Water is a vital substance of which 85% are people. It is needed as a nutrient medium during fetal development. After birth, the baby receives it along with breast milk, which consists of 9 parts of water, and 1 part contains such components: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Many parents are interested in how old a child can be given water. It used to be that a baby should receive it from the first days of life. Now the opinion of experts has changed. They recommend starting to give water to the baby 3 months after birth.
Does the newborn need water
Can I give water to a monthly baby? With breastfeeding, this is not necessary, since in the first 2-3 months, mother's milk completely provides the baby with drink and food. If the baby is thirsty, it is always applied to the chest. Therefore, he is independently able to satisfy his need.
In the future, the mother needs to focus on certain factors:
- At the age of three months, the child can be given water for the first time.
- It is possible to determine the baby's need for additional drinking by dryness on the lips and in the mouth.
- A sign that the baby needs water is significant sweating.
- At such an early age, it is better to give liquid from a spoon so as not to accustom a child to a bottle.
Can a baby be given water? It needs to be offered to the baby, and then monitor his reaction. If he turns his head away, then he doesn’t want to drink yet.
Every mother should know that a newborn can quench their thirst with the first portion of breast milk. In the summer season, it becomes more fluid, therefore it better quenches thirst. In winter , breast milk becomes thick and high in calories.
How much can you give your child water
Pediatricians recommend starting giving water at the age of three months. This surprises many grandmothers, as they raised their children according to different rules. Can I give water to a monthly baby? Not worth it, since the drunk liquid will fill the stomach, so the baby begins to suck worse. Mom because of this can have unpleasant consequences, such as:
- Decreased mammary productivity.
- Excess milk will need to be expressed.
You should not worry if some grandmother, who does not trust modern methods, gives the monthly crumbs a little boiled water. If the baby does not need the liquid, he will not drink it or spit it out. If the baby once drinks water between feedings, this will not affect his appetite. In order to prevent the appearance of thirst in the baby in the first months after birth, it is often applied to the chest.
The benefits and harms of breastfeeding
The benefits of water with thirst are invaluable to humans. It helps restore water-salt balance and removes toxins from the body. But you need to give it only if necessary.
Having taught a child to drink from a bottle, a mother can harm not only the baby, but also herself:
- He may refuse to suckle.
- The load on his genitourinary system will increase.
- There is a risk of increased bilirubin, the appearance of jaundice. This is because breast milk dissolves this substance, but no water.
What kind of water can a baby be given? Experts advise using only bottled baby water. To get a safer liquid, you can filter it by hand and then boil it.
You need to understand that along with water, harmful bacteria can enter the baby's body. Ordinary bottled water will not save you from this. Even boiling does not kill some harmful organisms.
Doctors advise giving the child water in such cases:
- It is dry, hot weather.
- The baby has a high fever.
- The child is tormented by colic.
When to start giving water during artificial feeding
We figured out whether it is necessary to water the newborn during breastfeeding. But what about artificial? Since how many months can a child be given water if she grows on mixtures? Doctors say that you can offer your baby some water at any age (despite the fact that most of the mixtures are prepared by parents on the water).
By mixing the mixture, you can easily determine how much water enters the baby's body. Of course, everything needs to be done according to the instructions that are written on each package of baby food. Violation of proportions can lead to constipation, an excess of vitamins and minerals, as well as the appearance of excess weight.
It is logical to assume that the child should have enough water, which is in the mixture. However, in between meals, you need to offer him a drink. For example, if the frequency of feeding is every 4 hours, then water can be given every time 2-2.5 hours before feeding. How much water can I give to a monthly baby? You can milk babies on artificial feeding in any volume. According to statistics, children under 5 months rarely drink more than 30-70 ml per day.
Why milk a baby with artificial feeding?
There are reasons why babies who are bottle-fed need more water than those who are fed naturally. Among them:
- Water is necessary for the artificer, because the mixture contains more protein than in breast milk. For its splitting, a larger amount of liquid is needed. When can I give water to a nursing baby? An artificial newborn should receive water from the first days of his life.
- Drinking is an excellent way to prevent constipation in such babies. The reason for their appearance is a lack of fluid, due to a deficiency of which the stool becomes too dry and dense, therefore it is harder to remove from the body.
- Water is an excellent remedy for hiccups (this is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm and larynx). It relieves spasm and eliminates the cause of the condition. In order to prevent repetitions, the baby needs to be warmer to dress (if it is cold), hold for several minutes vertically (if air was sucked during feeding), calm down (if the hiccups appeared due to heavy crying).
- At elevated temperatures, it is necessary to supplement the child - so the body will be easier to cope with thermoregulation and remove pathogenic bacteria.
- With vomiting and diarrhea, the newborn needs to replenish the disturbed water balance. Therefore, during this period, you need to drink it often.
- There is a myth that water can cope with jaundice in newborns. This is a controversial statement, since jaundice appears due to an increase in the blood of bilirubin, which does not dissolve in water. Therefore, it is unlikely that additional fluid will help in this case.
Artificially fed children are given water from a bottle. The temperature of the liquid should be 36 degrees - so it will be easier to digest. At the age of 3 months and older, you need to start lowering the temperature of the water, gradually bringing it to 20 degrees.
How much water to give to the newborn-artificer
We have already found out that it is possible to give water to a monthly child if it grows on artificial mixtures.
Mom should offer water to the baby, but whether he wants to drink it or not, it already depends on his needs. In the heat or in a stuffy room it is necessary to offer water every 20-30 minutes. If the temperature in the room is normal (does not exceed 20 degrees), then the child will not want to drink. He will miss the fluid contained in the mixture. In a room where the room temperature (not higher than 24 degrees) the baby requires 60-100 ml per day. However, there are other opinions of experts on this subject. In general, it is recommended that infants be given 50-200 ml of water per day.
What water to drink baby
Drinking can bring both positive and negative consequences. Therefore, special attention should be paid to what kind of water is given to the child. There are several rules on how to choose it:
- There is no doubt that tap water is not suitable for milking a newborn, as it is chlorinated and contains a lot of harmful substances.
- The best choice will be bottled water for children (it is sold in pharmacies and supermarkets). It indicates the age for which it is intended, as well as the minerals that it contains. In addition, it is enriched with vitamins and minerals useful for children. Such water is bottled in a container made of plastic with a high degree of safety.
- Suitable for babies liquid is water from a spring or artesian sources.
- At what age can a child be given water with gas? If it is impossible to buy baby water, then the baby can be offered soda. However, it must first be shaken well, open the lid and let stand for several hours to let out all the gases. It should be remembered that water should not be too mineralized. Better to prefer neutral.
- Filtered water can be used if the filter changes as required.
- It is permissible to use boiled water. You can still hear that she is advised by pediatricians of the old school. In those days, it was believed that boiling kills all microorganisms. It really is. In such water there are no useful or harmful substances. Even salts dissolved in water precipitate and do not enter the body of the child.
- Breast can and should be given decoctions, however, not every grass is suitable for these purposes. For example, dill water will help with colic, chamomile and mint - with strong excitement, linden - with colds. You can buy ready-made granulated teas. They are convenient to use. In addition, they undergo close monitoring of production.
In no case should sugar be sweetened with water. It only increases the thirst of the baby, so it is impossible to get drunk with such water. Sugar is heavily absorbed by the body and overloads it. If the child does not want to drink, it is better not to force him.
Water characteristics
For babies, water should comply with the following standards:
- It should not contain nitrates (<15 mg per 1 liter).
- The content of mineral salts should not exceed 500 mg / l.
- The most important requirement is the absence of harmful microflora.
Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the composition of children's water and choose one that meets the standards.
The need for water when mixed feeding
A mixed feeding regimen consisting of breast milk and artificial mixtures requires the addition of crumbs. At what age can a child be given water? You need to start injecting fluid into the diet from the first days of life.
It is necessary to drink 2 hours before feeding. On average, children under 6 months old drink about 200 ml of water per day, and during the illness, the amount of fluid is increased to 300 ml.
After the start of feeding, the child needs more water. This is due to the start of eating cereals, vegetables and fruits.
Signs of dehydration in a newborn
We determined at what age you can give your child water. Now it’s important to prevent dehydration. Each parent needs to know how his symptoms manifest and how to get rid of them.
Signs of this dangerous condition include:
- Dry mucous membranes.
- During crying, the child does not have tears.
- The baby's eyes are dropping.
- The navel is drawn in.
- The child rarely urinates (less than 6 times a day).
- The color of urine changes (becomes darker).
If the parent finds such symptoms in the baby, you must immediately increase the amount of water consumed and consult a doctor. Severe dehydration cannot be eliminated simply by increasing the drinking regimen. It must be treated with special infusion solutions in a hospital.
Conclusion
We told how old a child can be given water. When offering it to a child, parents should take into account the diet, climatic conditions, room temperature, and the well-being of their crumbs. The main goal of drinking is to bring more benefits to the health of the newborn.