Jun 16, 2006

Water for Baby?

Are we not suppose to give baby water? My son's doctor said baby at his age are not suppose to be given water. Because if so, they will prefer to drink water than their formula. I was confused and surprised with that statement. Water has no taste, why would they like it more than their formula which is sweet (I've tasted them). The nurse said that they will like it because it has no taste and they will stop drinking their milk because it has a taste. Weird answer huh?

6 comments:

mom2ashley said...

i gave ashley water since the day she was born....till now she is absolutely fine. I give her water right after she drnks her milk to wash the milk away from her mouth. go with your instincts...sometimes, the docs are not always correct.

ZMM said...

very weird answer..

I give Zara water too since she's born.. and she's fine. She didn't prefer water to formula.

Babies are naturally drawn to sweet taste, I don't think they will reject milk as it has sweetish taste.

wHOisBaBy said...

mom2ashley & zara's mama: "Western doctors" do not recommend to give water to baby. I even read the books that says baby at this age doesn't need water.

I will continue to give him water but not as often as before. It is summer here and I am concern about dehydration.

Anonymous said...

what kind of water do you give him? is boiled bottle water OK?

wHOisBaBy said...

featherball: The doctor said NO WATER. But I still giving him just regular bottled water. We didn't boil it though since he is taking very little of it anyway. But we boil the water for his formula.

Anonymous said...

The actual reason for this is so that babies will get the nutrients that they need. If they drink too much water- then there is less need and less room for formual and that is where they get all of their nutirnets from. Also, too much water can disrupt a baby's chemical balance- it will dilute the maount of salt in the baby's system and it is imperative for the baby to have the right balance of salt (otherwise the brain won't function properly and various organs coudl shut down).