks old he just loves it . there is nothing wrong with it. You just give them a sip not even an ounce .