We've been trying just about every method to get my 7-month old DS to drink fluids since he was 6 months old. I've tried 7 different brands of sippy cup, bottles, straw cups, straws, drinking out of small Dixie cups, and squirting it into his mouth from a syringe. With the sippy/straw cups, he just chews on them. He won't even take water/juice from a bottle at all. I wouldn't worry so much about it except he's got his 3rd ear infection in the past 6 weeks, and he hasn't been producing wet diapers this time, and will only take half his bottle. I've tried cold water, warm water, every flavor of Pedialyte, and water diluted with juice. Nothing seems to work. He will take the first 2 sips, but then spits out the rest of the water/juice I give him. I estimate that he probably gets about 3/4oz total fluids outside of the milk he's drinking, and that is mostly through me force-feeding him with a syringe. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to get DS to drink more water?
Offer the breast or formula more often. I wouldn't give a 7 month old juice, and water only if necessary.
Why don't you just keep him on formula or breastmilk. Infants do not need juice (they're mostly sugar anyhow) and they get the water they need from either the formula or breast milk.
UNLESS you are in a desert or under specific doctors orders for a rare condition, do NOT give an infant water or juice. It can seriously mess up their electrolytes (in severe cases causing seizures and death). Spitting it out is a GOOD thing. Her body is telling her to get RID of it. She gets all the H20 she needs from her milk.
You probably want to consult your Ped about this but I dont think you really need to push it all that much right now. I would also nix the juice also, he doesnt need the sugar.
Do NOT give a 7 month old water or juice. TOO young.
For the 1st year of life.... a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition, is breastmilk or Formula... NOT solids and NOT any other liquids.
This is per our Pediatrician as well.
AND to always, feed on-demand.... 24/7, day and night.
Drinking too much water and juice... will actually prevent him from getting nurtients from his milk... and leach out nutrients.
We never gave our kids juice... until they were already 2 years old. It is NOT needed. It is just sugar.
Water... is not needed, nor should it be force fed.... he is only 7 months old.
Just give him his bottle.
Some babies, cannot drink from a sippy nor straw cup, until even MUCH later.... 1 years old.
Your baby is not ready for cups.... sippys or straw cups.
Stop.
Give him his bottle.
If he is 'only' drinking half his bottle... then feed him that, but feed more often....
AND tell your Pediatrician... about his lessening of wet diapers...
Unless things have changed since I had our last child four years ago, you're not supposed to be giving kids those to drink until at least one. I know juice for sure is a no-no. Stick with breastmilk or formula. I would call the pediatrician if your child seems dehydrated for his/her advice.
NOTHING but formula or breastmilk until 12 months. Baby's kidneys are too immature to process water or juice... Causes 'water intoxication' and can result in death. Google 'water intoxication, infant' for more information.
I have a 7 month old who gets nothing but breast milk, formula and baby food. I've never heard of giving a baby this age a sippy cup, I'm sure they have no clue what to do with that. If he has a problem with ear infections, look into giving him flaxseed capsules (one a day, pop a hole in it and squeeze the oil into his bottle of milk or baby food.) I started doing this when my first was a baby, I read it in a book called Super Immunity for Kids. It's all about chronic childhood illnesses (ear infections being one) and how our kids don't get enough essential fatty acids in their diets so they can't break down and utilize the vitamins in their foods because of this. Read the book to learn more but I promise this will help with the infections as well as all illnesses. My child is never sick. She's now nearly 3. I'm also doing it with baby sister. Best of luck!
Please don't replace his breastmilk/formula with water and juice at this young, young age!!! He doesn't need the water at this age. And nobody ever needs juice. It's something we drink because it's sweet and it tastes good, but it's not necessary for a child, let alone an infant to drink juice. THe fluid he gets from breastmilk/formula will be enough to restore him to health after an ear infection. Please wait until he's one year old to give other fluids, and even at one year you do not need to give juice (and in fact most pediatricians recommend that you do not give it). You might be thinking about your own mother giving you juice and clear fluids when you were sick as a child. Babies under one year do not need that kind of clear fluid intake. It's ok to give a small amount of water at this age to practice and get the taste for it but it's not necessary to force it.
Like everyone else said...
don't force feed water or juice. Breastmilk or formula only is fine.
If there's some kind of gastrointestinal problem, MAYBE pedialyte, but I've never heard of it given for ear infections.
7 months is still VERY young to be on anything other than formula or breast milk. Don't force the issue...he'll get it when he's ready :)
You might try getting those frozen pedialyte popsicles or just the regular popsicles. My grandbaby loves ice so we give her little pieces of that as well. Nothing that she can get choked on but that might be something to try. Sorry I don't have any better ideas, hopefully you will find something that works.
oh gosh i don't think you should give him water...and most definitely not juice. pediatricians now say avoid juice, there's nothing to be gained from juice at all, and at that age breastmilk or formula is all he needs. i don't understand the connection you are drawing between the ear infection and a need for water or juice? I'd say stick with breastmilk til he's one to avoid ear infections. Hopefully you aren't feeding him cow's milk yet? that also should wait until he's 1 - if you aren't breastfeeding he should get formula.
good luck!
just keep giving him formula or breastmilk. My daughter didn't drink water until she was one. And only little sips. The rest of the day is just formula or breastfeeding.
Water is fine when you're offering some solids, but it's far better to continue offering formula or breastmilk instead. That said, it's far, far better to offer WATER instead of juice. If your son is spitting out juice then don't continue to offer it. It's too sugary even if it's "all natural" and it doesn't have fiber in it the way the actual fruit does. You should also know that statistically, children that are juice drinkers as babies are much more likely to be soda drinkers as older children and adults which might as well be liquid candy.
When you give solids that you've prepared/mixed yourself, thin them out with a little more water. It's also possible that you're giving him too much solid food. The majority of his food and nutrition ought to be from breastmilk or formula, not from solid foods. He could be filling up too much on solids, and that's why he's not drinking enough. You should always be giving him his bottle first, not last. Solids at this age are only for "practice" and not truly for nutrition.
I would personally back off on the solids right now. Offer them, but after he's had his fill from his formula/breastmilk which should make up the majority of his nutrition until he's a year old. After that, offer him small amounts of pureed solids as snacks and as a "treat" if he's still hungry after a bottle.
My son refused drink anything at that age either, but we finally figured out he would drink formula or milk from a cup if it was ice cold. Don't worry too much about him drinking water yet, if he gets all his liquids from milk he will be fine.
Smart baby! For the most part, infants don't need anything other than breastmilk or formula for the first year. I know occasionally docs will ok some water for formula fed infants but breastfed infants def don't need any extra water. And he doesn't need juice either at this age. You can introduce small amounts of watered down juice just for practice as they get closer to age 1 but at his age he doesn't need it.
If he's only taking small amounts then feed him small amounts more often.
I'm not sure what 3 ear infections and him taking water/juice have to do with each other?
Are you letting him lay down at all with the bottles? That is a huge no-no and will cause the ear infections.
If he isn't having wet diapers at all you need to be on the phone to your doc asap.
I am shocked at all the rresponses that say to NEVER give a child this age water...I started both my children on water when I started them on solids, as per Ruth Yaron in "Super Baby Food". She states that due to children's immature kidneys, when you add solids into their diets, they can benefit from SOME extra water to help them process the solid food. We tried an open cup (baby size) with just a teeny tiny bit in it; my kids wanted to drink like I drink and they found that faxcinating. They also liked sippy cups and straw cups, had no problem with either. You can try a straw in an open cup and see how that goes.
I personally get fluid in my ears from a dairy intolerance; has that been considered? You might try to remove dairy from his diet for 2 weeks and see how that goes...(breastmilk doesn't count as dairy, but some formula's are dairy based...see what the Dr. says about this but realize that most Dr's get almost NO nutrition training in medical school).
p.s. - I would also recommend not giving your baby juice - it's just sugar water, and he doesn't need the sugar! Let him eat real fruit, it's got the fiber etc that make it good for him. Stick to formula/BM and some water.
Good luck
Good luck!
