When You Should Start to Give Water to the Baby

I give my babies boiled tap water (just for the first little while) in a sippy cup when I start them on solids. It can help to 'wash things down' and I'm not about to pop out a breast to do that! haha Just know that babies don't NEED water; they should get their fluids from breastmilk and/or formula....but water is better than juice.

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You can give them water at anytime. Babies get thirsty just like any other person does. Just make sure that you give them as much breast milk as they want as well. Don't buy special water. It's a gimmick. Water is water.

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When you start solids. Small amounts, an ounce or two. Regular tap water should be ok unless you have some issue with tap water where you live.

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Not until after 6 months. Even after that, they really don't need it if they are still 100% on the breast or formula. Once they start eating solids, a little water can help with their digestion. You don't need to buy nursery water, unless the tap water in your area is not good enough. If you're not comfortable with water straight from the tap, just boil it, or you could also use something like a Brita water pitcher to filter it.

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Hi B.,

Babies can drink water anytime. The less breastmilk or formula they consume, the more water they should have. Please avoid fluoridated water. There is NO evidence that it helps teeth and it wreaks havoc on the digestive system. It should never be ingested by anyone.

Hope this helps.

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

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My baby is 5 months and I just took him to the doctor for his check up. The doc said that I can buy him a sippy cup and put a little bit of water in it to get him used to it. I think 6 months is about standard.

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Babies don't need water. Please do not listen to Yuki, babies are not supposed to be given water at birth, there is no medical recommendation for that. The AAP recommends no food or fluids other than breastmilk or formula until 6 months. Babies under a year, esp breastfed babies, really don't need water. They don't need multiple water feedings in a day and special "baby water" is just a way to make you spend money that you don't need. Boiled, cooled water is fine and free! Don't overdo water, infants don't need it - it fills them up and provides no real nutrition, which they get from their milk, and breastmilk is really all the hydration that a breastfed baby would need. Ounces of water is too much for 6-12 month old. You don't mention how old your baby is. NY is not hot enough yet for an older infant to need any extra hydration.

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I think maybe what you saw was "nursery water" and people sometimes use that to mix with powdered formula. Regular tap water is OK...I think 6 mos. Not too much--it's just about trying it out...

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http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/giving-water-to...

Here is a site that answers questions about giving baby water. Says not before 6 months and tells why. Also lists various situations with answers.

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I think my doctor said 6 months. I just started giving my kids little sips of my water from the tap. Check with your baby's doctor.

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As long as they're gaining weight properly, you can give them a bit of water. Our pediatrician pointed out to us that where we live, it gets super hot, and babies sweat just like everyone, but that breast milk or formula is mostly water. DD really only needed water on hot days (and then just a sip), or we would give her a bottle of water to hold on long car rides (my parents live 5 hours away - we didn't want a milk bottle to be left out unrefrigerated that long; we would stop once for a feeding, but if she was thirsty in the meantime, it would have to be water). Babies, by the way, are surprisingly good at regulating their nutritional needs. They know the difference between milk or formula and water. They'll only "fill up" on the good stuff.

Incidentally, that's how we got both of our kids off the bottle when the time came. They got milk or (diluted) juice in a cup, but bottles had only water. Made the bottles boring. But, they now both have sports bottles next to their beds with water, and one in the car (less likely to spill).

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I started when he wouldn't take formula and was too young for juice and it was hot enough to need a drink. I would offer formula first if he refused then I went to water. I just used bottled water because we had well water with a baby warning on it. if it was real hot I would put ice in the bottle to keep his body temp down. one or 2 pieces only. I started mine at about 2months cause we lived in a hot state in a trailer that didn't stay cool. If you have adequate air conditioning I would wait. My acs werent strong enough to keep the house cool and I didn't want him dehydrating.

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Why would you give a child empty calories ... we did not give water to my son until after 1 as doctor reccomended. right now baby needs all the calories he/she can get.

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6 months is about average I think. You don't want to give a baby water too soon b/c it can water down the breastmilk or formula and actually cause less nutrition to be absorbed. You'd have to give them a lot of water to do that, but it doesn't always take much in a small body, so I'd wait!

We started with the sippy cup at 6 months with only water and my kids caught on pretty quickly. We did it at meal times and throughout the day. I just used tap water or water from my Brita. If you water is flouridated then you want to use that instead of bottled.

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After 6 months you can start giving small sips of water. If your baby is breastfed, it's totally not necessary,, though. I would give a bit of water in a sippy cup after feeding solids, but it really shouldn't be more than a few sips at this stage.

Don't buy nursery water. Tap water is generally healthier than bottled water, actually because it's far more regulated in terms of what's in it. Nursery water also has fluoride in it, which may not even be good for the baby.

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at birth.. babies are supposed to be given distilled water in their feeding bottle.. an ounce a day is good.... it does not wash out formula or breast milk.. water helps in their digestion.. its water and baby bodies are composed of 90% water..