Baby Drinking Water?

It is good to have her drink some water. A trick to try is to either flavor it with just a little sugar or even a little juice. Just to taste though. This will usually help to get them to drink water when they don't like it!

Hi,

Have worked with many babies and had pediatricians who have either recommended 4 oz.boiled water mixed with 1 tsp. sugar(cooled) or you can use diluted pear juice which will be a little gentler than prune juice.

When my son was young he had to strain to go to the bathroom so my doctor suggested putting a drop of Kayro syrup in his bottle. I would put this in water bottles for him and it worked. He would drink the water because it had a sweet taste and it made it easier for him to go the the bathroom.

When my children were your duaghter's age he advised against water. He said their bodies couldn't process a lot of water. He advised an occassional bottle of 2 oz water mixed with 2 oz juice. I only gave them one or two a day when their bm seemed hard.

When he gave the okay for them to start baby food, prunes worked also. I would give them 1/2 a container in the morning and 1/2 in the evening until their bm seemed more normal.

Have you started her on cereal yet? At 4 months my daughter started having the same problem and I breast feed her. I found it was because we had started her on cereal. My pediatrician recommended giving her 2 oz of apple juice daily along with mixing yogurt in her cereal instead of fruit. We have found that this helps tremendously. Her stools aren't as hard and compact anymore. She is now 8 months old and still eats yogurt every day. As for water since she is breast fed she dosen't like bottles at all but will drink from a sports bottle. Hint- some babies prefer room temperature juice while others like it a little warmer. Hope this helps.

My doc never told me to have her drink water, if you use powdered formula you are already mixing it with water anyways. To help her pass a bm I put 1t light corn syrup in her bottle until she passed better. You could also give her a little prune juice or baby food prunes. You could put it into her ceral so she'll eat it better. When my oldest was this age she had a hard time going and it was the formula, she had to be put on soy formuala and she never had another problem. If you really want to give her water than try giving to her at the same temp as her formula. If that is what she is used to than she may take it like that. Bit I realy don't think water is a good idea.

Hi A., if you want to try the water intake, try first with a spoon a couple of drops in it. she might get into it that way. My second daughter, now 22 months would refuse the zippy cup and only would take water like that, with a spoon.
good luck!
M.

Hi A.,
My son had some problems with that around that age as well. I put some Karo syrup in with his formula. I did it once or twice a day, depending on how "stopped up" he was.
Hope it works out soon for you! :)

my kids were the same way when they were little they wouldnt touch it . that is until they started teething and we put it in the freezer until it was ice cold. then they would drink it in small portions. but the stuff they absoulitly loved and would drink it all day long if I had let them was fruit 2 o
its flavored water. and its not carbonated or anything. but be careful giveing water at to early an age if she isnt on jar food then its recomended that she not drink water only formula. but you can ask her doc to find out what the best time to start her on water really is.

I would say try flavored water or even something along the lines of pedialite. My daughter didn't like water much at first either but as she got older she wanted to drink water like daddy so it became a little easier for her. I don't know if the water will help her stools, you should probably contact your pediatritian for something like that. Try and make a game out of it for her too.

our doctor recommended a little brown sugar in water - warm it so it melts and then cool for drinking - this will do the trcik!

I don't think it is as much the water that is making her stool hardened is there iron in the formula? if so that can make it very difficult for them. I do think the water may help I wouldn't dilute the formula unless she will finish the bottle because she stil needs all the vitamins and minerals so as long as she's getting the same amount of the formula it should be okay. Also I would like to recomend trying goats milk instead of formula it is much easier on there digestive system and doctors say is the closest thing to breast milk. It sounds like the formula maybe irratating her stomach and since she is developing you don't want it to effect her long term. Try cutting out the iron if that doesn't work if it's possible try the goats milk I know alot of people whou have had success with it esspeciall kids with allergies to formula and soy. Hope this helps.

first off you should contact your pediatrician. The 7 pediatricians I work with usuallly suggest to NOT give any water bottles, they are absent calories and a 4 month old need as many calories as she can get. If the stools are a problem you can try a tablespoon of Karo syrup in a 4oz bottle of formula, or a 60/40 bottle of prune juice, the water being the 60 %. In some cases Glycolax can also be prescribed, 1/2 cap of powder to a 4oz feeding every other day to everyday for chronic problems.... Call your pediatrician and good luck

You only really need to give water if it is really hot out and she is loosing water from excessive sweating. You don't want her to drink water instead of the calorie and nutrient-filled milk. If she is having a hard time with BM, try changing her formula and/or diluting it. She is a little young in my opinion to start feeding other foods like prunes.

Hi A. -

My daughter had the same problem straining with BM's. Our pediatrician recommended giving her extra water, either by itself, or by diluting her formula. I give her about 2 ounces a day mixed with her formula and it works like a charm!! Good luck!

My doctors say that baby's, especially formula fed ones, do NOT need any water in the 1st year of life. They get all they need from the formula. Too much water can be dangerous. I believe it's called water intoxication and can even cause death. I would call your dr and ask him/her whether or not you should give your baby extra water.

Try putting a little sugar in it. Trust me it won't do any harm -- and after a month or so of just sugar water stop adding sugar and she won't even notice. That's what I did to help my son with his constipation and he was breast fed... now he loves water in his sippy cup!

A.
I asked my dr about the water thing & she said to not give the baby any because they get all the water they need in the formula.
My son is 8.5 months old now & I will give him water here & there in a sippy but he really doesn't care for it. I even give him water with his juice b/c you have to cut the juice.
Don't fret. She is ok! Have you started her on cereal or solids? That could explain the poop issue.

Hi A.!

I to was told not to give water. I have a 4 month old (and a 2 1/2 year old) and my pediatrician said that infants do not need water because they get enough with the formula. You probably want to talk to your pediatrician to find out if you should because she knows your child's history, etc. I also read that excess water could be bad because infant's kidneys cannot process excess water so definitely discuss this with your pediatrician.

My first daughter, at this age, was on similac and I had to put karo syrup in her bottles to help her with BM. I decided that she should not need karo syrup everyday and finally switched her formula (first to similac soy, then enfamil and finally enfamil lactofree where she had a BM with no assistance at all everyday). I started my 4 month old on lactofree and she is happy and pleasant almost everyday all day. You may want to talk to you doctor about that also.

Good luck,
S.

I would try to put a teaspoon of sugar in the water. This was recommended to me and it worked. Good Luck

Don't dilute the formula, she needs all of the nutrients from her bottles. just because the stools are hard doesn't mean that she's constipated also, some babies just seem to kind of push their poop out and there's no problem, that's just the way they do it. i would talk to your doctor first. my daughter had hard stools and would sometimes go 2-3 days without a stool at that age. once she started cereal, she started pooping all the time. we figured that she was just taking all that she needed from the formula and water and not having much waste. if she ever has a hard time with her stools, i put some prune juice in with her bottle or in her water (i only give water after meals or if it's hot), i did the same with my son and it worked with him. I can't remember the amounts i put in there (she hasn't had a problem in a while) so i would ask your doctors advice on the amount of prune juice to add. good luck :-)

Hello A.. First thing is DO NOT dilute her formula. She needs all of the nutrients that are in the formula. My oldest daughter did not like water either. What you can try is buy Gerber Apple Juice or White Grape Juice and do a mixture of 3/4 water to 1/4 juice. I still dilute my childrens juice this way. They are only supposed to have 4 oz. of juice a day. At her age you will be okay to start her with some diluted juice.

Good Luck and enjoy every minute of your little girl.

T.

One word: prunes =)

Most babies love the taste and they work like a charm. They're also healthy and natural. I read that babies actually shouldn't have any syrups for the same reason they're not supposed to have honey until they're 1. I'd go with the prunes first.

Tip: Don't feed her the whole container. I made that mistake and had the MESSIEST diapers for 2 days. Ugh!

Hi,
If Your daughter is NOT liking Water to well, YES, DILUTE HER WATER SO SHE IS GETTING PLENTY!!! Also, if You haven't started Juices try Giving Her Aplle juice like an OUNCE a Day to help her BM's come @ ease. Prune Juice if it's TOO HARD FOR HER TO DO n SHE's REALLY STRUGGLING, Prune Juice is good. But YES U can never go wrong with Water! :0)
THINGS WILL GET BETTER

Hello! I have had two doctors tell me to put 1 teaspoon of the clear (not dark) Karo syrup in 4 ounces of water and it always does the trick before too long. She'll most likely like the sweetness of it. This wasn't something you would do everyday, but maybe a few bottles on the first day and one the next day or so until things get running "smoother" again. good luck!