giving the baby water?

Oh boy I am going to feel REALLY stupid if I haven't been doing the right thing here...but I'll go out on a limb.

My step MIL just reamed my husband saying that 'Jennifer should be giving at least 10 ounces of water a day to that baby'. Now I will reserve my opinion on the ATTITUDE of that statement, but....oh no! Am I supposed to be giving water?!?!?! The doctor never said anything about that....this can't be, can it?

Please reply!

I disagree with your MIL, they get all the liquid they need in BM or formula. Since the are feeding so much, water would just fill her up. Especially a baby as young as Sophia.

I find that older people - either grandparents or people their age - tend to give outdated information. But how would they know what's the latest info in infant care anyway? My Mom does it alot...but luckily she gives some great advice too.

I have heard the water myth...


that it is better to let the baby have water while going to sleep to prevent cavaties...

sounds pretty silly

We only gave Paul water when he got 'dried out' from the soy formula....he needed a little help to make his system 'regular' But, that was ONLY upon the doctor's advice. And - another reason you should NOT give an infant water - they are not used to such a thin liquid. BM and formula are MUCH thicker and consequently, they have to sukk harder to drink it. If you give a small infant water, they will often choke on it, b/c they become surprised by how fast it flows from the bottle!

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Posted by yabbobay

I have heard the water myth...


that it is better to let the baby have water while going to sleep to prevent cavaties...

sounds pretty silly

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I can agree with this statement when it comes to an older baby, one who has teeth and is on milk already. I would NEVER put Luke to sleep with a bottle of milk. They can definitely get cavities! My pediatrician said to try giving him water if he needed a bottle to fall asleep but he never did.

When Ryan was an infant we only gave him water on the Dr.'s advice when he was having trouble pooping!! Only a little bit. My Mom used to tell me that we should be giving him water...it's something that I guess fell out of favor as time went on. He has it more regularly now that he is older, but as an infant, only when necessary (and boy did it do the trick!!)

My ped mentioned this to us & I asked my LC. She said that there's no real need for it since we're exclusively bf'ing & Maria is having normal poopies.

I have found that when it comes to our moms' generation ... that they did things so differently from us ... and some are very judgemental about it. I try to take the casual approach to these unsolicited offerings of advice ... 'Hmm ... that's interesting ... I'll have to ask the dr what she thinks. Thanks.'

I get this one A LOT ... 'You're going to spoil that baby if you continue to (pick any one of the following ...) feed on demand; pick her up as soon as she cries; hold her and rock her to sleep ... etc, etc, etc'!

I think to myself ... what do they expect me to do ... leave her in the crib all day ... crying ?! She JUST turned three months! How can a baby this young be SPOILED?!

So, needless to say, I say do what feel is right with Sophia ... she's obviously fine ... a healthy, happy & GORGEOUS baby!

thanks ladies. I knew it couldn't be the case. I have been way too good about following all my ped's advice!

I think I got hyper-sensitive that it was the person it was asking...I don't feel very close to her and I kind of took it as an offensive comment (which by the way I know it was..). I have to adopt the right attitude though and have a prepared statement for these kinds of issues. You guys are totally right Christine!

Thanks again!

Jenny,

my mom used to give my sister water at night in a bottle and when she was 2 yrs old, she had a MAJOR cavity and had to have a silver cap put in!!!

Until it fell out for her adult teeth, my parents and my sister were totally embarrased! (It was a back molar but showed when she smiled).