8 month old baby and water?

[cookingupababy]

Hi, i look after a 8 month old baby, who is currently being weaned, mum has exclusively breastfed from birth, and as far as i am aware she does not drink anything but breast milk. The baby is eating well, mum says she is BLW but i always give her Ella, or plum pouches or the like when i look after her, not that is the problem. I am just curious if she needs water when she eats and at other points, or is the breast milk enough?

She usually poos when i am there, but for the life of me i can't remember changing a wet nappy ever

I also work in a nursery, and if she were there when eating she would be offered water at meal times and throughout the day.

So my question is should i be given her water, or is the breast milk she gets when i am not there enough for her?

I EBF mine, same age and now she eats I give her water with every meal.

How often do you have her? This is a bit worrying...

I would offer water with meals as well. Did mum ask you not to?

How long do you have her for? I would offer water with meals if the mum is not around to breastfeed her

I usually babysit once a week, for 5 hours ish, but sometimes i do 2 or 3 nights.

Mum has never asked me not to, but she has never given me a cup, or shown me where her cups are e.t.c

I have looked for a cup several times but can't seem to find one, i assume she is only breastfeeding her and not giving her water at all.

She really should be having water too once she is on solids! I am ebfing my 7 month old and he would go nuts if he didn't get water with every meal. If I forget to give him a drink he starts to cry and refuses any more food!
My ds1 was very difficult to wean and I'm sure one of the reasons was that he didn't get enough water so just wanted to get out of the high chair and bf. He just refused liquid from anything that wasn't boob. It might be that the lo you care for is the same (odd that there are no cups though).
I would just ask the mum if she needs a drink too. If mum says that she refuses a cup you could suggest that you try to give it to her while mum is out. Babies often take other drinks better when the boob isn't an option.

They are a very cluttered family, nothing has a place and they have an older child, i often struggle to find the one and only cup she has. I find it really hard to find cutlery like baby spoons to feed her with. I feed her straight from the pouch as there is never any bowls. I think i will speak to her when i see her this week. If nothing else i can give her something from the older child's cup, if she still hasn't got anything appropriate for the baby.

Quick up date, i babysat last night and offered the baby some sterilised water out of a baby food pot, the baby took some, i mentioned it to mum and she said she will get some cups and start giving her some.

at 8 months they can drink tap water

OK, cheers wasn't sure so thats good to know for future. As i knew mum wasn't giving it to her, and at nursery all the babies have sterilised, i just went with what i know.