Thirsty Baby?

[Peghead]

My cousin has just had a baby - happy and healthy in every way! She's bottle feeding, as the baby rejected her breast, and her midwife has told her not to give the baby any water just her usual feed of formula.

I'm sure the midwife knows what she's talking about, but my best friend who has a 1 year old was advised to make sure she gave her daughter plenty of bolied then cooled water, especially over the summer months because of dehydration.

The baby is also constipated, which is leaving her uncomfortable. Are there any mum's out there who can give me any advice to pass on? Should my cousin question the midwife or is it ok to keep her baby off water?

Thanks in advance! x

[devilwoman]

apparently in the first few weeks of a baby life the milk wether breast or bottle provides food and drink and all its reguirments, i actually started giving my kids drinks of cooled boiled water about 8 weeks, your friends child is much older so its different, but really cant see giving baby small drinks between feeds doing any harm, your friend should follow her instincts, she know her baby well. tell her congratulations and best wishes on the birth of her precious bundle :0)

[spudqueen]

I would definately try water if the baby is constipated. Do check though that the formula feeds are made up correctly as if there was too much formula to water ratio this could make the baby thirsty and constipated.

[noxlumos]

Small drinks of cooled water really won't hurt from birth. we have a lot of children and we've done this with all of ours. As spudqueen says double check the formula ratio as if it's out by even a little then it can cause a lot of problems.

[~posy-jo~]

i gave my daughter cooled boiled water from a couple of weeks of age because she suffered from constipation. it was just a little bit maybe 1oz or so, but it helped her and she still took just as much from her bottle. hope everything goes ok xXx

[redcrx]

My son was born last July and he suffered from constipation during his first 10 days. I was told that it was dehydration and to just put 1oz of extra water into his bottle once or twice a day.

Make sure your cousin is making bottles right and is adding powder to the water and not the other way around (this makes a great difference to the feed if done wrong). It shouldnt hurt to put a small amount of extra water in or give a small amount of water separately.

But if she is worried about going against her midwifes back then ask her to phone the midwives at the delivery suite. They will often give out advice during the first week or so of baby's life.

[gessoo]

I would say to follow her own instincts. All children are different. My son was a thirsty baby and actually rejected milk at times (at a very young age). However, he would readily drink cooled boiled water if offered as an alternative. He also preferred a drink of water first thing in the morning before a normal feed.

[Pippa68]

I didn't give my breastfed babies water from an early age as I was informed that breastmilk has both drink & food included. The first milk to come through at the beginning of a feed is watery..then comes the thicker 'food' type milk ~ this is often the reason why women give up breastfeeding as the baby can often get more of a drink than food..anyway, I digress..;o)

I would definately give a bottlefed baby water ~ it won't harm him/her at all & lack of hydration is certainly a major cause of constipation. Formula milk isn't going to be enough to hydrate as it is more of a food substance.

[Peghead]

Thank you all so much for your advice. I think it can be quite intimdating as a new mum when you want to question the midwife's advice without seeming ungrateful or rude.

I'll print off the replies you've given and pass them to my cousin. I'm sure she'll be very grateful and will find it comforting to read opinions from other mums.

Thanks again, you've all been very kind x

[The Tiggster]

My baby refused to drink water & was constipated for a couple of days. My health worker told me to put an extra ounce of cooled boiled water in the normal feed, as an "emergency" measure to get water into baby. I was using SMA Gold at the time as that was the one they used in hospital, but my health worker advised against it as it can cause constipation. I took her extra water advice & switched to Milupa Aptimil & he was right in a couple of days.

Hope darling wee one is better soon. Tiggs x