Seriously - I thought newborns could only drink milk - am so embarrassed

[pgandsad]

I have a weekly therapy appt and was discussing with DP best thing to do. Said that I could take bubs with me - at first anyway - and he said it was no problem, he could have her, I could feed her just before the appt or she could have some water.

This is not his first child so he takes it in his stride but it never occured to me to give a newborn anything other than breast/formula milk. I felt very thick indeed. Obv water would never replace milk but how much should a baby have, if any?

This is a genuine question. I am realising that I have an awful lot to learn.

I was under the impression that if breastfeeding, the baby never needs water as the foremilk quenches thirst. With formula I'm not so sure. Only if the baby is constipated, or if it's very hot, I'd say?
Sorry can't give proper informed information but am interested in what others say.

How old is your baby? as far as i know, you only give babies water to drink if they are formula fed and during hot weather. breast fed babies don't need to drink water. Why can't he just feed her either expressed breast milk or some formula???
Sorry don't understand your question???

If you are breastfeeding, then the baby doesn't need to have anything else to drink, as your body will provide all it needs.

If your baby is formula fed, they are more likely to need water, especially if it is very hot.

In terms of the therapy appointment, if it is for say an hour, then if you had fed the baby before hand, it would be likely they wouldn't need to have another feed in that time, so all would be fine anyway.

I would suggest not worrying too much about it until the baby is born. And don't feel you need to learn a lot - you will be your baby's mummy and that in itself counts for an awful lot .

sorry, didn't mean to make you feel stupid or seem patronising. You really don't need to worry about it I shouldn't think, but again, I am 99% sure if you are bf you could just leave some expressed milk, baby shouldn't need water

I breastfed all 3 dc and gave them water at times.

Babies are little people. Sometimes they are thirsty without being hungry and a few mls of water in between feeds every now and again will not hurt them. I bf all 3 dc to 18months so it didn't affect their feeding or my milk supply.

If you feed bubs just before your appointment she should be fine for a couple of hours but your dh could always give her some boiled water if she got upset.

She might not like it much though. It took a few tries for any of my dc to take any.

Hello You don't need to feel bad for asking questions that's what mn for.

If your session is short (1 to 2 hours) you have a couple of options. You could take your baby with you and then be there to feed/cuddle if needed. or you could feed before hand and let your dp look after them while you're not around. Or you could express and leave a bottle. It isn't neccessary for water to be given to your baby I would suggest expressed or formula if that's the route you want to take. But I would think neither is needed really if it is a short time. All the sterilising and equipment probably isn't worth it for a single short session.

If you go for option 2, I would suggest a sling for dad, or swaying dance if she/he does start to get upset. Failing that a trip in the car at a very young age almost guarantees sleep!

mymama, I think the point is that while boiled water will not harm, it isn't necessary in a bf baby, since breastmilk acts as a thirst quencher when needed, not just a food source.

That's why in the summer, you often get frequent, quick little breastfeeds to quench thirst rather than to sate appetite.

second all that's been said, and would add that water would be very unlikely to satisfy a hungry baby, whether BF or FF.

see how things go once the baby is born. I was seeing a psychiatrist for PND for a few months after my DD was born and I used to take her with me. She either slept through the appointment or if she woke I would feed her during the appointment. I'm sure your therapist would be OK with this.

and don't worry about not knowing things; most of it is instinctive and other things you'll pick up as you go along.

and there's always the MN collective for advice

Speak to the therapist and see how they feel about you feeding, just in case the issue does come up. If it's a physical therapy session, then it's understandable you not feeling able to feed in the session.
You probably won't feel up to going to your session for the first week or so after the birth anyway, it can take a while to recover, and also to adjust to being a parent.
Expressing works well, and pacifiers (when used in moderation) are comforting for short periods.
Most of all don't stress about it. If you bf, you will soon find out if you are comfortable feeding in public, and if for some reason you are not bf, then that's ok too.

A breastfed baby does not need water at all. Not until they have been weaned onto solids anyway which the current guidelines for the UK says is at 6 months.

Breastmilk is 99% water. even on the hottest day in the desert, a bf baby only needs breastfeeds.

YOu can feed your baby just before you leave and it may work well if you cna predict how long he can go between feeds. However, if he is really young you may find it less stressful to simply take him along. No reason why he can't be fed at an appointment.

i agree with loads of the above ive had 6 baies and pg with my 7th babies do not actually need water if bf but sometimes calms them and in cases of constipation in a yong baby can be helpful
bottle fed babies do need water as the formula is feed only.
but after saying what they actually need babies are funny little people they can be very fractious one minute and a few sips of water might be just the thing to get them to sleep especially if you are out.

It sounds like you have a very supportive dp who is very willing to help out - be thankful that he does know somethings - I am pretty much preparing myself to have to teach myself at the same time as teaching my husband.

You will be fine, do the feed beforehand and go to your appt. I spent a lot of time with my dad as a very young baby as my mum was very ill, it meant I had strong bond with both of them, as my mum bf me for 6 weeks, and then after that my dad (along with family) took care of me. Meant I was both a mummys and daddies girl!

disneystar, it is extremely rare for a bf baby to suffer constipation. Water is totally unnecessary and actually poses recognised risks to a bf baby. here is a link which explains it well.

Even when DD had a dreadful stomach bug, I only gave her breastmilk. She really didn't need anything else.
Are you able to express at the moment? Will your DB take a bottle? I realise that he/she may be too little, and that some babies just don't take to it.
For what it's worth, I took a baby to my therapy sessions (for PTSD due to the delivery) and it didn't really make much difference. I didn't have any choice in the matter, and I kept her in her pram with some toys. I always made sure that she was well fed beforehand and it was OK. Perhaps I would have preferred that DD didn't see me cry, but that was the only thing that was a problem. And it would have been much worse had I not had the therapy.

i agree bf babies do not need water and my ds was only b/fed and was very constipated but i should have said my son has downs and a heart disease and any baby or small child with heart problems need more fluid than others,when i answered the question i always forget charlie has downs to me hes just my little boy,
of course you are right breast milk is all they need
sorry for any confusion there id hate to give misleading advise to any mum

kiskideesameanoldmother - all 3 of my dc must have been rare as they all suffered from constipation at times and were fully bf. dd went a week at times without a bowel movement.

Agree breast milk is sufficient and a thirst quencher and so on but there were definitely days where I didn't feel like popping them on for a quick feed every 1/2 hour. A few sips/sucks of water sometimes did the trick.

it is completely normal for a bf baby to go a week, even 10 - 14 days without a bowel movement. This is when they are older than say, 6 wks though, not a tiny new born. A constipation bowel movement would, when it came be more like pellets than the poo explosions that tend to follow one of these 'poo gap' episodes.

Yep - know what constipation is.

All 3 dc were constipated a number of times in their first 6 months.

Remember taking them to docs to have them checked.

None of this really matters. Babies can have water. Fully bf babies do get constipated. I feel uncomfortable with the idea of a new mum reading this and thinking there is something "wrong" if she gives her baby a little water or her fully bf baby gets constipated.

water not needed if exclusively bfing. THey can poo less when breastfed (ds2 goes a week or more at times and is def not constipated as stools arent hard and he is not distressed). Reason for that is that there is very little waste from breastmilk as opposed to formula.

excellent link to kellymom there about why water is completely unnecessary for bf babies.

and also some here about the virgin gut

love kellymom website. Fab site

If you do choose to give a bf baby water watch closely for diarrhoea, the water will prob go straight through.

Why would boiled water give diarrhoea and go straight through? Water straight from a tap might do this.

Awen - my fully bf dcs had constipation at times under 6 months of age.

I KNOW what constipation is. I saw the hard stools with the liquid runny stuff oozing around it. I saw the pebbles after a week of not going. (sorry if tmi) I saw their discomfort with the pain in their bellies and the straining with no results.

I am not talking about a baby who goes a week between bowel movements but is not constipated!!!

Don't know anything about vomiting in babies and only giving breast milk as my dd didn't vomit until the age of 4 and my ds1 and ds2 haven't vomited yet at the ages of 7 and 4. We have been very lucky in that area.

I refuse to believe that giving a few mls of cooled boiled water to a young baby every so often is harmful. We are not talking about replacing feeds here or even every day.

I fully bf 3 dcs for 18 months each. I am definitely not an expert but think I have a little experience with successful breastfeeding.

pgandsad - do what is right for you and your baby and what you and your dh feel comfortable with.

I second that! My 2 were bf - ds1 no probs whatsoever but ds2 got constipated so badly he slightly tore his anus poor little mite. I was told I had to introduce cooled boiled water with a little prune juice in it. Would probabbly be frowned upon now, but 12 years ago that was the advice and it worked wonders!

Funnily enough prunes boiled in water is still one of the recommended options, some things don't need changing!

In my experience, water - always boiled for wee babes - often causes diarrhoea in newborns. Their digestion is built for bm not anything else. I don't think it does them much harm as long as their stools are normal tho.

Ebm would surely be the next best option after taking baby with you to the appt.
I would avoid formula if you intend to bf as even one can affect the supply and demand process of breastfeeding.

The right answer for you will be the one that feels right on the day - listen to yourself and your new babe.