Water

[olivia9417]

Hi
From 6 months do you still need to boil water for your babt to drink or can they have it straight from the tap?

[dementedpixie]

Straight from the tap is fine from 6 months

[RumpledStiltskin]

Yep, tap is fine.

[Pancaker]

Yes to tap water, you can also stop sterilising as baby had hands on you, floor and in their own mouth.

[dementedpixie]

I disagree as it's still recommended to sterilise bottles until age 1. The bacteria in formula milk is worse for them than that found on the floor, their hands, etc

[Pancaker]

Never heard about how bacteria in milk may be worse than what may have been walked in off the street. Just keep things clean and take sensible precautions, hot soapy water for everything now really is just fine.

[Sleepthief84]

Tap water is fine after 6m. Anything that has formula in needs sterilising until age 1, other things (bowls, water cups etc) don't. It's the bacteria found in formula that can cause an issue.

[Pancaker]

Bacteria in formula no worse than bacteria elsewhere!

[dementedpixie]

I think you'll find it had been implicated in some baby deaths hence the revised guidelines for making it up with water over 70 degrees

[Rosey94]

I was only asking about drinking water not water you use to make formula with. But thank you everyone

[Pancaker]

Do you have a link to that evidence pixie?

[dementedpixie]

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/pif_guidelines.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjT1Pum8rPVAhWMIsAKHcnMAyIQFggyMAg&usg=AFQjCNHHRlPX1pFRmbP7EzJeCn2yGqEDfQ" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/pif_guidelines.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjT1Pum8rPVAhWMIsAKHcnMAyIQFggyMAg&usg=AFQjCNHHRlPX1pFRmbP7EzJeCn2yGqEDfQ a WHO publication about it

[Celticlassie]

I think the NHS recommend cooled boiled water till a year.

[dementedpixie]

NHS says water for drinking is ok from the Tapfrom 6 months

[dementedpixie]

From nhs website:

Water
Fully breastfed babies don't need any water until they've started eating solid foods. Bottle-fed babies may need some extra water in hot weather.

For babies under six months, use water from the mains tap in the kitchen. You will need to boil then cool the tap water as it's not sterile straight from the tap. Water for babies over six months doesn't need to be boiled.*

Bottled water isn't recommended for making up formula feeds as it may contain too much salt (sodium) or sulphate.

[Celticlassie]

Oops. On the matter of water, quick question. If you're abroad, where you'd normally drink bottled water, what water should you give a 6 month old to drink? Bottled water? Boiled local tap water? If the sodium content can be an issue?

[Paddybare]

celticlassie, there are naturally low sodium brands of bottled water- I can't remember which now, have a google, but some are definitely fine.

[ElizabethShaw]

Pancaker I think the bacteria in milk powder can be salmonella and ecoli, so probably significantly worse! Just because your baby is crawling you don't let them lick raw chicken.

[dementedpixie]

I would use bottled water abroad. It should be low in sodium. I will link to NHS advice on levels:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1945.aspx?categoryid=62

[Pancaker]

Try and find out what the local mothers do abroad.

[Aliveinwanderland]

I was in Spain last week and you can buy bottle water with a baby symbol on the back to show it's suitable for making formula up with.

[Pancaker]

I am sure you can Alive. Doubt it's sterile though? Just asked a Spanish friend and she always used tap water. Baby will probably get used to whatever it's given.

[dementedpixie]

You're still supposed to boil the bottled water for making formula but would be ok straight from the bottle just as a drink.

[Aliveinwanderland]

Oh yes I didn't mean it would be sterile, for bottles it would still need boiling! We used it for our baby (9 months) to drink instead of the tap water.