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View Full Version : At what age can you give baby a little water to drink?



Annette_C
10-20-2002, 10:01 PM
Hi,
Sabrina will be 4 months old on the 24th and I was wondering if it's ok to give her some water or even light chamomile tea to drink.
I won't see her ped for another 2 weeks (for the dreaded 4 months shots!) so I thought of asking here on the board.
She's been drooling so much lately (she has little bumps on her gums, chews on everything, gets cranky out of the blue.....I think she's teething) that I'm afraid she'll get dehydrated.
Also, chamomile is supposed to calm people down and soothe the tummy...at least that's what I've been told at the health food store. Do you know if this is true? And, is it safe for babies?
Also, if you do give your baby water, what kind is it? I mean, plain water, nursery water, sugared (glucose) water, etc....I think you get what I'm trying to ask.:)
Thanks again ladies for all your valuable help!
Annette :)
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02

P.S. One more favor....I'm having the hardest time with the avatar image, can you tell me if you're able to see it? Thanks:)

Rachels
10-21-2002, 08:11 AM
If you're breastfeeding and staying hydrated yourself, you don't have to worry about dehydration in your baby. That said, my baby started having little sips of water at 4.5 months, when she started showing an obvious interest in it. We've also (on the advice of our ped) given her a teaspoon or so of weak chamomile tea, and it does seem to help her tummy. Pure peppermint tea is also okay. If you're nursing, you can also drink a strong tea with chamomile, peppermint, fennel, or any combination of the three, and that will help her. Just check ingredients-- babies under one year shouldn't have licorice root. HTH!

-Rachel
Mommy to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

KimberleyDawn
10-21-2002, 08:34 AM
I didn't know that you could give a baby water too early!!! I had my son drinking small amounts of water at only 2 months old (between feedings). I was planning on introducing water early to this baby too but if it's bad:(for him obviously I won't.
Kim

Shirale
10-21-2002, 11:07 AM
My Ped told me that babies can have a little bit of water if they seem to want it when they start eating solid foods (sometimes eases the ineviable constipation). Otherwise it is not necessary and can actually put too much sodium in their bodies which could be dangerous. As long as you are nursing, water is unneccasary and if you are giving formula they should have no more than 4 0z per day. I now give my 10 mo old 2 oz water with 2 oz apple juice (for the vitamin c as she won't eat fruits right now) but if they drink too much water or juice they won't eat enough real food or drink enough mother's milk/formula which is much more important.

mamahill
10-21-2002, 02:12 PM
That's intersting info about the tea. I introduced water at 5 months, along with her cereal/veggies but she wasn't too interested. The ped said I could offer it, but she was hydrated enough through bf. At 6.5 months, I give her plain water or juice at the end of her meal and she looks forward to it. Half of it ends up in the bottom of her Baby Bjorn bib, but she's liking it more and more, and if you take it away from her before she's ready, she let's you know! HTH...

mamahill
10-21-2002, 02:16 PM
ps - I've heard that for some reason images on geocities don't work, so if you have a pic there or yahoo picturs, it won't show up. Not sure why. I've offered before to others -- I have a URl/server where I could host it (people wouldn't see it from dh's web site so you don't need to worry we're using it for crazy whatever -- you can see his site at www.joelhillpictures.com. I host dd's pics there for family but you can't get to the pics unless you know the exact address). Anyway, if you're interested, email me the pic at [email protected] and I'll tell you what the URL should be. If you're not interested, I totally understand.

egoldber
10-21-2002, 08:54 PM
I started offering Sarah water when we started the sippy cup (6 months or so). Before that, the ped said no water was necessary, breastmilk or formula was all the liquid required.

I tried putting water in her sippy, but had to use breastmilk or formula instead, because she didn't know to swallow the water. She would take it in and then it would just dribble out of her mouth. After mastering the sippy with breastmilk/formula, then she was able to get the idea of actually drinking the water.

Water is now her favorite beverage. She actually doesn't like juice.

Personally, I would be a little leary of using herbs on babies. Herbs are another way of saying "drug". These products generally haven't even been tested for safety in adults, much less children. Also, the strengths can vary tremendously from brand to brand. I would definitely talk to your ped.

HTH,

Annette_C
10-23-2002, 10:02 PM
Thanks everyone for all the wonderful advice.....as usual!
BTW...I'm formula feeding since I'm not able to breastfeed.
In addition, special thanks to Sarah (mamahill) for helping me post Sabrina's picture.
Annette :)
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02