Giving water to a baby who is 8 wks

I know someone that her baby is about 8wks old. I found out that she is giving her baby water like if  the baby needs it. What do you guys think? I know that babies don't need water until 6 months I think.

[tiredbuthappy]

my ped said babies don't need water til a year. formula is mostly water. now that she's 9 months i'm allowed to give an ounce or two here or there, but it's not needed.

too much water can make a baby sick and throw their electrolytes out of whack.

what makes her think that her baby needs water?

[AndiJ78]

You were right, the baby doesn't need water. Breastmilk or formula provide all the hydration baby needs.

[babyscience]

Some people give babies a bit for constipation, but I never give Ethan water.  I tried once since it was really hot out and he just ate, he looked at me like I was crazy!!  LOL

[tazz00057]

I thought the same thing why would she give the baby water especially when he is that small.

[AndiJ78]

Again, a baby is highly unlikely to get constipated if all they are taking in is breast milk or properly mixed formula. It is when people start adding cereal or mixing the formula too strong that babies will get constipated.

[boosty]

my doctor said that it is perfectly good to start giving water  starting at 2 months old. its not necessary, but theres absolutely no harm. its mostly done for a reason though. i would say fevers, constipation. but if you just want to, its fine.

[boosty]

yes, although the baby doestn need water at that age and formula is enough, theres no harm in it after second month. i gave it to my daughter. my doctor says that although milk does take care of dehydration and they dont really need water, sometimes its nice to drink water. just like us . we can get our liquids from milk, but we might want water at times. thats what he said. its true. i asked around about that for my daughter . i was very curious. i asked three pediatricians and got the same answer. at six months old, i was allowed to feed my daughter light foods. like soup adn stuff. and i cant imagine them not drinking water after they start eating. i guess everyone can do what they want. but i gave my daughter water and shes fine. its not a big deal. it doesnt hurt them. and they actually love it.

[AndiJ78]

On the contrary, Boosty. It CAN harm them. Not only can it throw off a very delicate electrolyte balance it literally takes up space that should be filled with something nutritious like breast milk or formula.

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/about/news/release/2000/7-water.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n1_v11/ai_11971287

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032470.htm

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E7DA113FF93BA2575BC0A961958260

[Crritter]

For a little one you also need to be careful not to give too much water, with their size it can really throw off their system and can affect their blood system.  I was told no to water by our ped, at least not for a few months, my little ones caught everything going around and were pretty sick off and on.  When Carson got pneumonia at 11 weeks and then roto from the hospital, I was told to put him on pedialyte for 24 hours only, and to give strictly pedialyte no formula- but he had roto and had awful explosive frequent diarrhea.  After 24 hours I was told to go back to formula, if they stay on the pedialyte too long they can go into starvation mode.  Even when Cam was sick at 10 weeks, I was told to stick to formula or he would get full and miss out on the calories and nutrition he needed.  If her Dr. told her to do it though, I wouldn't worry.  Each Dr. will be different and each child will be different.  From my experience I was told to wait till he was eating solids, until then it was not necessary.  I did give my boys water around 6 months though, and they both liked it too.  Hope your friend's little one is feeling better soon.

[Crritter]

Andi, I knew it was something like that!  I was thinking it could even dilute the blood supply in the little ones.  I can't remember for sure, but back in my blood bank days I remember something big like that.  I had a hard enough time getting the right formula and I think I was even more scared of water.

[AndiJ78]

You were right and it can lead to swelling of the tissues...including the brain. Their bodies just cannot balance themselves well at that point and their kidneys cannot effectively filter and maintain the electrolytes.

And most docs will not suggest water for severe dehydration anymore, they know there needs to be a balanced electrolyte fluid going in.