Exclusive bf plus water???

[Booboostoo]

DD is 9 weeks old and for the past 10 days her habits have changed a bit. Instead of many little poos, she does one huge poo a day or every other day, she also has a lot of wind and does quite a bit of straining to get this out (although no crying). Doc has checked her over when she did her vaccinations and said that all was normal. My diet hasn't changed at all.

The lactation specialist has suggested she may be dehydrated (we are in the south of France) and that I should give her water on top of her normal bf. So a couple of questions:

• will giving water affect bf? It's been hard to establish adn I don't want to do anything to jeopardise it!!
• if I give water should I boil it first (and allow it to cool of course!)?
• should I give it with a bottle or slowly with a spoon? How much should I give?

You shouldn't give breastfed babies water - are you breastfeeding on demand? That's all they need.

Pooing habits changing is normal too, many ebf babies only poo once a week or more.

Hi,

I'm sure someone will be along to give more helpful advice soon but ....

My baby was quite constipated at around that age, I was advised to give her water as well as breast feeding, but no more than 1-2oz so as not to affect her appetite for breastmilk and therefore the supply. We gave it to her in a bottle. (she had had some formula by then though and went on to establish mixed feeding so I didn't worry about nipple/teat confusion!) don't know what's the best way of giving the water though. Yes, you have to give cooled boiled water at that age, up until 6 months.

Hope that helps.

Actually, if a baby is exclusively breastfed they should NOT be given water. FF babies can be, and often need it if it's hot.

Certainly if water is given it should be cooled, boiled water but if your baby is EBF it's firstly not necessary, and secondly will interfere with the protection that BM is giving to her intestines.

It is quite normal for a BF baby to change their poo habits after the first few weeks, and sometimes to go many days without pooing. All hell can break loose when it finally happens . When she does poo, is it still the same consistency as before, or is it thicker or harder?

Yes she is exclusively bf.

Her poo is the same, loose, yellow with little seed like things in it, just one massive amount!!

Agree that you shouldn't need to give water as long as you're feeding on demand. She might want to drink fairly often but only a quick feed - this gives her all the fluid she need in the right way. Nature was clever like that!! Well done for sticking at it if you've had a hard time

Ah well in that case she doesn't sound like she's constipated at all. Sounds completely normal actually, and like all is going exactly how it should. Perfect :)

As nomorelego says, let her feed whenever she wants. If she seems to be "snacking" it's likely to be because she's wanting to just get a quick drink from you and this is all she'll need. Without wanting to go too much into foremilk/hindmilk (which people get overly concerned about) the first let-down is thinner and more watery than milk which follows it, so she's getting a bit more of a drink than a meal if she snacks. It's best to not really think too much about this as your baby will know this and if you follow her cues and let her feed as and when she wants to, for as often as she wants to, she'll sort out what she needs at that moment.

What qualifications does your lactation specialist have? This is stuff she should know.

She sounds perfectly normal, therefore no need to do anything differently.

Many thanks everyone!

I've had horses and dogs for years and with them I can tell what is normal, what is 'sick but I can deal with it myself' and what is 'sick and call the vet out now'! I know nothing about babies and it's difficult to make the same judgements!