What kind of water should I give my baby?

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What kind of water should I give to my baby?

When a baby comes, every little thing you have to do will concern you. Should I bathe my baby or not? Am I dressing him right? Is he breathing too fast? Why are his eyebrows so thin? Why is he making that sound? What did I do wrong to change his poop color? As a pediatrician, I answer thousands of such questions from parents and I always understand their feelings. Your baby is the most precious to you and you are trying to give him the best. 

What water should I give my baby is a question that I hear so often. There are many types of water, bottled water, distilled water, and tap water that might confuse you. You cannot offer water to the newborns but when he comes to the right age, you will definitely face this question. Formula feeding mothers might face this problem with a slight difference, what water should I use to make formula? 

There are few things you must know about giving water to your baby. This article will cover when you should give water to your baby, what water you should give him or use to make the formula, and much other essential knowledge on offering water to your baby. 

CONTENT

1.   When can I give water to my baby?

2.   Why should not I give water to my baby until he is six months?

3.   Can my baby get dehydrated?

4.   What kind of water should I give to my baby? / What type of water is the best to make formula?

5.   How to introduce water to your baby?

1.    When can I give water to my baby? 

The babies should not be given water until they are six months. It is recommended to feed the babies with breastmilk or baby formula till they turn six months of age. Breastmilk contains 80% of water so there is no need for your baby to drink water separately. If your baby is formula-fed, he will fulfill his need for water from the formula. 

They will only need water when they start taking solid food at six months and start to eat less breastmilk/baby formula than they used to before. So you should not attempt to give water to your baby till the age of six months. 

2.    Why should not I give water to my baby until he is six months? 

The first reason you should not give water to your baby before six months is that his kidneys are not ready yet to filter plain water. This will cause water intoxication which can affect the health and development of the baby adversely. There is also a potential risk for electrolyte imbalance inside your baby’s body, which is not good for his health. 

Your baby will get a sufficient amount of water from breastmilk or baby formula even when it is really sunny and hot. If you give water separately to your baby it will fill up his tiny tummy leaving lesser space for his only food at the moment, breastmilk or baby formula. Excess water will also affect the nutrition absorption process of the baby. 

When your baby eats less, breastfeeding mothers will experience a drop in their milk supply. As your breastfed baby needs to depend on your breastmilk until at least 12 months, you need to maintain your supply at a considerable level for the first year unless you are planning to supplement him with formula.

3.    Can my baby get dehydrated? 

Breastmilk or baby formula can keep your baby hydrated through any weather condition. If your baby is sick, there will be a need for an extra amount of water. You can keep a count of the wet and dirty diapers to check whether your baby is hydrated while being sick.

 Frequent feeds will ensure that your baby gets a sufficient amount of water and prevent him from being dehydrated. Being sick is not a reason to give water to your baby unless it is advised by your pediatrician. 

But when your baby starts solid food and eats less breastmilk/ baby formula, you have to ensure that he is taking enough amount of water every day. This is a rough estimation of the amount of water your baby needs according to their age. 

  • Babies who are of age 6 to 12 months will need 2 to 4 ounces of water daily
  • After the first birthday babies will need 8 ounces of water every day
  • This amount of water will increase as they grow up. For every additional year from the age of one, you have to increase the amount of water by 8 ounces, i.e. a 2-year-old will need 16 ounces while a 3-year-old, 24 ounces.
What kind of water should I give to my baby?

4.    What kind of water should I give to my baby? / What type of water is the best to make formula? 

When your baby is six months old, it is safe to offer him water. The next problem is what water is safe for your baby. The same problem will arise in regards to baby formula. What water is good for making formula?

Your baby should start drinking plain water from the beginning as it will help to love the taste of water. If not, when they get older it will be a problem to give them a sufficient amount of water. By plain water, it means that you should not mix anything to flavor the water such as fruit juice. 

If your local health department certifies that tap water in your area is safe for drinking, you can give it to your baby and use it for making formula. Tap water contains fluoride which is beneficial for your teething baby. No other source of water such as bottled water contains fluoride in most cases. 

It is not recommended to use bottled water for both drinking and preparing baby formula for your baby. The reason for this is that bottled water is not sterilized so there can be harmful germs. Some bottled water will contain an excess amount of sulfate and sodium. In case bottled water is the best option available to you, boil it before using it and choose a brand with a good composition of minerals. 

Springwater is rich in minerals so it is pleasant in taste and appropriate for drinking. But there is a risk of germs being present and also an unhealthy concentration of minerals which is not good for your baby. If you are going to use well water for drinking or preparing baby formula, do a laboratory test to ensure that water from your well is safe to use. 

When comes to safety, distilled water is the best to offer your baby as it will have no germs in it. There will be no need to boil distilled water but it lacks taste due to the absence of minerals. Anyways, you will have to switch from distilled water at least when your baby becomes one. 

5.    How to introduce water to your baby? 

There is no special trick to introduce water to your baby. Just offer water to your baby in a bottle, sippy cup, normal cups, or even through a straw. Give water little by little and do not force your baby to drink a large amount of water in a single day. 

If you can make drinking a sufficient amount of water a habit for your baby from the youngest days, it will benefit him throughout his life. The way you offer will fascinate your little one who is in an age which makes them curious about new colors and shapes. These are few recommendations of cups to make drinking water interesting to your baby. 

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