Feeding water to baby in hot weather ?

C

csj

Registered User
Hello,
I am exclusively breastfeeding my son who's 3 months, but at the end of July we will go for a short holiday in Cambodia (he will be 4 months then) and would like to know if I should give him some water (mineral or distilled) in between the feedings to prevent him from being too thirsty and dehydrated.
I know I should not feed him water yet but my parents (when they came to visit and every time we talk on the phone) always tell me to give him some water because of the heat in HK and insist even more for the Cambodia trip. I know they mean well but knowing that the weather will be much hotter and dryer in Cambodia, I am now wondering if they could be right and if I should take their advice.
:confused:
Thanks for your feedback.
c.
 
If he is thirsyy he will breastfeed more often, not necessary to give any water. Follow your baby's cues and he won't be dehydrated.
 
Actually Cambodia will be in the throes of the rainy season at the end of July, so the temperature might even be a bit cooler than HK because of that, and definitely not drier.
As the above poster said, breastfeeding will quench his thirst.
I would take precautions for mosquitos more than anything.
 
Thanks for your replies. I've read some similar older threads and it seems that everyone agrees on feeding baby more. So I will see how it goes I guess.
... and yes the mosquitoes, almost forgot about them! I'm thinking of bringing some patches to put around bub and an electric diffuser for the room to deter the insects. I'm not sure about spraying/applying chemicals on the delicate baby skin though... do you have any 'natural' based product to recommend?
 
I follow the Gina Ford book and she suggest giving baby water at 3-4 months. I started weening my baby off his night feed by offering him water. I also give him water around 4pm. When I go out with my baby and it's really hot. I give him some water and he seem to be thirsty and he wellcomes the drink.
 
As Frenchy mentioned earlier breast milk is mainly water and so if your baby is thirsty he will tend to have more short feeds. In fact as a breastfeeding counselor in Hong Kong this is really easy to see. We get a lot more calls from mothers in the summer months worried about the baby having lots of short feeds than we get in the winter.

Remember that as soon as your baby is given water (or any other food or liquid) your baby stops being an exclusively breastfed baby. The maximum health benefits occur while the baby is still being exclusively breastfed. Please do not feel under pressure to add to your baby's diet until he starts to show signs of wanting solid food around the middle of his first year.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Thank you Sarah for your advise. It's all well noted and it's also good to know that i'm not the only one worried about the water issue. I worried because i'm the thirsty type in any weather condition --and the heat combined with breastfeeding definitely don't help! - but I guess as long as I keep adequate hydration, the milk factory will continue its usual production, or may even work overtime if baby feeds more during the holidays!

The mosquito net is an excellent idea ! I will also check at 360 the products recommended by Frenchy -- Merci aussi !
 
to YTV: I also follow Gina Ford's routine but not too religiously, I guess, since I don't feed my son any water when he wakes up in the middle of the night (he still does not sleep throughout the night but it's much better than before). and I also don't give him any thing at 4pm otherwise he's not hungry for the 6pm feed.
 
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