How much juice?

[abh5e8]

ds2 will only drink warm water...very warm, verging on hot. he is kinda weird, i know but otherwise he only takes breast milk, which is obviously warm. and he is 18 months. i also offer it to him while he is eating dinner and he will drink more in between bites that way. like i put the sippy in his mouth and tip it up and he will drink more...if i just put it on the table in front of him he won't drink as much.

i would still not do any juice...except maybe prune, to help with the hard stools. also avoid bananas...they give very hard stools. as do iron supplements (including iron fortified cereals).

[candaceb]

Last summer, DS went on a nursing strike and my milk dried up very quickly. He refused bottles, and couldn't seem to figure out sippy cups or straw cups, and of course it coincided with the first hot weather of the summer. I was in a total panic about liquids and did research here and other places and ended up giving lots of foods that are heavy on water. I think that would be a better option than starting juices.
- watermelon (as mentioned above)
- tofu
- applesauce
- berries
- cucumbers
- yogurt

[brittone2]

My DS1 had constipation issues. He rarely drank milk as a toddler just to drink it, and he was still nursing at that point. We never really did juice and he wasn't big on it anyway.

We eventually went to miralax.

My DS2 tends toward a bit of withholding (PT'd on his own early, but doesn't like to poop)...although much less so than my DS1. He gets a touch of miralax in a smoothie.

How about smoothies in general? You can make them without dairy. My DS2 particularly likes them if there is a straw involved. Not saying you need to go the miralax route, but you could do smoothies for liquid, and at least it is *food* and nutrition in there, kwim? If you are feeding yogurt you could add some of that into the smoothie, but you could make it dairy-free as well.

We also did and continue to do fruity teas (caffeine free). My kids really like rooibos tea, which is naturally high in antioxidants and caffeine free. They enjoy tea unsweetened or very lightly sweetened. I would encourage the unsweeteened and see how that goes. Some of them have a bit of natural sweetness because they are fruity. We just finished off a box of rooibos that was mango something or other and it was naturally a bit sweet even without anything added.

Since the weather is warming up, one other thought is freezing flavored teas (unsweetened or if you feel you must lightly sweeten) or smoothies as popsicles. I did that a lot when it was warm out to encourage DS1 to consume a bit more liquid at the time. I would just put him outside on the deck to minimize the mess.

A few years ago TJs carried an amazing orange rooibos tea that was soooo good and my kids just adored it. Bummer that they discontinued it. But there are lots of good flavored options out there-maybe she'll go for the novelty.

If you aren't cutting out dairy entirely, you could also try a baby-friendly probiotic supplement to see if that helps at all.

[mackmama]

Our 15mo DC does not like to drink milk. Our pedi said to give DC 3 servings of dairy per day and that non-milk sources were fine and counted. So DC gets yogurt, cheese, etc.

[Momit]

Originally Posted by trcy

Thanks for the reassurance I didn't know the importance of water until my early 20s and had a kidney stone so I would prefer she not learn the hard way. She will drink water, just not a lot..maybe 6oz on a good day. I have better luck with the water when she is playing. Any other tips?

DS started drinking WAY more water when we got a cool-looking stainless sippy, and later a Kleen Kanteen. We called them his "sports bottle" and took them every time we went out in the summer.

DS has always consumed on the higher end of the milk recommendation, plus he has yogurt every day and usually cheese too, and he has always been fine. We don't do juice except at a birthday party or something.

[FTMLuc]

We only do a very limited amount of juice (freshly squeezed OJ that I make for DD for weekend breakfast), but on hot days I boil some frozen organic fruit/berries + 1/2 apple (about 2 cups in 3-4 quarts of water) and let DD drink that instead of water and call it juice for her. It has a lot more flavor than plain water, but no added sugars other than what was in the fruit itself.

[Momit]

Originally Posted by FTMLuc

We only do a very limited amount of juice (freshly squeezed OJ that I make for DD for weekend breakfast), but on hot days I boil some frozen organic fruit/berries + 1/2 apple (about 2 cups in 3-4 quarts of water) and let DD drink that instead of water and call it juice for her. It has a lot more flavor than plain water, but no added sugars other than what was in the fruit itself.

Oh, good idea! We also love strawberry, cucumber, mint etc. in a pitcher of water during the summer. And the fruit teas like Brittone mentioned.

[sariana]

It is calcium, not milk specifically, that inferferes with iron absorption. Does your DD have problems with low iron? Mine does, and she takes iron supplements. So she gets a small cup of high-vitamin C juice every morning. She doesn't like orange juice, so we usually alternate between apple and white grape or some combination of apple and grape.

For a healthy child who eats well, 6-8 oz of 100% juice a day probably is fine. Maybe not ideal, but not a nutritional abyss, either.

Will your DD eat dried fruits? DD's ped suggested raisins, which DD loves, to help with her constipation/tummy aches. She and DS also eat a lot of natural applesauce, which is more convenient than an apple.

If your DD will not drink water and is suffering because of it, some juice may be your next best option. As long as it is 100% juice and maybe offers some extra vitamins (usually C, sometimes A), she will be better off than being dehydrated. If low iron is a concern, avoid juice with added calcium.

And have your DD brush her teeth after drinking juice.

Another option is to offer water in different containers. Sometimes a "fun" container can make it seem more appealing.

With juice and milk, though, be aware of the extra calories. Water, of course, has none.