water for babies

[user1465146157]

When did you start giving your baby water and how much a day?

i read all this stuff about how its dangerous but i feel like shes thirsty sometimes

shes 5.5 months

From the NHS website:

Introduce a cup from around six months and offer sips of water with meals. Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.

I considered milk to be the main food until DD was 1. Food before then was for fun rather than sustainance.

Besides which 4 months isn't "later on"!

No I wasn't talking about 4m. But it's a gradual thing isn't it? You introduce food and water slowly until eventually they get more of their calories from food?
Otherwise we'd start weaning from one.

I've been giving DD small amounts of water on very hot days since 4 months. Particularly if she's been sweating. She's FF and I followed NHS website advice. Would have given water earlier than that if it had been hot enough.

Sippy cup (miracle 360) from 6 months here, baby is EBF but has a little water from their cup at mealtimes or sometimes when we're out and breastfeeding isn't practical/possible. He only has little sips and I feel it helps with meals - plus he loves holding his cup and drinking from it all by himself (DS2 who is nearly 9 months old now).
His milk feeds are separate from mealtimes anyway so I do not feel that the water replaces the milk but rather enhances his meals.