Every mother wants only the best for her baby, but it’s easy to drown in a sea of conflicting advice.
One of the hottest debates is whether to give water to a breastfed baby and when to do it.
Breast milk, which is 80% water, completely satisfies the baby's fluid needs before the introduction of complementary foods.
It becomes both food and drink at the same time, creating a perfect balance.
But as always, the devil is in the details, and exceptions can turn all the usual ideas upside down.
Imagine: it's a sultry summer, the air is hot, and the humidity drops below 35%. At such moments, even breast milk may not cope with the baby's thirst.
The same thing happens if the child is prone to constipation or is faced with an illness - a temperature above 38 °C, vomiting or diarrhea.
In these situations, water becomes not just a supplement, but a necessity that saves from dehydration. But how do you know when it's time to offer a bottle? The answer is simple: between feedings, in small portions, observing the baby's reaction.
Artificial feeding is a completely different story. Even the best quality formulas require additional feeding, because their composition is denser than breast milk.
And if the pediatrician has prescribed an anti-reflux formula, water becomes a mandatory element of the diet.
With the introduction of complementary foods, the rules change: the first vegetable purees or porridges dictate the need for water to aid digestion.
The daily norm ranges from 30 to 250 ml - this is approximately the volume of one feeding.
But what if your baby drinks water greedily? Don't panic! This is a signal that his body needs additional fluid. Offer a bottle more often, but don't forget to monitor his general condition.
The main question is age. Some parents start giving water almost from the first days, others wait for six months. Pediatricians insist: the decision should be individual, and the universal answer - 0＋ - is only a starting point for a dialogue with the doctor. After all, what suits one child may harm another.
Don't risk your baby's health - discuss any decision with a specialist. Only you and your pediatrician know the right moment. Everything else is just noise...
