Solids / Breastmilk / Water - how much??

[slb]

Hi,

I have a 5 1/2 month old son and i wanted to know about how much breastmilk and food and water should he be consuming? He is about 14lbs. Should i give him water now that it is summer? he eats 1-2 gerber baby foods a day and drinks about 4 -4 1/2 oz of breastmilk at each feeding (5 times a day)

Thanks!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

at this age all he needs is breastmilk. It provides all of the nutrition and hydration that his body needs.

The composition of the breastmilk changes as his need for hydration changes. It will be more watery when it is hot outside. I saw this for myself when I was pumping during a hot spell when it was close to 100 degrees for several days in a row. My milk was more watery during that time. Pretty neat how that works!

[carolinamama]

:yeahthat:

DS is 8 months and I just gave him some water in a cup for the first time this weekend just so he could practice with the cup. He didn't really drink anything but loved playing with it. If I think he's thirsty, I just offer to nurse him since I don't want water or juice to take the place of bm.

[LMPC]

Yep, mother nature rocks! I give DD (almost 8 months) a water filled cup a few times a day to practice but never let her consume more than 2-3 oz of water per day. As for solids...she practices with the tastes 2 times a day but it's never more than 2-3 oz at a time. She's growing like a weed (and I get to enjoy consuming those extra calories while nursing!).