EBF baby has cold - should I give water?

[tanmu82]

title says it all really..... I am concerned that with all the snot, dribble, mucus and vomiting (when she chokes on the mucus build up) will cause her to become dehydrated. Do I need to offer cooled boiled water? Baby is 11 weeks today.

TIA

when mine had colds i just carried on with the bf and they didnt get dehydrated, however, all babies are different so trust your instincts if you think she isnt drinking enough and her nappies are not very wet you could try and give her some cooled boiled warer from a sterilised medicine syringe?

hope she feels better soon

no.

Feed, feed, feed.

If you want to give her something on a spoon or syringe, use expressed milk.

Breastmilk is mainly water anyway, so better to keep her hydrated with that so she gets all the nutrients too.

no - definitely don't offer water. Just encourage her to bf as often as she wants.

Bm will keep her hydrated and she needs all the nutrients in the milk to help her get better.

thanks for the replies.... I'll just keep feeding her as often as she wants then :-)

Agree with all of the above, and Kellymom has useful info too.

Well, I agree with all the 'just feed' bits, that is. :)

I am getting a bit concerned now because she isn't feeding as much and whe I try and feed her, she is vomiting a lot of it back up as she is so bunged up with mucus she chokes on it. she is also pooing more than usual and it is quite watery......

should I express the milk she isn't taking to protect my supply?

Hmm, not an expert but didn't want your post to go unanswered.

Is she weeing plenty still? Does she look ok? Try little and often perhaps - and some people swear by those snot-sucker things for unbunging snotty babies.

My personal feeling is that unless you've got major supply issues, I wouldn't bother expressing. A few days shouldn't have too much effect, and the baby will adjust your supply afterwards by feeding more (which she will probably need anyway, if she's lost a bit of ground while poorly).

If you're concerned by her health take her to the Dr to get her checked out.

A little expressed milk dripped into each nostril can help to dissolve the mucus (plus it has anti-bacterial properties so will kill bugs too). Just a ml or so on each side though not loads - use a medicine syringe, if it helps, to drip the milk.

If you want to express for your own comfort then you can do so though don't express just enough milk to feel comfortable - that can lead to supply slowing down.

Hope your DD starts to get better very soon.

Agree with everyone else. Just encourage her to feed as much as possible. Breast milk is much more beneficial and water and the sucking will help comfort her

thanks again guys :) I'll see how she does tomorrow and if no improvement, I'll take her to the docs. I did end up expressing as I was getting engorged and DD wasn't interested. I've popped it in the freezer for future use though.