How much water should my baby be drinking?

[BonjourMinou]

DD is just over 6 months old. She is still mostly bf but I have given her a bit of baby porridge for dinner from 4.5 months and now she is 6 months old I have started a wider range of food, still mostly purees but gradually working in finger food as well, pepper sticks, etc.

But... she doesn't seem to drink that much water at all. I give it her in a sippy cup or a beaker and she will drink maximum 1 oz a day. Health visitors had said plain cooled boiled water and in a cup not bottle... but I saw on of her baby friends the other day and she drank a whole bottle of diluted apple juice! Should I be worried? Is she massively dehydrated or is she still getting her fluid from the breastmilk? So how much water should a 6 mo. old baby be drinking?

There's no set amount of water they need; just keep offering it regularly so she has the option but otherwise don't worry. She'll still be getting plenty of fluid from breastmilk. The fact she's eating a small amount of solids doesn't mean she suddenly needs loads of extra fluid. You'll just notice a gradual increase in the amount of water she drinks as she eats a bigger volume of solids.

The other baby you saw may have drunk lots of juice because she likes the sweet taste rather than because she was thirsty. Or she could be eating more solids. I wouldn't worry how much other babies drink. As long as your DD isn't showing signs of dehydration eg she's still producing plenty of wet nappies, she's getting the fluid she needs.

The Kellymom website has a great section about water and the breastfed baby.

As long as babies are still BFing lots, they don't need more than 1oz of water a day. As the PP said, keep an eye on nappies etc.

Imo, juice isn't necessary for a baby.

OK thanks very much! Will check out the Kellymom site.

I agree that juice is unnecessary for babies - get them used to water first. Also never put juice into a bottle because it's bad for teeth.
As long as you offer water with every meal then your dc will start to take more and more.

from 6 months you dont need to boil drinking water for babies