Giving 7 month old water to drink?

[Honeymint]

I’m having a bit of a panic. Our NCT instructor has been insistent that babies should not have any water to drink until 1 year as this will stop them nursing (since they won’t be thirsty) ‘and this will tank your milk supply’.
She told us people used to think babies should have water but this is no longer the case.

Since DD is my first I took this advice on board. However now DD is 7 months old, we introduced solids about a month ago.
Recently she’s been slightly constipated. When I googled I found loads of advice suggesting babies her age should be on 60-200ml of water a day!

Now I feel like the worst mother ever, I just took the first advice I was given on board and didn’t even question it?
I’ve tried to research everything else; sleeping, weaning etc but the water thing I didn’t question.

What do I do? Do I introduce it a bit at a time? Should she be having some with each meal?
Has anyone else heard this weird ‘no water because it prevents bf’ advice?
Is there any truth in it at all or is she completely off her rocker ?

[Perfect28]

Offer a small open cup at mealtime, she won't have much anyway

[Sucessinthenewyear]

Just give her a sippy cup at meal times.

[Amipreg1]

In my opinion if they're eating solids they should be drinking some water. I gave my first a sippy cup with each meal and I'll do the same with my second.
I've never heard that they shouldn't have it until they're one. I can't imagine eating and not having a drink available so why should babies have to.

[Sucessinthenewyear]

Sippy or open. Either is fine.

[tealandteal]

NHS guidance says to offer water with food. For your reassurance I did this with my first and am doing it with my own 7 month old with no noticeable affect on breastfeeding.

[AliceMcK]

I use to put water in a small bottle as my DDs use to just pour the water out of a sippy cup. One wouldn’t drink the water so I just squeezed a bit of water onto her spoon every second mouthful until she got use to the taste.

[ToddleToddleToddle]

That is very strange advice! Can't say I've ever come across it before.

Offer an open or sippy cup with meals between bites of food. Don't beat yourself up - constipation is very common when solids are first introduced, with or without water.

[TooMinty]

My kids are 8 and 10 but at the time I started them onto solids the advice was to offer a sippy cup of water with meals/snacks. Didn't affect breastfeeding other than by expected amount e.g. mid morning feed was replaced by snack and water eventually.

[bakewellbride]

Mine has water from sippy cup at meals and throughout the day. She's ten months old and breastfeeds great. Babies over 6 months need a bit of water, ignore the nct lady.

[CastleTower]

My understanding was they start having water when they start solids, yes. But EBF babies under 6 months don't need water. Maybe NCT lady misspoke?

[itsabigtree]

Wow I can't believe NCT have said that. Bad advice. No harm done but start offering it with meals. By one I would expect them to be drinking water throughout the day. I just had 360 cups on the floor where they played so they could help themselves whenever needed. Definitely hasn't tanked my supply, I've been breastfeeding since 2020 non stop

[YouScrewMeIScrewYouBack]

That's shocking advice!

I'm sure I read somewhere on NHS guidance that they can start drinking tap water from 6 months. My health visitor also said at my last appointment that the baby should drink water with their snacks inbetween the 3 meals. They cut down to 3 milk bottles a day at 10 months so they supplement this with drinking water. All my baby mum friends do the same.

What an odd thing for your NCT teacher to say!

[BonnieandConnie]

This is such an odd thing to say. I think it used to be thought that newborns needed water to drink and that is what she meant. Either she accidentally said 1 year or you misheard. What do your nct friends do?

[elevenplusdilemma]

The NCT person surely meant no water for BF babies when breastmilk is their only food source (which is correct advice).
Once eating food, they should be offered a bit of water.

[CoalCraft]

Bizarre advice. Obviously as babies learn to eat they nurse less (wouldn't really be weaning otherwise...) and the fluid needs to be made up with water.

Just offer sips from an open cup at mealtimes

[Honeymint]

I just wanted to say thank you for all the lovely helpful replies, I feel much better!
(I wasn’t worried that I’d mess up BF, just that I’d not been giving my DD enough to drink)

We tried a sippy cup and a 360 cup, she seems to like them enough but isn’t that interested in drinking. She giggles when water comes out… I guess she wasn’t desperate for water after all!

[Laurappo]

FTM but my little one has been so constipated since starting solids. I never hesitated to offer some water from 6 months. I actually gave a little gripe water followed by water when he was really bad and that seemed to help massively (not sure if thats good advice though so maybe dont do that..! But as others have said a little water with food is NHS advice i think) although he is only ever interested in one or two sips of water anyway.

[Tina8800]

Jesus. Why a few sips of water effect the milk supply? Your baby at 7 months only will have a few sips, it's not like she will drink liters of water straight away. By the time she will drink more, she will need less milk anyways.