How Much Water?
June 17th, 2009 by ariana
How much water to give Jasper with or between meals has always been one of those elusive things for me.. sometimes I give an ounce or two, sometimes none. The question is complicated by two facts, a) that Jasper is underweight and I don’t want him filling up on water rather than food/milk and b) that he is OBSESSED with water.
When I say he’s obsessed, I mean that he literally waterboards himself with the sippy cup – and then flaps his arms and demands more.. I mean he actually grabs the wet paper towel I wipe his face with after meals and tries to SUCK THE WATER OUT OF IT! (Am I the only one with a kid this crazy?)
I can tell you think I am exaggerating. That is why I made sure to catch it on video:
So the fact that’s he’s so obsessed must mean he’s thirsty right? I guess I need to make sure he gets a little more than I’ve been giving him.. I just worry so much about spoiling what little appetite he has. How much water do you all give and when? Do you worry that it will fill them up or is that just me being my typical neurotic self? ;)
You might also like
 |
 |
 |
 |
OMG — Ava is the EXACT same way. I’m glad I’m not alone! She’s recently figured out the sippy, and I literally have to hide it until I’m ready to give it to her — she’s obsessed. She also grabs the washcloth from me when I’m wiping off her face and starts sucking all the water out of it. She tries to do it in the tub, too (gross).
I’ve read no more than 4 oz of water a day, but I’ve also read an ounce per month of age is fine. I give Ava no more than maybe 3 oz a day. I just fill a sippy about 1/3 full, and that is her allotment for the day. I only give it to her at mealtimes (solids) and if we happen to be out and I give her a snack (puffs or whatever). Hope that helps! Let me know what you decided — I posted about this recently because I was wondering the same thing.
Forgot to add — I bring a sippy cup with us if we are out when it is hot. Whenever I drink anything myself, I make sure to give Ava some water, too.
Jill, phew, I’m glad he’s no the only nutty little one!
Sounds like a good plan about giving a small amount when you drink too.. and just keeping it down to an ounce or two only with meals. The problem is once he has an ounce he doesn’t really let me take it away without throwing a fit!
I think I’ve also read that its good to give a bit more in the summer when it’s hot.
You know what also amazes me is that it may take him 10 minutes to finish a 5 oz bottle but he can suck down 2 oz of water in about 10 seconds!
I had no idea babies liked water so much! I guess that’s why they say to use a cup and not a bottle?
I’ve had water on my mind, too. We returned from a midday walk yesterday and Wes was so flushed, I was panicked! I know he’s too young for water still, so I stuffed a bottle in his mouth stat, even though it wasn’t feeding time. I was so worried he was going to be dehydrated!
Really, there should be a manual!
When my pedi told us to start giving water she said i could offer her up to 8oz. Zoe never drank that much, but i would offer it to her. Now that she’s eating table foods she does drink about that much.
James was MESMERIZED watching that full-screen just now! So very cute!
James loves water here and there… he would rather drink it from my glass than a sippy. But I don’t think he drinks that much.
I would just try to only offer water to Jasper once he’s had a meal or breastmilk…. the good thing is that water is not filling in the way that juice or milk are. But I know you are worried about his calorie intake, so that’s what I would do.
What does your pedi say? And how much does Jasper weigh? 18lbs? What’s his growth curve look like… any chance you are worrying unnecessarily?
Aliana loves water too… just like Jasper i think she is obsseded with it too… she wants to suck the water from her bath towel all the time……so cute…
Have you tried breastmilk in the sippy cup? I’m guessing you have, but it’s just a thought to get more nutrients into him.
Kirk loves water too! I give it to him throughout the day since it is soo hot in Austin. He drinks about an ounce at a time but spills some too:)
that video is awesome! its so great that he loves water, but i totally understand that you don’t want him filling up on the stuff when he needs the calories/protein etc.
we give liam water w/ meals and snacks – i never really measure it – but it probably equals about 5-6 ISH oz per day – i also add a bit of juice to the water sometimes (here is our fave juice http://www.firstjuice.com/ – the blueberry/purple carrot is fantastic! but it does stain :( )
do you have the book “super baby food” by ruth yarron? on page 62 she refers to appropriate water intake. saying 4-6 oz per day should be the mazium intake until about a year of age (but of course varies baby to baby)…
xo
sorry – correction the spelling is Ruth YARON.
http://www.superbabyfood.com/
I have always been worried about water intake for my son too. I read an article that said that it is not recommended at all for babies under 6 months old. And older than 6-months it should be no more than 6 oz. a day. Something about too much water disrupting brain growth. That freaked me out. Although for each meal he gets his sippy cup and does great with it. I wanted him to get used to the sippy cup. Sometimes he drinks more water than usual and I let him drink how ever much he wants. But altogether, I don’t think it’s really that much. He still gets the bulk of his nutrients through formula. I don’t want him filling up on water either.
Mia does that too! Even with washcloths in the soapy bath!
So judging by the responses, the water obsession must not = dehydration if ALL of our babies are like that!
Marybeth, I have tried Breastmilk in the sippy … he’s not nearly as excited by it ;)
Kari, funny you should mention super baby food, I JUST got it last week but haven’t had time to read through much of it.
I forgot until you all mentioned it that he started doing that with the washcloths too, and also tries to drink bath water from the container I use to pour water on him as if it were a cup. Ick!
I feel bad now because I’ve never given Jake water and didn’t know I was supposed to :/
Don’t feel bad Victoria, I don’t think I realized it either until I saw Kari talking about giving Liam water (around 6 months?) I think you only start at 6 months or so anyway and not very much. It’s not too late! Let us know how he likes it :)
You don’t ever NEED to give water to a baby under 1 who gets primarily breastmilk or formula… you just CAN if you want to. And under 6 months should not have water at all.
Ariana, I think Jasper probably just thinks that water is fun and tastes good, rather than his really being truly thirsty. I would only be concerned if his growth curve flattened or fell off… if he’s tracking well (even if he’s in a low percentile) then his growth is fine and you can stop (ok, reduce) your worrying! :)
Yes!!! My Daughter love to suck teh water out the washclothes during bath time too. I really have to be quick with it over her face.
Wow, I had totally forgotten about limiting water for babies under one. It appears that I’m going to have to do some re-reading. Thanks for the reminder and for the darling video. He loves water! I don’t blame him. I love it too.
Mikey is just getting close to 6 months old so, but we live in AZ and it is just terribly hot here, so I opted to give him a smidge of water out of a bottle to see if he would like it.
Nope.
He was pretty upset that I had tricked him into thinking he was getting a ba full of tastiness, lol.
I’m glad to see this discussion since I’ve been worried about my 8 month old son’s water intake. After reading Super Baby Food (mentioned already by Kari), I started trying to give Finn some water along with his solids, but he simply won’t drink it! We’ve tried sippy cups and bottles, but he just plays with it. We eventually resorted to filling up the last few bites of his fruit puree with water and feeding it to him on a spoon like a broth or something! He’ll take anything from a spoon. Now we’re trying to (carefully) give him water out of a regular cup since he loves to imitate what we do — but I’m always worried he’ll breathe it in and choke…
Oh no!!!!! I can’t recall ever having this water question cross my mind when Owen was but a wee one! Oh well… I guess he hasn’t been TOO damaged by water or lack thereof ;)
Just wait till Jasper gets into the toddler years! You’ll be praying he still loves water as much! Its difficult getting toddlers to drink water once they’ve tasted the forbidden fruit: JUICE!
I think the general thought is that if they’re pooping and peeing they’re okay…My 8 month old daughter can’t get enough water either…It seems like a warning so mothers don’t fill their babies’ bottles with water.