Any ideas on how to get 7 mo DD to drink water/juice?

[Bozza]

DD was exclusively breastfed for 5 months but with a daily bottle of EBM to ensure she would take a teat for when I went back to work. At 5 months I introduced solids and gradually put her onto formula in the day.

She is now 7.5 months and eating 3 large meals a day, doing really well, loving everything she is given. I am no longer pureeing (apart from prunes ), her food is either mashed, grated or chopped fine and she enjoys some finger food. Hence her food is quite solid and not like the runny purees I started her on. She also has 7 oz bottles mid am and mid pm and breast feeds at bedtime and once/twice in the night.

However I cannot get her to drink more than the smallest sip of water or juice. I have tried three different spouted cups, a bottle (reluctantly), a spoon and an open cup. She protests, turns her head away and cries. I try to give her as much fruit as possible including a daily cube of prunes mixed into her ready brek but the overall result is that she is frequently constipated.

Anyone got any suggestions. I have given her small amounts (1 ml) of lactulose but this is not the long term solution.

[handlemecarefully]

It sounds like she is getting quite a bit of fluid anyway from her bottles and breastfeeds. Comparable to the amount of fluid my 8 month old is getting through his bottles anyway - and he doesn't suffer from constipation. I often forget to give ds a beaker of water or diluted juice (too busy with 2 year old also) and it doesn't seem to bother him.

My point is does the water / juice really matter? Perhaps your dd is just unfortunately prone to constipation, as some adults are....

Could you give her fruit puree for desert? - I notice she prefers more solid textures, but would she take a jar of fruit puree? It should help with the constipation....

Re the other fluids - I think the only thing you can do is keep putting a beaker on her high tray until she picks it up and starts experimenting herself...

[bongobum]

Hi Bozza

Have to agree with HMC perhaps your baby is more prone to constipation, as is mine, she sounds like she is getting enough to drink. Aren't you lucky that your baby will eat foods with texture, I'm still pureeing expecially meat although trying to make it more coarse everytime. My DS wouldn't take water either until I took the top off his bottle and he swigged it back like a boy possessed, the only problem is I have to put a towel under his chin as he spill or spits so much out, not ideal but he too was getting quite constipated and I was desperate.Why don't you give it a go - tip the cup next to her mouth and see if she will sip.

Something else that helps - in our house we laughingly call it "baby Sh*t quick"

Peel and cube a selection of pears,apples,organic apricots,prunes and a handful of raisins, a little water, apple juice and a sprinkle of cinnamon - cook, blitz up making sure it is quite watery and give it neat as a pudding - a large helping....Ive never kown anything like it!

[Bozza]

Yes I know that in general the weaning is going brilliantly with DD. I think that the point that she might be prone to constipation is true. I found that when she started having more formula and less breast milk she became constipated and also again now that her food is more solid.

I do give her fruit at every meal its just that its mashed/grated so doesn't have extra liquid added. On average in a day she will have one cube of pureed prunes in her breakfast and 8-9 cubes of mashed/grated fruit from the following: pears, apples, kiwi, peaches, mango, papaya, plums. She would eat pureed fruit quite happily if offered I suppose. Will try your recipe bongobum as it sounds like something she would quite enjoy.

Just don't get why she is so anti any liquid other than milk.

[bongobum]

What meals is she having, what would be a typical day Bozza?

[colditzmum]

maybe other liquids don't reach her expectations of a drink, perhaps she feels that a drink should be milk, and is disappionted with other fluids!

Just a notion, they can be contrary little beasties sometimes

[Bozza]

You may have a point colditzmum because when DD was poorly (v&d and chicken pox) she would accept bottles of dioralyte and also would be spoon fed water. But now she's OK will not be spoon fed liquid.

Typical day:
5am breastfeed
7.45 am breakfast - readybrek with wholemilk and one cube of prunes (one of those Ikea plastic bowls full)
10 am 6 oz first baby formula
12.30 pm lunch - equiv of 6 cubes of food (eg chicken shredded with a fork, mashed potato, three different vegs) followed by 4 cubes of fruit (pear, mango, apple etc)
3.30 pm 7 oz formula
6 pm tea - same quantity of food (eg shepherds pie with veg or plaice and leeks in cheese sauce) followed by fruit.
Plus a baby yoghurt at one meal or the other.
7.15 pm breast feed.

Actually she has been less constipated the last few days so am wondering if her body was adjusting to the different consistency in her food. But still want her to start using a cup!