To give my nearly 4 week old baby some water?

[elm26]

Hello

I made a thread the other night as it's 26-28 degrees in my flat all night long, my usually content nearly 4 week old has been so unsettled last couple of nights.

I've tried sleeping her in a nappy, in a nappy with a muslin wrapped around her, in a nappy and a vest and she's not satisfied at all bless her. The back of her hair, neck and back are sweaty.

She's formula fed and plenty of wet nappies, however my Stepmum (long time Nanny of many children and babies as an occupation) suggested I give her half an oz to 1oz of cool boiled water (not to replace formula) just to see if she may be a little thirsty.

I thought guidelines have changed now and we're not meant to give babies water however I googled and NHS says that formula fed babies can have small amounts in hot weather but I'm still nervous as a first time mum that I'm going to hurt her somehow! She also hasn't done a poo for 2 days and I've heard water can help with constipation (I've tried bicycle legs, massaging tummy etc).

Did any of you give your newborns a tiny bit of water in hot weather or shall I leave it?

Do you have a fan? My HV told be to direct a fan against the wall to help cool the room down but not direct it at baby, also make sure to check she's isn't too cold. I also use to use a damp cool flannel at night to help cool her. When it was hot I also have her the ready made Aptamil you can buy as you do t need to warm it up - you just give it to them at room temp.

Hi OP, firstly, I know how difficult it is not to worry that you're getting it wrong in these early days but it sounds like your baby is thriving - stop beating yourself up!
Secondly, I would be very careful around feeding anything other than milk at this very early stage. Your baby's stomach is tiny at this age, and a drink of water could affect her appetite as well as electrolyte balance. The proportions of water to formula are carefully calculated to provide nutrients in the right quantities. There have been cases where parents who were struggling to afford formula were making it with more water to make it last longer, and their babies ended up malnourished.
I don't mean to scaremonger, and obviously that's not going to happen to your baby if you give her a small amount of water, but I just wanted to illustrate that everything that goes into a tiny newborn's stomach should provide nutrition. It would be different if baby was 4 months old.
Advice over the years has changed and if I were you I'd ask your HV or GP.
I know just how desperately you want to make your wee newborn more comfortable! One of mine was a summer baby and she got through it! Light cotton clothing, and a fan in the bedroom helped a lot.

Try hanging a damp sheet in front of an open window. Will cool the air coming in.

Will she tolerate the fan being on if it's not pointed directly at her?

Essentially because babies are wired to suck, and when they suck a bottle, milk comes out. When they are breastfed, they flutter suck and that reduces milk flow (and breastmilk is more digestible anyway, plus breast milk flows in sort of fits and starts due to letdowns), but when formula feeding, if they suck they will get milk. If you don't pace feed then it is possible to overfeed if the bottle nipple is always full of milk. It's a reflex for a young baby to suck when there's a nipple in its mouth, whether that's a human one or a bottle.

OP, I probably wouldn't give water with a baby that young because the likelihood of them getting dehydrated is very low as they are feeding so often at that age anyway. Their fluid intake is naturally very high. With slightly older babies who are starting to go longer periods between feeds, it might be appropriate.

Don't know how long ago you stopped breastfeeding, but you could still put her on the breast if it wasn't long ago. Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can bf an give formula?

Yes it was recommended when mine were young.

Formula is made up of boiled water so I cannot see any harm and I did it with one of my summer babies. Ask though if unsure

I gave her 1oz of cool boiled water which calmed her right down. An hour later, she took 4oz of formula and is now fast asleep.

Thank you everyone for your advice.

It doesn’t sound like she is dehydrated, just uncomfortable like most of us in this heat. Can you give her a slightly cooler bath? I’m pregnant with my first due any day and also worrying about them being too hot :(

My cousin had a bottle of water and one of formula since birth. She’s a healthy 23 year old now! Needs must, it’s hot!

I'd try offering a few extra feeds first, rather than water.

Try wiping her down with a damp cool cloth if she's sweaty. A cool, damp cloth on a bare chest/belly can be lovely in hot weather.

And open her bedroom window if it's safe to do so. I always do it in the bedrooms of my flat in the height of summer. And while it's 25C on my thermostat in here, if you open the window a couple of hours before bed, you can get it down to a more comfortable 18/19 by bedtime.

A paediatric consultant who lived next door to my aunt told me that babies get thirsty just like every other human/animal.
A small drink of cooled boiled water does no harm at all. Its just water.
I prefer to believe the advice of a medical professional rather than an Internet chat room

Mine too.

Exactly. It’s hardly a science. It’s literally cool boiled water.

The same people harping on about it don’t think twice about giving infacol which has E numbers and god knows what else

Glad she seems calmer, all my ff babies had some water in this weather. The youngest is now 10 but my youngest dgds who are toddlers and my youngest niece all had water last year on advice if hv when it was really hot

I gave cool boiled water to my then 4 week old baby when he was a little constipated, no more than an 1oz and it worked. He was FF, BF babies do not need water until over 6 months.

Sorry I’ve just reported my post. It’s BF babies who can’t have water. It’s clear advice on NHS they can have a bit. Sorry!!

As a mother of children between the ages of 25 and 35, I just don’t know how I did it. How did they survive? 🤪

I was told to do it by doctor when she was constipated - but my ff baby spat it all out and refused to have any

No don't, just up feeds

I would try getting a couple of fans maybe a standing one and a desktop one around the flat to see if that helps (cheaper than air con, though fab if this is poss) - you don’t need to direct at her face and she will acclimatise to the noise. Let us know how she goes. I know it’s very tiring - I had a summer newborn, we had to have several fans going like a wind tunnel and baby was so distressed and thirsty. This will pass, just keep going xo

For anyone who doesn't know. giving a baby younger than 6 months even a moderate amount of water in a short period of time can lead to hyponatremia, which at its most dangerous can cause brain swelling and even death. This is why the standard advice is not to do it.

A fan?

I had my ds in a heatwave and used to wet his hair at bedtime, it helps keep them cool as it dries off