How much water should a weaning baby drink?

[Dreamingsleeper]

Hi all my 8 month old baby is cutting a few teeth and has refused the breast most of today because, I assume, of his swollen gums and mouth pain. The poor little thing is miserable.

However his nappies have been pretty dry all today, barely needed changing, and when I have changed him the urine smells quite strong and looks pretty yellow. I’m worried he’s a bit dehydrated. But he barely touches water. We offer it with meals in a small open cup because he’s never mastered a sippy spout (he just chews it) and he only he takes a few sips each meal. He doesn’t seem to like it and just blows raspberries into the water.

Should I be offering more water if he refuses the breast? I think I read somewhere that babies under 1 should only have small amounts of water (1oz at a time?) so I’m a bit worried that I’ll flood him with water if I give him much more. But I’m also equally worried about him not getting enough fluid! Especially as he’s breastfeeding less anyway due to taking more solids.

Does anyone know of any guidelines on how much fluid intake (breast milk / formula / water) an 8 month old should be getting?

Anecdotally, how much water did your babies drink at this stage?

Thanks

At that age DD wouldn't touch water!, but she did have 5 formula bottles a day at 7oz each, dropped down the 2 at ten months and then started drinking probably 250mls of water a day

DD is 7.5 months old and exclusively breastfed. We offer water (in a doidy cup) at mealtimes and she guzzles it enthusiastically but I couldn't tell you how much she actually drinks.

If most of his nappies are dry and his urine is yellow and smells strong, you're right to worry about dehydration. But if I were you I'd focus on getting him to drink more milk, not water.

I assume you're using various teething remedies? I found Ashton & Parsons granules great with DC1, we also have some success with gentle teething gel and - DD's favourite - a cold stick of cucumber! If she's refusing the breast and seems to be suffering I'll give paracetamol or ibuprofen as well.

@NameChange30 we have the doidy cup too but he seems far more interested in sticking his hands in it than drinking from it!

Yes I gave him the A&P granules today but it doesn’t seem to have touched the pain. I think I’ll give him calpol and see if that eases it enough to feed. I have a feeling he’ll be making up for lost time in the night and he’ll be up feeding every 2 hours...

@UnsureOfNC thanks that’s helpful to know that your DC didn’t really touch water until older either. The amount of water he takes in just seems so small - and most of it dribbles down his front anyway!

Anbesol liquid is good for teething, it’s alcohol and lidocaine. I have just rubbed whiskey on gums before.
Would he eat wet food such as fruit purée or chew a wet cold flannel?

I think the amount of water itself isn't a concern, but obviously dehydration is. I'd definitely try the calpol, and if that doesn't help, maybe try using the syringe to get some water in him.

A BF baby doesn't need water. But if he's in pain to the extent of refusing the breast the for goodness sake give him ibuprofen or paracetamol rather than messing about with teething granules. About half an hour after the ibuprofen/paracetamol offer the breast again, hopefully he'll take it once he's not in pain.

Other options are to freeze a teething ring for him to chew on and to offer him jelly to play with/eat. It's mainly water and cool.

FWIW we prefer to use paracetamol or ibuprofen and not Anbesol unless as a last resort. There have been warnings about the topical use of lidocaine in babies.

Thanks everyone - he’s now asleep and had a big feed on both sides before bed so I’m feeling a bit more reassured.

Calpol and ibuprofen, piggybacked if needed.

When I've had toothache rubbing some sugar crystals on my gums really wouldn't have cut it.

If your baby is dehydrated and won't breastfeed then I would keep working on getting at least 1 oz of water in with each meal if you are also feeding solid food, as well as keep offering the breast. Make sure any solid foods have a good water content if possible (eg most fruit and veg, avoid dry baked goods). Would a bottle of formula or expresses milk go down easier than breastfeeding? Dehydration can be serious and I take your point about being concerned about hyponatremia if you replace too much milk with water, maybe best to speak to the GP or Out of hours service.

For what it's worth mine drank a few good sips, sometimes 1-2 oz from an open cup at that age with a lot of encouragement but it was very messy and he still likes to blow raspberries in his water argh.

Sorry just missed your last post! Glad you're feeling better and there's been a big feed, well done.