Help! 6 day old baby drank water. Should we go to the hospital?

[TheFace]

Hi everyone. On some bad advice we gave our 6 day old DS some boiled water as we were told this would help between feeds. After giving him about 2 ounces we googled and found out this is quiet dangerous. Can anyone help? Any warnings to look out for or should we go straight to a&e?
Thanks

Why is water dangerous??

Babies can drink boiled water but only in small amounts so that their kidneys don't get flushed too much. Breast milk contains 80% water so breastfed babies don't really need water. Formula milk is less watery and therefore 2 ounces of water shouldn't do any harm. Ring the health visitor or NHS dircet to out your mind at rest.

No need for a & e

Why would water be dangerous?

At this age, your baby needs milk only. Their tummies are tiny and shouldn't be filled with water / in very, very hot weather a little cooled boiled water between feeds may be necessary

What are you trying to 'help' with between feeds?

Which website said it was dangerous? NHS says this "For babies under six months, use water from the mains tap in the kitchen that's been boiled then cooled" source

If you need extra reassurance, call your GP and a doctor will call you back between appointments.

It's not dangerous. The main worry is that if people replace too many feeds with water than the baby will seem "full" but not getting enough nutrients as it would from a formula feed or breastfeed. That's why people say don't give water except in extremely hot weather if formula fed and then only sparingly as formula or breastmilk obviously contains water and is hydration in itself .

As a one off it will be fine. No need for A&E

lol... congratulations on the birth of your first born.

2 oz of cool boiled water is only dangerous in that he miss the calories of 2 oz of milk. I imagine that the water will just come out the other end and no major harm will be done. There is nothing that a hopsital can do.

He really needs his feeds at 6 days so that he recovers his birthwieght. I would not worry about routine at 6 days old as he is tiny. It would be risky for a newborn to have too much water instead of milk.

Don't take my word for it. I suggest you phone your midwife or health vistor if you have any worries. Its not a good idea to rely on a stranger on the internet for advice.

I promise you it does get better.

I don't think you need to panic. But I'm fairly sure that babies of that age only need breastmilk or formula.

Thank you all. Slightly less panicked now.

He is very hungry almost an hour after his feed (formula not breast milk) we were unsure if we should just give him milk when he cries for it, but a relative said water between feeds should tied him over till milk time. He was in hospital for the first 4 days due to a kidney problem and we were told of discharge to feed him every 4 hours, but this isn't enough for him.

Baby center etc said that water under 4 weeks can change a baby's blood flow and do damage to organs.

We're first time parents and have yet had a vistit from the midwife so didn't have anyone to ask if the water advice was okay.

Ignore the relative, milk is all that baby needs now.

Def feed more. Most babies I know feed every 2 hrs.

Just think if he feeds every 2 hrs in the day he will be more likely to go longer at night as had plenty in the day.

For a week old on formula I would offer 4oz every 2 hrs if he drinks it

I think you need to get urgent advice from your GP or a midwife. NOT because your baby has drunk a small amount of cooled, boiled water, but for the problem you were trying to address - that you've been told to only give feeds every 4 hrs and your baby is hungry more often than that.

It may be that there's a specific reason, related to your baby's kidney problems, that you've been told only to feed every 4 hours, so you need advice from the doctors who advised that, not from us well-meaning people on the internet!

Good luck - hope you can get the advice you need. I do think you need to speak to someone today.

Often when your advised to feed every four hours, they mean at least every four hours, therefore don't let baby sleep more than four hours without milk. And just milk is fine - there's no need for extra water.

I assume you're home from hospital? In my area (UK) the midwife visits on your first day home and then every couple of days until baby regains birthweight. Could you give your community midwifery office for a chat and see when they're coming?

Was the hospital's advice about feeding four hourly due to his kidney issue? Current advice is to demand feed both breast and bottle fed babies.

*you're

And he poster above me is right. There good be a specific reason why four hourly feeds have been recommended if baby has had other health issues. You need to get advice from a professional.

I'd feed a 6 day old more than every 4 hours. How about less but more often? The boiled water isn't going to harm but the baby doesn't need it. You're making formula with boiled water after all. My mum suggested boiled water with my DS, she didn't mean any harm things were just different then and advice has changed.
Congratulations on your baby. It's one long worry being a parent, but Mumsnet is fabulous for help and advice regarding your baby.

Agree that you need clarification

A newborn may well feed 2 hourly not 4 hourly and that's fine

Deffo get quick advice on this from
MW

I've just read the kidney comment... If your consultants said 4 hourly then there is likely to be a reason. Can you call them for advice?

4hourly sounds like a long time between formula feeds for new born 2-3 hourly would be usual. As a comparison I was feeding my EBF babies almost every 1-2 hours at that stage day and night!

I'm still feeding my 10 week old roughly every 3 hours. He hasn't yet managed to go four.

I haven't given him any boiled water yet.

Don't worry, 2oz water will be fine. Just give ordinary formula, unless on medical grounds - in other words disregard your relatives advice. And 4 hourly feeds isn't usually enough for newborns.

My DD was in scbu (as was my DS) & they always advised to feed 4 hourly. I've no idea how they managed to achieve that! Once home, both babies demand/-fed every 2-3 hours. I guess they're saying to you a minimum of 4-hourly?

I don't understand the obsession people have with making babies go longer between feeds. They are tiny, their stomachs are tiny and if they need feeding every two hours then that is what you should do.

DS is six months and still feeds every three hours. He takes less in a feed than some other babies his age but if he likes to feed little and often then that's fine with me.

Why did they tell you to feed every 4 hours? Unless it was specifically related to the kidney issue that is very outdated advice. Modern advice is to feed whenever the baby wants.

Both of mine (both formula fed) always wanted feeding every 2 hours and always drank more than the "recommended" guidelines. I just went with what they wanted. Neither of them were ever overweight either, I think some babies just like to feed more.

And stay away from hungry baby milks too. They are slightly harder to digest and can cause constipation and reflux issues. Better to stick with the basic first milk and just feed as regularly as the baby demands.

I remember reading on the internet and books about this magical 4hr window - ours apparently didn't because he demanded milk at least every 2 hrs for the first few months. Ah, those sleep-deprived months.

Definitely call your GP immediately and ask why every 4hrs and can you feed him on demand? If not, have them explain to you why not. Often they forget to explain things to parents.