Posted on 15. Feb, 2015 by in Infant
Some babies want water; others don’t. It is sometimes recommended that a baby be offered a few ounces of water between meals once or twice a day. It isn’t really necessary, because the amount of fluid in breast milk or formula will satisfy the baby’s ordinary needs. It is more important to offer water if the baby has a fever, or during excessively hot weather, especially if his urine turns dark yellow or he appears extra thirsty. Babies who ordinarily refuse water often take it at these times. Some mothers have found that adding small amounts of apple juice to the water gets the baby more interested. If you are giving extra water, it’s important to continue giving the regular amount of formula or breast milk as well. Babies given only water can become quite ill.
As a matter of fact, a lot of babies don’t want any water from the time they are a week or two old until they are about a year. During this age they fairly worship anything with nourishment in it, but they feel insulted by plain water. If your baby likes it, by all means give it to him once or several times a day when he is awake between meals, but not just before the next meal. You can give him as much as he wants, as long as he is taking his usual amount of formula or breast milk as well. He probably won’t want more than 2 ounces. But don’t urge him to take water if he doesn’t want it. There’s no point in getting him mad. He knows what he needs.