How do you get your baby to drink water????

[pelvicflawed]

DS is almost 29 weeks now and we've been weaning for a while now and his on three 'meals' a day (sometimes he it loads other days just a few spoonfuls) and doing really well on the food front. The one thing we can't do though is to get him to drink any water. DH and I are quite determined not to give him diluted juice yet and have been trying to get him to drink from a cup (a tommy tippee one) but he just sees it as a game and if he gets any water in his mouth spits it out. Yesterday I tried a bottle of water and that was a complete no, lips sealed, head turned away. At the moment the only fluid he's getting is from his milk (formula)- now his milk drinking is going down (average 22-26 oz) should I be worried that he won't drink water and how an earth do I get him to drink some of the stuff (preferably from a cup)without resorting to bribing with diluted juice (I keep having to stop myself from an impulse purchase in the supermarket!!- we will give him the stuff one day we're not that mean we just want him to see water as his main alternative drink and juice as a treat!!)

Just keep going with the spoon and the bottle and a beaker when hes old enough...sorry had babies a long time ago and cant remeber when that is. DO NOT offer juice as you will never get him to take water, or thats what all my friends say anyway!
Or offer juice, like you say as a treat when hes old enought to ask for it! Theres no need for the sugar/additives just yet.

don;t worry - as long as he has3 good milk feeds a day . he;s getting enough fluid...

try watery foods!

melon, cucumber, apples, that sort of thing....

Is juice really evil? What about diluted fresh fruit juice. All my children had juice and they are not fat nor have they got holes in their teeth. The oldest is nearly 20!

if you can avoid juice the better I think cos water is much cheaper.

DS2 never would drink water from a bottle. I used to squeeze the teat and he used to open his mouth like a little bird and wait for me to spray it in. And then he used to giggle. Then when he was old enough we moved onto a beaker and he drank fine from that.

Its easier when your out and about to get water rather than juice thats teeth friendly.

Just keep giving it to him!! He will drink eventually.

I vaugely remember DS 20m being like that but I didn't give in. He now drinks a good pint of water at tea time froma pintglass and does a big AAAHHHH! that was refreshing type noise after each mouthful! He's also started doing slamming down his lidded beaker pirate style and going arrrggh after seeing pirates of the caribean so I have high hopes for his university career of pints and slammers

tbh he shouldn't need to drink much water, or indeed any fluid other than milk, yet, his meals are still probably have a high-ish water content anyway. Let him continue to experiment with a cup and in time as he gets more thirsty and the weather is warmer he will accept it in larger quantities.

Thanks for the advice perhaps I'm expecting a bit too much in terms of him drinking water - most of his food is fairly watery I'll keep plonking the cup in front of him and holding it for to try - perhaps one day he'll twig its not mouthwash!

taking water into her mouth then spitting it out was dd starting to drink water. we all found it hilarious and used to applaud like mad. a week or two later she got the picture that she could actually swallow it and now does the samw as ipod's ds, with full lip-smacking and aaaaah-ing. not as much as ipod's though, she's only 11 months so a lot of it goes down her front.