Newly-made parents have a lot of questions regarding caring for babies, including how to drink newborns.
Of course, it is up to the parents themselves to decide whether or not to do this at all, however there are some factors that can help in making such a decision.
Do I need to give newborns water, in which cases
The primary role in the need for water for the newborn is played by the feeding method. When breastfeeding, babies usually do not need water. Mother's milk contains 90% of the water, while the rest is occupied by the remaining nutrients and substances. It is the composition that determines the need for additional drinking.
Breast milk is heterogeneous in composition, it is customary to divide it into the front and back, which perform various functions. Front milk is the liquid that enters the baby’s body in the first minutes of feeding and is practically his drink. Back milk, on the other hand, has a denser composition, in which all the useful elements are located, it is food for the child and gives satiety to the body.
In normal cases, a newborn can do without water in his "diet" until the introduction of complementary foods. However, cases and situations are different, and then you need to start watering the baby with water earlier.
1. If a mother eats salty foods or because of the characteristics of some foods, her milk has become oily, then the child may need to drink.
2. Babies who are on artificial nutrition need water in between feedings. Due to the introduction of solid food into their diet, the need for water increases.
3. Too thick stools in a newborn can become a sign of a lack of water in the body. This is also indicated by colic. A lack of water can manifest itself even in the form of constipation.
4. When the child is hot, he begins to sweat, then in these cases it is also necessary to give him water.
5. Other signs of dehydration may include: lowering of the fontanel, dry skin, rare urination, crying for no apparent reason. Most often, such symptoms occur in the summer.
6. If the room is too stuffy and dry, you need not only to supply the baby's body with the liquid that is missing for him in such conditions, but also to buy an air humidifier.
Some mothers may have questions, why should they give babies water to drink if they can breastfeed it?
It is easy to imagine the hot summer time, the baby's body can also overheat and produce sweat. And to replenish the fluid lost by the body is a must. The baby may want to drink every half hour, if you give him a chest every time, then this threatens to overfeed and plentiful regurgitation.
How to drink newborns: how much fluid the baby needs
The body's need for fluid in each child is manifested individually. Various factors can influence this indicator:
• nutrition;
• degree of physical activity;
• dimensions, that is, height and weight;
• climate and atmosphere;
• health status.
Those parents who nevertheless made a positive decision in favor of water for newborns should not blindly drink their baby. There is a generally accepted formula that is calculated based on the weight of the baby. For every 1 kg of weight, 100 ml of water per day. These 100 ml take into account the entire volume of fluid entering the baby’s body, including from breast milk, mixtures or dill water.
Nevertheless, you should focus primarily on the needs of the child. If he does not want to drink water, then he should not be forced to drink it. And it’s okay that this indicator did not reach, for example, 50 ml. So your baby’s body is no longer needed, and the daily need for water is satisfied for him.
Do I need to drink newborns with water: how to do it right
After the question was clarified as to whether newborns should be watered with water, the following logical question arises on how to do it right? In fact, everything is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance.
• If your child is breastfeeding, it will be better to drink water from a spoon or pipette. You can dispel the myth that drinking a baby from a bottle with a pacifier is fraught with a rejection of the breast, and use such an attribute. Not all mothers can agree to this, fearing possible vagaries and the loss of a child's sucking reflex.
• With artificial feeding, you can safely feed your baby from a bottle with a pacifier, moreover, this method will help facilitate the introduction of complementary foods in the future. Usually, when feeding, the temperature of the nutrient mixture is about 36 ° C, while water can be given to babies cooler from 25 to 29 ° C in the first few months, and later at 20 ° C.
• The main rule is to take into account the needs and desires of the newborn. When the baby does not want to drink, this is noticeable, he spits, turns away, chokes and the like. No need to insist on your own, try to give him a liquid later.
• Crying children do not need to be given water; during drinking, they can swallow a lot of air, causing colic or simply choking. Therefore, the baby must first be reassured before drinking.
• Water should be given to the newborn after eating at intervals between feedings.
How to drink newborns and what to choose for this
When the question of how to drink newborns raises, most mothers say that ordinary boiled water is ideal for these purposes. After all, after boiling, all pathogenic bacteria and microbes that exist in the water die, but along with them, the salts necessary for the children's body are destroyed.
Why then give preference? Water from the tap is clearly not enough to drink the baby, water in open sources and wells may contain harmful compounds leaking from the soil. And the baby’s health is not a place for experimentation.
Therefore, in the modern century, special water has been developed for infants, which has all the necessary components for a fragile child's body. You should definitely use this bottled water not only to water the newborn, but also prepare mixtures for feeding on it.
Such water contains a set of components:
• calcium (content up to 60 mg / l);
• minerals (less than 250 mg / l);
• potassium (from 10 to 20 mg / l);
• magnesium (from 10 to 30 mg / l).
An alternative to bottled water for mothers will be the purchase of a baby filter that will successfully purify water from harmful substances and compounds for the baby’s body. It is advisable to purchase it if you often use water in the baby’s diet, for example, prepare mixtures, give drinks, cook decoctions or compotes. One cartridge can last for a long time, up to 150 liters. water.
You can drink newborns not only with clean water, but also with decoctions, for example, dill. This drink can perform several functions:
• quench;
• eliminate bloating and colic.
To make such a decoction, you need 1 tbsp. l dill seeds. They will need to be poured with boiling water in the amount of 1 cup and boiled for about 10 minutes. Then the liquid will need to be filtered and let it brew. It is better to give her a baby to drink while she is still warm, so the effectiveness of the decoction will be higher.
How to drink newborns: when to start
Modern medicine insists that it is not worth watering newborns from the first days of life. It is best to start doing this from 4-5 months. In the case of a child’s disease, feeding him with artificial mixtures, the use of water is considered individually.
If you give babies water from the first days of life, this can lead to an upset of still weak digestion, and refusal to eat. Due to the small stomach of the child, even a small amount of water in his body can provoke the appearance of an imaginary feeling of satiety.
With artificial feeding, problems with water in the first days of life should not arise, as in infants. This is explained by the high protein content in the mixtures. If you started to water your child with water, then do not give it in large quantities, for the first time a couple of teaspoons will be enough. If the child has a fever, then the volume of water consumed by him must be increased to 30 ml per day.
