I have started my 6 month old baby girl on solids. I am adding small amounts of salt in some of the food i am giving her (like vegetable soup). I cook all the food i feed her, no jars or other readymade stuff. Do i need to give her water? If yes, can you advise how much?
Just a note: I have been exclusively breastfeeding her until now.
Clarification: I know that baby food should be as bland as possible without any added spices. Unfortunately (or fortunately) my baby has already developed a sense of taste. She refuses to eat any bland baby food at all... this prompted me to add verry little amounts of salt in her food. She also enjoys a little bit of pepper, cinnamon, sugar etc. in her food. Ofcourse i make sure the amounts are little, just enough for her to get the flavors without destroying her digestive track :).
Thanks everyone for the advice. I finally spoke to my daughter's ped. and she recommends giving her water only on very hot days and no more than 1 oz.
Hi there - my pediatrician told me at this age it is fine to give baby water but no more than 4 oz per day. Breast milk should still be the main staple in her diet- good for you for cooking all of her food! That is wonderful . . .good luck with everything
N.,
Yes, why are you giving her salt? I dont think that is a wise choice. The baby food has everything a child needs and salt at such a young age is not one of them. I have been giving my daughter water since she was very young. I feel everyone needs water, it cleans out the system and its just good for you. Start off only givng about one or two ounces. You dont want to give to much since you are still breastfeeding and she is eating solids and dont want her to fill up on water. I really feel that you should stop giving her salt. My daughter is 2 and I still never add any salt or seasonings to her food thats not already in it. Try the water and see how she likes it.
Hello, water is a great thing! I actually started my daughter with water when she was weeks old. If it's good for us why not them. I gave my daughter her regular meals and in between gave her water. Anytime she's not doing the formula or milk give her water. Let her tell you how much- start with a couple ounces and if goes quickly give her more. My daughter now still doesn't really like juice (she just turned 4)she drinks water all the time. If your out and about and she's in her stroller give her water with her snacks, too!
PS- i had a couple designated water only bottles or sippy cups just to keep the water fresher.
In answer to your question, she doesn't need water yet. She is getting all the liquids she needs from your breastmilk and food.
On an aside note, you shouldn't be giving her salt !!! Salt is an acquired taste, and the earlier you get her "addicted" to it, the more and more she'll want as she gets older, and high salt intake is a major health issue. If she doesn't want bland food, there are about 200 other spices you can use in lieu of salt!
p.s. she doesn't need sugar either - if you want to add sweetness, add some fruit.
If you are still nursing, she doesnt need a drop of water. Breastfed babies never need water. Your milk has all they need. And ditto on the salt...salt isnt good for babies and they really shouldnt have it. And kudos to making your own baby food! We did it too and it was fun!
Why do you assume her food needs to be bland? We did the single-item of food thing and combos of already-introduced foods for a few months with our son, but then one day when he was 7 months old we had Indian take out. He had eaten and nursed, but he was eyeballing my saag paneer and drooling like crazy! It was fairly spicy but he loved it and never looked back. He is 5 now and will try ANYTHING I put in front of him. He loves spicy food!
Having said that, I would avoid adding salt or sugar to her food as neither is healthy or really adds anything of value (nutritionally speaking) but herbs and spices in small amounts with careful monitoring of her reactions to make sure she isn't sensitive should be fine if her pediatrician is OK with it.
I don't get it either. I assume your making your own food to avoid chemicals and perservatives and such. So then why are you introducing a chemical like Sodium chloride into your child's food. First, your daughters taste buds aren't advanced enough to need food anhancers yet. The more bland at this point the better actually. Second, there is enough sodium in the foods she's getting to not have to add more. An overload of salt at this age isn't good. And with there being so many childhood problems out there, salt is only going to work against her more then it is going to help.
you know your baby better than everyone and if she responds favorably toward a bit of spice, thats great that you know that! she probably got used to strong flavors if thats what you eat--because she tastes it in your breastmilk.
as previous notes suggest, salt can lead to health problems so don't add it to foods now.
if you are breastfeeding, you don't need to give her water. But if you offer it and she takes it, that's good. you can always give her water when you're outside and have no breastmilk available (in a bottle) and its inconvenient to breastfeed, for instance if youre driving!
i didnt offer water until my daughter was 9 months...or older. i nursed her for 2 years.
Hi N.,
I would suggest talking about infant nutrition with your doctor. Water is not recommended for infants, especially breastfed babies. Water fills babies up without giving them any nutrients. Table salt would certainly not be recommended. At 6 months, a breastfed baby should just be starting solids. Single ingredient foods are recommended, not blends of things such as soups with spices. That's something more along the lines of a one year old. I recognize that different cultures have different dietary habits, but please speak with your doctor about what is safe and recommended. When babies begin solids at this age, it's recommended that they try single ingredient foods to identify any food allergies, and to avoid certain foods which are common allergens.
Good luck
At 6 months old, they only need breastmilk or formula..why are you wondering about water? Just curious...
I would recommend finding or using other spices if you must at this age and caution against adding any salt at all their little tiny kidneys are not designed to handle that much sodium at such a young age. They get more than enough sodium from other sources whether it's food they ingest or lotions, etc you put on them.
Good Luck with whatever you find. I was so grateful that my little guy ate bland because that's all he knew til his was almost 2.
Hi,
I'm still nursing my 10 month old daughter. She did not like jarred baby food once I introduced her to table food. I believe one of the reasons is that breastmilk takes on the flavor of things Mommies eat. Breastfed babies tend to be more adventurous when it comes to eating a variety of foods since they taste it in the breastmilk. There's no need to add sugar or salt to anything - spices are fine, lightly seasoned.
As for water - I'm in the process of training her to use a sippy cup and i put 1/2 water, 1/2 juice in it. She probably drinks 1 oz water/juice a day since she's still learning. But I wouldn't put juice in a bottle...not a good habit...
Hope this helps!
that is great that you are making your own baby food...I think I'm going to try that with my son...I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and an almost 4 month old boy. I was told by our pediatrician that spices and such in food is fine for babies, but I would refrain from salt as it may dehydrate her to some extent, even though you are only using a small amount. It may also predispose her to wanting that taste as she grows, which can lead to other health problems. I was also told that they don't need water at this age. My husband thought that odd and wanted me to check with the doctor. As long as she is getting formula or breast milk, she doesn't need water. I don't think I started giving my daughter water until she was old enough to drink from a sippy cup (around 7-8 months old). It might have even been longer than that. I also breast fed her until she was a year old, and am hoping to do that with my son. I completely believe that the benefits of breast feeding are tremendous. Good luck with everything!!
S.
32 year old mom of 2 1/2 year old daughter and 4 month old son
I don't get it. How (and why) are you feeding her salt?
salt is not good for babies, and neither is too much water. i read somewhere that it can lead to seizures. you should talk to the babies pediatrician about salt and water intake.
I use the Super Baby Food Book and make all my 9 month olds food. Water is recommended in small amounts(2oz./day) during and between meals to help the kidneys now that you're feeding solids. Big negative on the salt though. Use other healthy spices instead like cinnamon, garlic, cilantro...
Kudos to you for making her food. It feels good doesn't it!
In all likelihood - she doesn't need any additional water since you are still breastfeeding. But, if she wants something to drink on top of what she's already eaten - water is fine. My dgtr at that age was bottle fed, but couldn't go to sleep for the night without drinking a bottle and being rocked - so I gave her water instead of another formula bottle. She actually got so used to water (plus her formula - then milk) that she continues to mainly drink those two items (turned 2 at the end of June).
As for the baby food and spices - I fed mine organic jarred food (would have made it if I realized that it's not that hard!!). There's plenty of stuff added in there too (spices, salt, etc) - still pretty bland for my taste, but she got tastes of spices without it being overwhelming like you say - but there was no recommendation to ensure water intake when feeding jarred food. You are probably not adding in even that much with spices to your food.
Yes - there is too much salt in most things - and for the most part - there is no need to add salt. With that said - if she won't eat without spices - what are you going to do? Maybe try other, more innocuous spices - but a little salt isn't the end of the world as long as she's not overloaded. My dgtr (because she has always eaten what we ate - the same things, the same way - I just cut down on the heat - but not entirely) eats all kinds of spices now and even ate spicy gazpacho on her 1st b-day and loved it.
So - if she's thirsty - go for some water - maybe 4-8 ozs tops in a day? I was always concerned when she'd go above that amount - but sometimes she did - and was fine. Ask your ped too - some don't recommend it - but others are fine with it. Our mothers used to give us water with sugar in it - however much we wanted!! And - it may be a good time to try a sippy cup too or something like that to intro water. She probably won't do great with it - but will at some point figure it out and will know what to expect and may help you transition to another form of intake too!
hi, thats wonderful to have ebf for 6months. to answer your question, no she doesnt need water as breastmilk is primarily water and as long as you nurse enough, and she has wet diapers, she is fine. if on hot days you worry or she seems a litlle dehydrated, offer more breastmilk. all books will advise of that.
as to the salt, i beg you to change this habit. yor baby as you said has just started solids. she should be eating just a few things right now to get used to textures, but her nutrients are from the breastmilk. offer her saltfree things and if she doesnt take them, its ok as her food supply is from you, not the solids. now if you want to make more interesting things, please get a babyfood cookbook for appropriate foods at her age. but for the salt, even if she doesnt like plainer foods, use herbs to flavor. salt is an aquired taste, something learned. if you start her at such a young age using salt, she will lean towards them instead of less flavorful things(like she will rather have salted vegetable soup than fresh green beans).
salt is not good for us and is the main reason for high blood pressure in this country. my husband has horrible genetics with blood pressure, but when he eats less processed foods, his blood pressure improved greatly. do you know plain rice has no sodium, yet one serving of the "chicken" flavored rices have about 1000 mg of sodium. to put it in perspective "Most recommend not exceeding the range of 1,500 and 2,400 milligrams (mg) a day for healthy adults. Keep in mind that the lower your sodium, the more beneficial effect on blood pressure." so if you just eat one serving of rice, you already ate half of your daily allowance in one little side dish. remember, just because you think salt goes on popcorn or butter goes on corn, a baby would eat it plain. we shouldnt be putting our tastes on our baby. starting now is the time to set healthy eating habits in place, hopefully lasting a lifetime.
please please read thsse articles, babies get the needed amount of sodium from breastmilk. too much can damage kidneys. or use other herbs as salt is the only one to be a true health hazard, for all ages.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/saltinbabyfood.htm
http://www.salt.gov.uk/babies_and_children.html
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/startingsolids/saltexpert/
http://www.tinytums.com/content/baby_7_to_12_months/faqs/...
i applaud you for being so concerned about being more natural in terms of feeding your baby. im sure once you read the information, you will reconsider the salt. that being said, you may also google baby led weaning or baby led solids. or you could check out the threads on the la leche website about it. since you already take the extra time and work to make fresh meals, this might be something you would consider. good luck to you and good luck with the foods:)
Salt is actually really dangerous to a baby this age. Their kidneys cannot process it, read this article it will explain: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/saltinbabyfood.htm
And it's awesome that you're making all your own baby food. My daughter is 6 months as well and we've just started on oatmeal and I've been freezing single servings of fruits and veggies, which we haven't started yet. I think we're going to try carrots today. The web site above has fantastic recipes and recommendations for parents making their own baby food. I hope you find it useful.
Hi N.,
You can give your daughter water. It won't hurt her at all. She may not want any because she's nursing, but it can't hurt to try.
To be honest, I put very small amounts of various seasoning (salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, etc.) on my son's food, when it's appropriate of course, so he learns about the different tastes. Some things he likes, others he doesn't. At least he's getting a taste of them and will know what it is as he gets older.
Kudos to you for cooking all of her food. I wish I had had the time to do that when my son was first learning to eat solids. I was so tired at night that it was awfully handy having Gerber around!
Hi, try getting your daughter to drink from a sippy, i believe the smaller size ones are 6oz, start with this and if you do not feel she is peeing enough have her drink more. Instead of adding salt have you thought about using Mrs. Dashes salt substitutes? You can get some of her different blends that will give you the flavor without the salt. 4 out of my 5 little ones would not eat jarred baby food and the more flavorful the better! You may also want to try using sea salt instead of regualr salt, it has more flavor and does not have the chemicals that regular table salt does. my husband is a chef and we use this instead of table salt and our kids seem too enjoy it more when they get it.
