Offering drinks to breastfed baby

[Countryside14]

Hi there,

My baby girl is 8 months old and on breakfast and dinner as far as solids go. We're taking it slowly as I do t want to cut down on bf too quickly. She's on about 6/7 feeds a day at the mo. At what point do I offer water in a beaker to keep her fluids up? She's still have wet nappies and using me as a drink as well as food but over time that will cut down.

Any advice welcome :)

I only really started offering mine water in a cup at around 10 months while visiting relatives in Australia because it was hot hot hot. She saw her cousins drinking out of sippy cups and wanted to do the same so I just went with it. I don't really know when I would have started offering her water otherwise :-)

I used to offer water in a sippy cup with meals and bf the rest of the time

You don't have to offer it at all if you are feeding on demand but I started with meals at 6months to get them use to the sippy cup.

Bizarrely my health visitor recommended offering water on a dippy cup from four months. It's not down to nutrition or hydration but to get them used to using a cup apparently. This is new advice introduced since I had my son (now two and a half).
I think I introduced cooled booked water to him from about seven months. I wouldn't worry about her drinking so much that she refuses food or milk. It's just a case of her getting used to something new.

I've offered water in a tippy cup since starting solids - mostly to help her swallow things (mostly baby led weaning) and she loves it :)

Water doesn't need to be boiled for drinking if they are over 6 months so just give tap water

I offered water in a cup from 5 months as it was so hot in the summer! I know bf keeps them hydrated but I really enjoy a cool drink on a hot day and thought baby might too. Now nine months old, she probably only takes an ounce or two of water in total with meals or while playing each day but she likes the taste and enjoys the game of drinking :) she won't take a bottle so it reassures me that if I ever couldn't be there she could still have a cup :) xxx

I offered my DS water in a beaker from 6m of age when weaning started.

He's almost 9m old now and has 3 meals a day with about 2oz water with each meal. In the space of 12-13 hours he only has four breast feeds.

I use his meals to get fluid and calcium in up him. For example, he hades weetabix for his breakfast which is mixed with 2oz of full fat milk.