Water!!!!!!

[chocolateshoes]

Help! My ds of 6 mths will not take any water & cries when I offer him a beaker. I've tried Avent magic as well as 2 different Tommee Tippees & he won't have any of it. Any tips on how to get babe to drink or am I panicking needlessly?

try again in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, add an extra ounce of water to his bottles.

unfortunately am BFing which probably adds to his dislike of something different in his mouth

If he's breastfed, then as long as you're feeding him frequently, then he shouldn't need water. I just leave my LO's beaker on the table towards the end of each meal. He adores the beaker though he doesn't drink anything very much, and usually bangs it on the table and throws it around, as if it were another toy. If ever he gets any water out of it he looks absolutely gob-smacked. I reckon if I don't stress about it, he won't think it's something to be frightened of, and will start to drink from it in his own good time. Well, that's the theory....

Don't worry, just give him a bit more of your milk. He won't associate a bottle with something that will quench his thirst. I would just keep trying. He will take what he needs from you.

Doesn't need water if breastfed - just make sure you breastfeed often enough - he might just want a quick suck to quench his thirst a bit more often.

Don't be tempted to introduce juice - he'll take water eventually. Leave a beaker next to him (the Boots one-hole-spouted first beaker one is good) when he's playing and don't make a big deal of it - sooner or later it'll go in his mouth. And have it on the tray or table when he eats - offer it in a no pressure way and praise him if/when it goes in his mouth!

My little one did exactly the same when I started weanong at 6 months. I used the TT first cup - the one without the valve in it, but she wouldn't even tolerate it near her face. We found that she would happily take sips though if we took the lid off. Having done that for 3 weeks she wanted to play with the cup and so I put the lid on so that the water didn't go everywhere - she immediately put it to her mouth and started to suck. She needed help at first to tip the beaker up enough to get any out, but now she does it by herself (she's 7 months and 1 week now). My theory is that she needed to learn that the beaker contained water underneath that bright orange lid, and actually, she quite liked water...
MAybe that's worth a try for your ds too?

He doesn't need it atm as breastmilk should be sufficient - unless he is very constipated, dehydrated/ill and not feeding or if it is hot, that is. I'd just let him play around with a cup of water, like the Magic one so he can explore it and learn the technique without any pressure. have you tried it without a valve as that makes it a little easier.

Oh, I should have said - dd is breastfed too, so she didn't recognise a 'non-breast' source of a drink!

Thanks everyone - I'll try all your advice! His skin is quite dry & it has been worryin me that this may be caused by lack of fluids.

I was going to post exactly the same thing, my dd won't take water from a bottle or beaker, I've bought the tommee tippee easiflow beaker, I even offered her juice and she wouldn't have it so instead I have put it in her playpen along with her toys, as most of them go in her mouth I thought the beaker would too and as its such a bright colour she does seems to pick it up and put it to her mouth for short periods of time, its just a way of her getting used to it and myself and dh sit with her and just let her hold the handles and put it to her mouth, I do worry that maybe she should be having water hopefully this way it will work

shellybelly
what an interesting way to look at it! It never ocurred to me, but of course it will go in her mouth. Let us know if it works!

I stressed about this too. My mum told me not to worry, she will drink one day, there aren't many adults who don't drink water! As long as the baby has fluids in milk there is no risk of dehydration so no panic!