to not follow MIL's advice?

[Ecgwynn]

3 month old baby has diarrhoea and a slight temperature. The doctor said he could possibly have a virus. MIL suggests I feed him cooled boiled water between feeds to clear out the virus. AIBU to ignore her advice? Doctor didn't mention water, just to keep feeding him as much as possible.

[cheekybarsteward]

You need to keep him well hydrated though because of the diarrhoea. Hope he is well soon.

[Folicacid]

Ignore, give milk.

[minibmw2010]

I don't know about 'clearing the virus' but it is important to keep him hydrated so there's no harm in it.

[phantomnamechanger]

i dont know about her science of "clearing out the virus" but I do know thats what I was told to ensure they stay properly hydrated.
Babies can become dehydrated very quickly with D&/or V

ring back and ask if you are not sure

PS - MIlL's are not always wrong!

[thegreylady]

Cooled boiled water between feeds is a sensible idea.Just because she is your mil doesnt make her wrong :)

[phantomnamechanger]

ooh - spookily similar x posting there!

[cocolepew]

You can give him it to keep him hydrated, not to clear out the virus

[glenthebattleostrich]

Depends, if you are breastfeeding then there is no need, just let him nurse as much as he wants. If you are bottle feeding, then giving him a little water to help keep him hydrated does no harm and a friend of mine was advised to do this with her baby when he was poorly.

[50shadesofslapntickle]

If you are bf then just feed through it and ignore her

[louloutheshamed]

Does it not depend if ff or bf?

[phantomnamechanger]

and another spooky cross post - freakin me out a bit now ladies

[Dprince]

I don't think it would clear the virus, but ds had something similar and doctor advised cooled boiled water. To ensure he was hydrated, especially if he went off his milk.

[Dprince]

Yes sorry, it does depend on ff or bf as well.

[50shadesofslapntickle]

No nee if you are breastfeeding as breastmilm is the best thing for the poorlyness and the hydration

[JumpingThroughHoops]

In this instance, MIL is correct.

Milk feeds, water rehydrates

[holyfishnets]

if bf, all he needs is breast milk.

[maytheoddsbeeverinyourfavour]

I think it depends on wether he's breastfed or not, when one of mine had the same thing I was advised just to offer frequent bf's to keep his fluids up

[HecateHarshPants]

Don't know. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving cooled boiled water. I used to give it to mine.

My GP used to advise me to give them flat full fat coke when they had the runs Odd man.

Ring your GP or health visitor for advice. Ask them if there is any benefit to offering water.

I'm not sure if it's supposed to be different depending on whether you're bf or ff. I did read somewhere that ff babies need water whereas bf babies don't. Or something. But I don't know if that's true or not.

Surprisingly, I've got two children wouldn't bloody know it, would you?

[seeker]

If he is breast fed, then just keep feeding. If he is bottle fed, then water is a good idea to help keep him hydrated.

[seeker]

Oops- sorry. Just added to the clutter!

[seeker]

And, although it pains me to say it, the flat coke thing is not as insane as it sounds- for some reason it's easier to keep down than most other rehydrating drinks. It's often given to people on chemotherapy.

[50shadesofslapntickle]

Actually breastmilk rehydrates too so no need for water if bf

[AdoraBell]

I was told by a Dr that milk is 70% water, so hydration shouldn't be a problem. If Dr had thought he was dehydrated they would have advised on it. You can't "clear out a virus" with water, that's what we have an immune system for.

The point of boiled water is that water straight from the tap may have components that would aggravate a delicate stomach. So, as long the milk isn't coming straight from the kitchen tap you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

Hope DS is better very soon.

[EveryPicture]

Yy to keeping hydrated.

I was always told not to give cows milk or formula milk as it would 'feed the bug'