Giving water to BF baby?

[skippingturtle]

Hi there,
It was suggested to me by my partner's aunt that I should give my baby some water in a bottle as it would stop her using me to suck for comfort, and would also satisfy her if she was sucking due to thirst, as opposed to hunger.

I've never heard of giving water to a BF baby, might it not 'trick' her into thinking she had eaten, but actually not give her any nutrients or calories?

The aunt has breast fed 5 kids by the way, and is a huge BF supporter.

Water is not normally recommended for any babies, bf or ff, for exactly the reason you outline, turtle.

Breastmilk is well over 90 per cent water anyway.

You might ask this well-meaning lady what is wrong with sucking for comfort, and given you'd have to boil and cool the water and then prepare the bottle with a clean (if not actually sterile) bottle and teat, and then sit down and coax the baby to take it, where is the time saved??

Your hv or midwife should confirm all this, too.

Thank you tiktok, it didn't make sense to me, good to have you confirm it.

My baby was sucking for HOURS yesterday, which I have to admit left me pretty knackered. She's 13 days old, is this a growth spurt time?
Prior to this feeds had ranged from 15 - 40 mins, with one or two feeds in the night. Yesterday's monster feeding lasted most of the day and she was very unsettled all night, giving lots of hunger cues (I think, I'm still learning ), but then only feeding for a few minutes.

My goodness, you really don't want to give water instead of milk at 13 days, or worry at all about comfort sucking

Lots of reasons why babies, esp new babies, might have a day of restlessness - could be the heat, even.

Bf is more than a huger-satisfyer - it's comfort and closeness and what babies need to keep them happy She might have wanted closeness, not milk, which is why she stopped feeding after just a short while. It's not a big deal, honest

At 13 days its normal for a bf baby to feed almost continuously - their tummies are tiny and it encourages your supply. Breastmilk is amazing stuff - if she's suckling for thirst it will satisfy her thirst.

You're doing a great job, keep it up!

DD did this massive feeding frenzy around the same time, and I remember googling '2 week growth spurt'. Nothing came up, but I think they are still building up your supply at this age.

I wouldn't bother with the water and just let her find her own routine. This constant feeding doesn't last for too long.

Congratulations BTW!