Can we give water to an infant, breastfed or not?
Your baby does not need water while you are breastfeeding. Indeed, breast milk is composed of water for the most part. Breast milk provides babies with all the protein they need to develop. During a heat wave, if you are concerned that your child lacks water, you can breastfeed more often.
The same applies when your child is bottle-fed with infant milk: the preparation being diluted in water, it provides the water needs necessary for your child. During a heat wave, however, you can givewater your baby more often, if you are concerned about dehydration.
At what age can a baby be given water?
It is not recommended to make your baby drink water before he has reached the age of 6 months. As long as he does not eat solid food, his water needs are covered by breast milk (consisting mainly of water) or infant milk. Once your baby is 6 months old, you can give her some water to drink.
Reminder: giving water to a baby under 6 months can create a risk of diarrhea and malnutrition.
What water to use to prepare a bottle?
Your child may as well drink spring water, mineral water, or tap water. However, you must observe certain rules: indeed, if you choose to prepare your toddler’s bottle withtap water, certain precautions are necessary.
Instructions for preparing a bottle with tap water:
- Use only cold water (above 25°C, the water may be more loaded with microbes and mineral salts).
- No water having undergone filtration, that is to say in a filter jug or through a softener, filtration favoring the multiplication of germs.
- If you haven’t used your tap for several hours, let the water run for a minute or two before filling the bottle. Otherwise, three seconds is enough.
- Do not put the neck of the bottle in contact with the tap, and regularly clean the head of the latter.
- In addition, if your faucet is equipped with a diffuser, remember to descale it regularly. To do this, unscrew the diffuser and place it in a glass of white vinegar. Leave on for a few hours, then rinse well.
Also, if you live in a old building built before 1948water pipes may still be lead, and increase the risk of lead poisoning. In this case, to find out if the water in your home can be used in baby bottles, find out:
– either at your town hall,
– or with your Departmental Population Protection Directorate.
If you use a spring water or a mineral water, natural in the bottle, make sure that it is weakly mineralized, non-carbonated, and bears the mention “suitable for the preparation of infant foods”.
A trip abroad? In the absence of potable or bottled water, boil water for at least 1 minuteand let it cool before preparing the bottle.
Which water to choose when baby is constipated?
It is advisable to hydrate constipated children. Water should be offered between meals. It is preferable to use water with a low mineral content (Mont Roucous = dry residue of 25mg/l, Volvic = 130mg/l, Evian = 309mg/l). Although you might think otherwise. For your baby, be sure to limit Hépar water, which is far too rich in minerals (2,513mg/l) with a risk of fatigue for a baby’s kidneys. The water crystalline comes from 22 different sources: some have too high a mineralization such as the Ste Sophie source: dry residue of 564 mg/l.
What is the best water to choose for your child?
The bottled water chosen must bear the words “suitable for infant food preparation“. In addition, water does not resist heat and light well, so do not consume a bottle of water that has been open for more than 24 hours. So, to avoid waste, buy small bottles of water.
If your child is occasionally constipated, prefer mineral waters like those mentioned above, avoid too mineralized waters like Hepar for example which is perfectly suitable for adults but which is too rich in magnesium for an infant. We also invite you not to modify the preparation of baby bottles. This must follow the following rule: 1 measuring spoon for 30 mL of water, even if your child is constipated. However, do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist or your doctor for advice or a medical prescription to relieve your little one.
Finally, remember that to avoid the transmission of germs, do not drink from the neck of the bottle used for baby’s bottles, this one is entirely reserved for him!