advice needed on babies and water

[tye]

my little girl is 7weeks old and was just wondering with all the warm weather were having do i need to offer a small drink of cooled boiled water or will she be getting all the fluids needed from her milk? thanks

If you're breastfeeding, she'll be getting the fluids from the breast milk; it adapts according to the temperature. If you're bottle feeding, I'm not sure - I think offering water is a good idea but someone who knows for sure will probably be along in a minute.

ooh sorry forgot to say im bottle feeding.

If you're bottle-feeding you should be offering her cooled boiled water between feeds - she may not want any, but do keep offering it in case she's getting dehydrated.

ahh thanks was a tad worried when i was told by friend i shouldnt be doing it untill six months as it can be dangerous?

My DS was born in September, and it was still warm for a few weeks. HV recommended adding an extra ounce of water to his feeds ie 4 scoops formula, 5 oz water, if he didn't take water alone.

please don't alter the water to formula ratio

I've certainly never heard that there was anything dangerous about offering boiled water to bottle-fed babies. It would be far more dangerous for them to be dehydrated.

thats what i thought amuminscotland. i remember giving my 5yearold water when it was warm when he was a baby. what with the change of rules for making up bottle feeds i thought id make sure i wasnt doing something i shouldnt be. thanks for replying everyone.

does anyone know the amount of water i should let her take between feeds shes 7weeks old?

My DS is 10-weeks old. I am giving him all of his formula feed plus 50mls of cooled boiled water during the heat (on HV and GP advice). Only give the boiled water after a feed and not within 1-hour of the next feed because the nutrition from the milk is more important than the water - the milk will hydrate as well as feed but the water will only hydrate. Use the same 50ml bottle all day that way you know how much extra water she is taking on top of her feed.
Watch your little girls poo, if it starts to get dry and constipated (like sheep poo drops) she needs to take the water more than the milk and you should contact your HV or GP (who ever you find more supportive!).
Watch your little girls sleep too, she needs to take all of her feed and this may be at night like my DS who decided it was too hot to feed during the day yesterday and fed at night instead. She shouldn't sleep through feeds and she shouldn't sleep so much during the day that she can't be roused. Those are signs of dehydration, which my DS had at the start of his little life!
Enjoy being trapped in doors with the curtains drawn trying to keep DD cool!

Just wanted to add NEVER alter the formula ratio.
I contacted Cow & Gate a few weeks ago to ask about this stuff and they recommended top up of cooled boiled water but NEVER dilute the feed. Changing the water/ powder ratio will change the consistency and nutritious value and the rate at which the body absorbs nutrients from the milk. It will also make it harder to monitor how much extra water your baby needs.
If your baby finds it hard to take water from a bottle because it flows differently (faster) to milk, try a teaspoon (from the CalPol bottle) or a pipette (from the Infacol bottle), both of these worked better as water delivery systems for my DS and can give you a measure of how much water you are giving.