!0 wks do I give him water or not?

[LJARoo]

Any advice please. My health visitor has told me not to give my baby boiled water until he is 6mths old??? 6 MONTHS? surely he can have water before then? He is 10 weeks now and he must be thirsty as hell. I know they get hydration from milk but I can't quite believe she is saying 6mths. This is my first baby would like to know your opinions on this please. thanks.

Breast milk is over 90% water

Water is empty calories- it has no nutrition.

This may be useful

Breast milk or formula is enough for young babies. Despite what well-meaning family members might say, experts now know that until your baby starts eating solid foods, infants get all the water they need from breast milk or formula. That’s right — both breast milk and/or formula will keep your infant plenty hydrated, even on steamy summer days when you might be wondering if you should offer your little hottie a cool sip of water. The only exception to the rule about not giving water to a baby this age is if the infant is sick and is losing fluids due to diarrhea or vomiting. (But ask your pediatrician about this first.)

Giving water to a baby can actually harm her. Unless she’s very sick, a baby who satisfies her appetite (and her need to suck) with bottles of water will miss out on the nutrition she needs from her feedings. If done regularly, this can cause weight loss, and in the case of breast-fed babies, it can decrease your breast-milk supply. Giving water to a baby in large amounts can even lead to oral water intoxication, a condition in which the electrolytes (such as sodium) in a baby’s bloodstream become diluted, inhibiting normal bodily functions and leading to dangerous problems such as low body temperature or seizures.

Thanks so much for your replies. He has definitely been constipated the past few days (well i think he has) hes going nearly a day and a half before having a poop sometimes? Is that normal? And he is bringing milk back which he never usually does? I have tried him with the water only an Oz ;if that' it seemed to work :-) he is also having gripe water though as he is quite windy sometimes? I don't think filling up on water is a good thing to do for a small baby when they need to gain weight but he definitely seems to like the water, maybe he was thirsty haha. Or just wanted a change of taste. Thanks guys!