Giving your newborn water?

J

junechan

New member
I learnt from my readings and recommendation from my Paediatrician that baby under 6 mths does not need additional water since water content in milk should suffice.
I'm feeding my 3 weeks old on expressed breast milk 4oz every 3-4 hr, but he's often hungry after 2hr. Even worse, he started to have baby acne few days ago. Other than that, he has good weight gain, normal stool and pee pee. I've been pressured by my parents and in-laws that I should give him water.

1.Does any of you give your newborn water?
2.Any similar experience with baby acne? My Paed told me there's nothing to do about it, how long does it take to clear? Untill the acne is gone, I'm faced with persistent pressure from my in-laws, 'coz they think my beast milk is too "heaty".
 
We gave her son water after 1 month . there is nothing wrong with .Even our dr said not to give, my mil said there is nothing wrong with it and now he loves water and also we have seen some babies who are given water later dont take to it easily
 
i don't think breastmilk can be "heaty", formula on the other hand could be. i think a lot of us went through the same thing with the in-laws.

my take is that while water is 'unnecessary', i don't think it hurts either (provided that your baby still take the same amount of milk). my MIL told me they feed hubby alternate meals of milk and water when he's a baby, and he's just fine. i understand it's frustrating to be fighting this when you're worried about all the other things already. i'm also much worried about following directions froms books and paeds with our first born, now that i'm expecting my second, i think (hope) i'll be a lot relaxed about these things when the next one comes. if we just try to do a bit of 'common-sense' thinking, a little water can't be bad babies after all.
 
When we had our second just a few months ago, the nurses at the hospital recommended us to give the newborn some water.

But this was only due to the reason that the milk supply was not fully there yet. They also strongly advised us that once the breasts "deliver" enough milk, we shouldn't give any water anymore.

Don't worry too much about the baby acne. It will go away within a few days/weeks. We had it on both babies and they are just fine now. Our paed also told us that it is normal with breast fed babies and it will go away.
 
The big problem with giving water to your baby is that it stops your baby from being an exclusively breastfed baby.

Any breastfeeding is good for your baby but the most benefits come from your baby being exclusively breastfed. This means that your baby receives nothing but breast milk. That means no water, no formula, no juices and no solids.

You say that your baby seems hungry after a couple of hours. This is very normal for young babies. I suggest that you feed your baby more milk.

Babies don?t eat on schedules they vary when they want to feed through out the day. We say that babies will feed between 8 and 14 times in 24 hours and we phrase it that way on purpose - and not that babies feed every three hours because babies change their feeding styles throughout the day.

For part of the day they will feed regularly (maybe every two hours), part of the day they will have a longer gap between feeds (maybe four or even five hours ? and of course you hope this will be at night) and part of the day they will ask for lots of feeds in just two or three hours (this cluster feeding is often during the evening ? see http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html).

Baby ache is a separate matter and as your doctor says it will clear up by itself. It is called baby ache because it only happens when the child is a baby.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Pressure from inlaws or other family members is tough to deal with...
We didn't give our son any water until 6mths when he started solids. For the first 4mths he fed every 2hrs with 1 long stretch of 4 hrs everyday like sarah mentioned. unlucky for us, this stretch was usually during the day! Hang in there, the lack of sleep/hungry baby does get better.

Our son also had baby acne for about 2mths all over his face. it was pretty awful looking but didnt seem to bother baby and it did eventually go away on it's own without treatment.

Do what you feel comfortable doing and nothing that you're hesitant about because you will not feel at ease with yourself if you force yourself to do something you're not ok with. In the beginning i too struggled with setting boundaries with family members. i think people worry and want to help you with their advice and suggestions without understanding that it's hard enough being a new mom and sometimes the comments can become stressful. I just would thank them kindly for their concern and say how lucky mm was to have so many people who cared about him, then tell them what i was going to do...After a while they will stop because they will understand you have your own way/methods.

either way, your baby will be OK so try not to worry too much!!! haha easier said then done!
 
but we were actually happy mil asked to start giving water. our baby was bottle fed . as mentioned above do what u feel comfortable. as all first time moms u learn eventually

best of luck
 
I gave D water when he was 2 months. I know all the books discourage water for breastfed babies, but he was born in the summer and was sweating all the time. He wanted to nurse continuously and I figured he must be thirsty. So I used to give him an oz or two of water in-between feeds. I also taught him the hand-signs for water and milk so he can ask for them. Glad I did he's now 5 and he still prefers to drink water over juice.
 
Breastmilk is very easily digested, a baby recieving breastmilk will often want to feed every 2 hours.
If she seems hungry, feed her some more. My first baby fed every 1.5 to 2 hours around the clock the first 6 weeks straight, and gained a ton of weight. My second (a bigger baby from the start) fed every 3 hours, occasionally every 2 hours.
BM is 90 % water and 10% solids, so water is not necessary. If you do give water make sure it is not replacing milk. The reason water is not recommended is because 1. it is not necessary, and 2 to prevent people from giving water, which has no calories when they should have given milk. In your case with your concern baby is hungry I would definatly avoid the water and give more milk. 3 weeks is also the time when babies have a growth spurt, so that may be why your baby is hungrier.

The baby acne is normal, caused by hormones and has nothing to do with eating. It will go away eventually. One of mine had it, starting around 3 weeks and it lasted, I think about 3 weeks.
 
Unless your in laws have a medical degree why would you take their word over your paeditrician?

Like Sarah said, babies don't need water and you'll only end up filling him up without giving the needed calories.

baby acne is common and will clear by itself. My newborn had it for a week or two and we did nothing. it's gone now.

Why are you insisting on only feeding your newborn every 3-4 hours if they are clearly hungry more often that that? My 9 week old is still getting fed every 2-3 hours during the day.

If it's your first baby i can understand your anxiety but try and follow your own instincts and listen to your baby. You are the best person to judge what the baby needs. And enjoy it!
 
Thanks a million, ladies. Your comments are reassuring.

I've proved that feeding baby water does not work.
Last night, he was fed 4.5 oz expressed breast milk, became hungry and fussy 2 hr later. I experimented with ~1.5 oz of water. He became even more fussy soon afterwards. Then I finally resorted to giving him another 3 oz of expressed breast milk. The result was, he had way too much volume in his stomach within a short period of time. His belly became protruding, and he was crying in discomfort in the subsequent 2 hours.

It is very true that if your baby cry in hunger, he needs more milk, not water, not anything else.

I'm anxiously waiting for his acne to go away before his full moon dinner next week. Can't imagine what the relatives will say about his spotty face!
 
Giving water only fills up your little baby's tummy so he hasn't got as much room for his food - your nutritious milk. Remember that breast milk will always satisfy your baby's thirst, as well as hunger, even in hot weather. Best thing for baby is breastmilk on demand and as he grows it will get easier.

We've all been there with parents and in-laws but be confident in yourself. I always feel assured by a very good and true saying of "What baby wants is what baby needs".

All babies get baby acne, it doesn't bother them at all and usually clears up around 3 months of age. If it gets very severe your Doc can give you a cream to calm it.
 
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