How to introduce water to your baby

Drinking enough water is very necessary for every living being on this planet earth. No one can survive without water. Water helps our body in many ways and having enough water is a clear sign that we are healthy. Just like us, babies also need water. When they are in their mother’s womb, they get water from the mother’s body and the amniotic fluid.  As soon as they come out of the mother’s womb, they get their water requirement through breastmilk and formula milk as they have 70 percent water and only 30 percent other essential nutrients in them for a small baby to survive and grow. Drinking the correct amount of water according to age is very necessary for every human being to maintain a healthy body. In this article, I will tell you how you can introduce water to your baby in many ways without forcing them to drink or making them cry because many babies reject water initially just like they reject solid food as the water is tasteless, colorless, and odorless.

When to Introduce water to your baby?

Whenever you start your baby’s solid journey, you should also start giving water to them along with their meals. If you have started giving solids to your baby at 5 months, you can give water at 5 months too. Before beginning any solid food, giving water to babies in any form is not recommended even though it’s a hot summer day outside. You should give only breastmilk or formula milk when they feel thirsty or hungry. That should be their only source of food. Because I have seen many elders tell us that when the weather is very hot outside you should give some small sips of water to your baby frequently or every hour or he may get dehydrated. This applies only to babies above 6 months of age. Before 6 months, you can give only breastmilk or formula milk every hour or every half an hour to prevent your baby from dehydration or constipation. Other than that no other liquids are allowed.

You can start introducing small amounts of water to your baby when they start eating semi-solid food around 6 months of age. Because after starting solids, the water content in the breastmilk or formula milk will not be enough to digest all the solid food in your baby’s stomach. At the age of 6 months, your baby’s kidneys are slightly matured and will be able to digest water too. Before 6 months, water is not recommended as your baby’s kidneys are not fully developed and will not be able to digest water and other nutrients and minerals present in the water. Giving water at this age can fill up your baby’s stomach and the baby will not be able to drink enough breastmilk or formula milk which may lead to less weight gain, dehydration, etc. Introducing water is just as new as introducing solid food to your baby. Your baby will reject it every time you give them as water is tasteless and colorless. And we all know babies like something that looks interesting, smells good, tastes yummy, and looks colorful. You should not let go of your baby if they reject water. Just like you try to give solid food every time to your baby with new ideas and creative things, you should also try giving water to them in different ways.

Advantages of drinking enough water:-

• Prevents constipation.
• Helps in easy digestion.
• Delivers oxygen and other nutrients throughout the body.
• Helps in weight loss.
• Prevents kidney stones.
• Prevents urinary tract infections.
• Helps in skin repair.
• Maintains body temperature.
• Lubricates your joints.
• Keeps your blood pressure normal.
• Flushes out bacteria from your body.
• Boosts your energy.
• Protects your tissues and organs.
• Prevents headaches.
• Boosts energy levels.
• Helps in brain function.
• Boosts immunity.

How to Introduce Water?

When you introduce water to your baby make sure it’s boiled and cooled down. You can boil one small bottle of water in the morning. Let it cool down and store it in your baby’s water bottle and make sure you give all the water till night. Make fresh drinking water the next morning again. I know your baby will not be able to finish the whole bottle of water till night, so you can use that boiled water in your baby food to make it semi-solid or add it to their fruit juices, buttermilk, or in their meals. Warm water is best for babies as it can prevent constipation, and clear your baby’s tummy, and your baby will burp easily after drinking warm water.

You can start giving water with a spoon first. Because your baby will not be able to drink directly from the cup initially as they don’t know how to suck water from the cup or bottles. You can try giving water in milk bottles but what happens is that since babies don’t like water they will stop drinking milk from the bottle too thinking that it is water. So, a spoon is the best way. Take one or two drops of water and keep it in your baby’s mouth when you offer them milk. Because they will throw away the spoon when you try to give them when they’re playing or having their meal. Initially, just pour some water into their mouth and let them swallow it. Slowly, they will learn to drink from a spoon, then from a cup, then from a small glass, and then suck from a water bottle. This takes so much patience and practice.

Offer them water 30 minutes before a meal and 30 minutes after a meal. You can also try giving water in between to make them practice drinking water from a sippy cup. Nowadays there are many sippy cups, colorful water bottles, and spoons available for kids to make the drinking water experience more enjoyable. You can try these products and check which works best for your baby. Every baby is different. The methods that work for one baby may not work for another. So as a parent, you should always try new things and keep experimenting to make the whole process wonderful. If you don’t give enough water to your baby, your baby can easily get dehydrated and constipated which is worse than getting flu or a fever.

Avoid giving straws, sippy cups, open glasses, and direct water bottles initially. First, your baby needs to learn to suck water from a spoon, then you can introduce all these items slowly.

Here are some of the amazing products I used for my 2 kids to introduce water:-

How much quantity of water should be given according to your baby’s age?

The quantity of water to be given depends on the baby’s age, outside weather, and the child’s health condition. Your baby needs to be hydrated more in summer or if they are in a sports club. Playing outdoor games frequently will make your baby thirsty more often. If your baby has a fever or any other disease, the water requirement increases to flush out the bacteria or viruses from the body. Drinking water means your baby should only drink plain water, not something added to it, or consume it in the form of sodas, juices, and other flavored waters. Give water whenever your baby feels thirsty or hungry. Also, offer water when your kid comes from a hot day school or after playing games, or from a park.

For 6 to 12 month old baby you should give at least 100 to 250 ml of water that is 2 cups daily.

From 12 to 24 months, you can slowly increase the quantity of water from 250 ml to 1000 ml that is 4 cups per day.

After 2 years, try to give at least 6 cups of water daily.

For adults, we all know we should drink 8 to 10 cups of water daily.

If your baby doesn’t drink enough water or if his fluid intake is very less he will get severely dehydrated and this disturbs the body mechanism. To maintain your baby’s water intake or if your baby gets bored of drinking too much water daily, you can choose other alternatives like giving them fresh fruits like apples, watermelon, muskmelon, and coconut juice to meet their daily water requirements. You can also give buttermilk, lemon juice, fresh fruit juices, and milk to your baby as they all are composed of water. You can also make fruit popsicles at home and give them to your baby in the summer or in the afternoon time. Don’t forget to give some warm water after eating ice cream or anything very cold. This will help your baby to prevent cold and cough after eating frozen items.

What causes dehydration in kids?

• Fever.
• Hot weather.
• Excess sweating.
• Drinking less water.
• Exposure to the sun for a long time.
• Traveling long distances.
• Urinary tract infections.
• Vomitings.
• Diarrhea.
• Sunstroke.

Symptoms of Dehydration in kids:-

• Dry or cracked lips.
• Less urination in more than 8 hours.
• The dark yellow color of urine.
• Dry skin.
• Few wet diapers.
• Drowsiness.
• Low energy.
• Feeling unconscious.
• Cold hands and legs.
• Fast breathing.
• Sunken eyes.
• Fast heartbeat.
• Irritability.
• Constipation.
• Stomach pain.
• Itchy eyes.

My Experience:-

I have 2 kids. When I introduced water to my first baby at the age of 6 months, he accepted it happily just like he accepted all kinds of solid foods. He drank water during meal times and in between breast milk. As he grew older, I didn’t concentrate on the amount of water he was drinking because whenever he felt thirsty he used to go to the kitchen and drink water from his sippy cup all by himself. Since I used to keep his boiled water ready every day in the kitchen at a place where it could be reachable to my baby, he never asked me to give him water.  I also thought that he is getting enough water as he was healthy and didn’t have any issues. He had some constipation issues since he was born, so I thought it was normal.  Slowly, he got severely constipated and he used to string a lot to do potty. At this time, he was potty training and constipation in potty-training kids is very normal. So, I ignored it again.

Later at the age of 3.5 years, he got dengue and severe viral fever. Due to a high fever, he got severely dehydrated and constipated as he was not drinking enough water or eating food due to fever. The constipation became so severe that he didn’t do potty for 5 days and he only strained to do it but it was not coming out. He was admitted to the hospital as he was not eating or drinking anything. In the hospital, they gave him Duphalac syrup to lubricate the stool so that it would come out easily. So, on the 6th day, after giving him a high dose of syrup, the stool came out slowly. And I was surprised to see the amount of stool that was in his tummy for 5 days. It was too much. My baby cried a lot during this whole process. After this, he started eating some food and I started giving him more fluids.

My second born was very stubborn when it came to drinking water at the age of 6 months and after starting solid food. She didn’t like the taste of water and completely rejected it every time I tried to give her. At a point, she also got constipated and my doctor told me to give water somehow or in any form. I started giving her boiled and cooled water in a small water bottle but she was not able to suck the water from it. Then I started giving by spoon, but she threw the spoon with her hand. Then I tried giving her water when she was breastfeeding. I used to pour some water drops in her mouth whenever she opened her mouth to breastfeed. As soon as I put water in her mouth, she vomited it. There was no use of giving her water now. So I started adding more water to her meals. I gave her soups, watermelon juice, coconut juice, and buttermilk. In between these meals, I still tried to give her water with a small glass, and a sippy cup. I also showed her how to drink water by drinking in front of her every day. It took so much time for her to start drinking water on her own or ask for water when she felt thirsty. Even today, she doesn’t drink more water. Only when she feels very thirsty she will ask me for either breastmilk or water. But I always prefer giving her water instead of breastmilk in the daytime because she already drinks breastmilk during nap times.