When Can Babies Drink Water And How Much to Offer
Are you confused as to when and how to give your baby water?
Read on to learn the recommendations when it comes to babies and drinking water. I’ll also cover which cups are recommended for babies and how to offer water during those early weaning days!
When can babies drink water?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until your baby is 6 months of age before offering small amounts of water. Breastmilk or formula will be your baby’s main source of nutrition and fluids for the first year of life.
Too much water can have negative health effects for your baby. Babies under one year of age, and especially under 6 months, are at a higher risk for water intoxication. Water intoxication causes an imbalance of electrolytes, leading to seizures, coma, brain damage, and death.
Drinking too much water when babies are less than one year also takes the place of valuable calories, protein, and essential nutrients needed to grow and thrive.
Babies can have small amounts of water to drink when:
- They are 6+ months of age
When can I give my baby milk or fruit juice to drink?
Milk (cow’s milk and plant-based) and fruit juice is not recommended to give as a drink until 12 months. It’s best to avoid fruit juice until 2 years of age due to its concentrated content of natural and sometimes added sugars and/or artificial sweeteners.
Although milk is nutritious, infant milk (breast milk or formula) should be the main source of nutrition and fluids through 12 months of age.
Fruit juice is very sweet and lacks fiber. Toddlers and kids who are offered fruit juice often may begin to prefer juice over water. The whole fruit is a great choice over fruit juice due to the filling fiber and other beneficial micronutrients.
Does my 6 month old need water?
Babies under one year of age don’t necessarily need water since infant milk will be providing most if not all their fluids. However, once your baby is starting solids at 6 months, water can be beneficial for these reasons:
- Development of oral and motor skills
- Speech development
- Swallow development
- Practicing drinking water- a vital nutrient!
- Practicing independence
- Practicing cup-drinking skills
- Helping with adequate hydration
Can babies younger than 6 months have water?
No, it is not recommended to give extra water to young babies less than 6 months of age. Babies younger than 6 months get enough fluids from breast milk and/ or formula. Babies younger than 6 months are at risk of water intoxication.
Can you give babies water when weaning?
When solid foods are introduced (around 6 months old) and your baby begins to wean from infant milk, small sips of water can be offered during meals. However, water is not necessary until closer to 12 months of age.
Can you give a 6 month old baby bottled water?
Babies can drink the same water as the rest of the family starting at 6 months. If you are unsure if the tap water in your area is unsafe, check your water quality which is available through your local health department.
Can a 6 month old drink tap water?
Yes, if the rest of your family drinks tap water and tap water is safe in your area, it is safe for your baby to drink.
How much water can my 6 month old baby drink?
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests offering 6-12 month old babies 4-8 oz of water/day. However, other professionals such as feeding experts at Solid Starts strongly suggest offering no more than 4oz of water per day from 6-8 months and less than 8oz/day for babies 9-12 months.
Personally, I found that offering 2oz of water for my baby to practice drinking worked well and she still had a good hydration status during this time. In general babies should have 4-6 wet diapers in 24 hours. Know the signs of dehydration in babies and consult your child’s doctor if you have concerns.
How much water can my 12 month old baby drink?
At 12 months of age, babies need a minimum water intake of 8oz per day. Older babies will need more water and fluids in general than a 12 month old. At 12 months old cow’s milk or another high quality milk alternative like soy or pea milk can also be offered.
It’s a good idea to have water available throughout the day for your baby starting at 12 months. Just like everyone else, babies’ fluid needs will depend on activity level, weather, and health status. Modeling drinking your own water throughout the day is a great way to encourage healthy habits.
How do I give my baby water?
The best way to offer water to a 6 month old starting weaning is with an open cup or straw cup. It’s best to avoid offering water in a baby bottle. Sippy cups are not recommended because they’re not ideal for oral motor development and don’t provide your baby practice with open and straw cups which they’ll have to learn to use eventually!
Understand that it will take a few tries (or more!) for your baby to get the hang of drinking water. It’s actually one of the hardest liquids to drink because it’s thin and flows very quickly!
How to teach your baby to drink from an open cup
To teach your baby to drink from an open cup try these steps:
- Use a shot glass or the EZPZ tiny cup or another small cup
- Put a small amount of water, breast milk, or formula(1-2 oz) in the cup
- Role model for your baby by bringing the cup to your mouth and tipping it up, pretending to take a drink (you can use a different cup than your baby if you’d like but make sure it looks similar to your baby’s)
- Offer the cup to your baby and wait for them to grab it
- Guide the cup up to your baby’s mouth and help hold it if they need while they learn that there’s liquid in the cup
Learning to drink thin liquids from a cup takes lots of time and practice. My baby mastered open cup drinking around 12 months of age and still occasionally misses her bottom lip and spills. It’s all about embracing the mess and trusting the process during baby-led weaning!
How to teach your baby to drink from a straw cup
You can begin practicing drinking from a straw cup at 6 months old.
To teach your baby to drink water from a straw cup try these steps:
- You can use a small cup with a straw like the Olababy cup (in the video above) to start
- Fill the cup with a 1-2 ounces of water, breastmilk, or formula
- Role model drinking from the straw before allowing your baby to try
How to teach your baby to drink from a straw using a straw trainer
If your baby doesn’t get the concept of sucking from the straw right away, you can try a straw trainer. The honey bear bottle is a squeezable bottle that allows you to squeeze the liquid, forcing it up the straw and allowing your baby to understand where the liquid is coming from.
To use this method try these steps:
- Bring the straw up to your baby’s lips
- Allow your baby to open their mouth and lean in to accept the straw, then give a slight squeeze to force liquid through the straw and into your baby’s mouth. Often babies will seal their lips around the straw and swallow.
- After the first couple times, you will be able to stop squeezing the bottle and allow your baby to suck the liquid out for themselves.
Best Tips for Babies and Water
In this blog post we covered:
- Babies can start drinking small amounts of water at 6 months when they begin eating solid foods
- Keep water to less than 4oz per day for babies 6-8 months of age and less than 8oz per day for babies 9-11 months
- Once your baby is 12 months old water can be available throughout the day as your baby needs
- Avoid fruit juice until closer to 2 years of age
- Cow’s milk and plant-based milk can be offered once your baby is 12 months
- Open and straw cups are the best options for teaching your baby to drink water
Looking for more recommended baby-led weaning supplies? I have it all laid out for you in this baby-led weaning supply guide. Follow our baby-led weaning journey on instagram @mydietitian.friend!
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