Although it is very hot, it is usually not necessary to give babies water before six months

With high temperatures, one of the most frequent concerns among parents is the fear that the baby can become dehydrated if water is not offered, but it is important to know that Even if it is very hot, there is no need to give babies water before six months.

It is true that babies are more vulnerable to dehydration with heat since their body weight is almost 80% water and they need to drink more often to avoid decompensation, but we will clarify doubts about it.

Babies who take exclusive breastfeeding

Babies who are exclusively breastfed should not be given water since breast milk is made up of 88% water.

Although there is an extremely hot and dry climate, the baby gets all the nutrients and mineral salts he needs from his mother's milk to protect himself from dehydration.

That is why it is so important to offer the breast on demand, that is to say without schedules, whenever the baby asks for it, especially in summer since the baby sweats more and needs to continually replenish the water that his body loses. Offer your chest often.

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Babies who are breastfeeding

Babies under six months who drink formula milk are also not required to offer a bottle of water, as they take approximately every 3-4 hours with enough water to stay hydrated, provided that the bottle is prepared with Measures indicated and no more concentrated.

Offering extra water to the baby would only fill his stomach (which is a much smaller size than we imagine) with a substance without any nutritional contribution. It can become potentially dangerous as it decreases your appetite. In addition, even if it is bottled or boiled water, it constitutes a vehicle of infections.

If it is very hot, the most convenient is offer you more frequent shots, but with less quantity. That is, if you drink 180 ml of milk every 4 hours, offer 90 ml every two hours.

And after six months?

So, once the baby is six months old, the question is: when should we start offering water and how much?

To babies who continue to be breastfed on demand and have started complementary feeding, neither is it necessary to give them water, since breast milk, along with the liquid from fruits and vegetables is enough to cover daily needs.

However, you can offer some water, provided that it is far from the shots so that it does not reject food, and without forcing it.

Children who drink formula milk, on the other hand, usually start replacing shots with solid foods, so they may need to drink water throughout the day. It is necessary to offer them frequently and that the child is taking what he needs.

In Babies and more When to start offering water to babies and how much?

"Normally" you don't need to give them extra water

I have added the word "normally" to the title (thanks to pediatrician Bruno Nievas for his appreciations), since it is not necessary to give water to babies fed and cared for in normal conditions, but as "there is everything" in this life, it is well worth The clarification.

There are parents who shelter their babies with two bodys and three blankets in the middle of August that end up with severe dehydration, mothers whose milk production has decreased and do not realize it and therefore the baby is not receiving the water supply that he needs, or cases in which formula milk is not prepared in appropriate proportions and is more concentrated ...

So we could continue to name cases and cases (which should not occur under normal conditions) that can cause the baby to need an extra supply of water.

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