When to introduce water for baby

[happy_momma]

The title pretty much says it. My dd is EBF and is 6 mos and now starting solids. When should I start giving her water in a cup?

[gardenmommy]

If she is exclusively breast-fed on demand, she will get all her hydration needs met through breast milk. However, babies often love to experiment with sipping from a cup around your DD's age. It should not replace any feedings, though, and should be strictly for fun/learning.

[Kagrish]

My mom gave my DS probably around 5/6 months? BF babies don't need extra water, I don't think, but I do give water to DS when he started eating solids. Also, when he was fussy and didn't want formula, he seems to be happy to sip water from a cup (which helped him learn to drink from one

[LaughingHyena]

I gave both mine water when they started solids. A couple of sips after eating saved me from getting breasts covered in avocado or whatever when I fed them. Also they both liked sitting at the table with a sippy cup while we ate.

We started offering regular drinks once they were a 1 - 1 1/2 years, basicly the summer.

[adoremybabe]

I do not remember offering any water until after one year.

Both kiddos were EBF. I nursed them before offering any solids. DS started solids at 5 1/2 months and DD started at 7 months.

[LDSmomma]

:
Wondering the same thing for DS who will start solids next week. : He's very interested in eating/drinking now, so I've offered him water from a cup just for fun, which has been great. He really enjoys it, though he doesn't actually swallow much, I don't think.

[adoremybabe]

Why not offer breastmilk in a cup?

[Ruthla]

I always offered water with solids. The baby hardly had more than a few sips of water, or a few bites of food at first, but I wanted to make sure they developed a taste for plain water. No, they don't NEED water as infants, but it also won't hurt them, and I thought it was a good way to teach them how to use cups- so they'd have the skills before it was truly needed.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

If you want to see a really funny response, let them try taking a sip of your ICE water. When that ice touched my DD's lips I had never seen a face of such disgust! I tried giving my DD a sippy and she just chewed on the bottom and dripped water all over herself. So for now I will let her have a sip of my water if she reaches for my glass. Or last night she had a couple sips out of a water bottle because we were outside in the heat and she thought it was really fun. I don't really worry about it and just like food am letting her experiment with it while not worrying that its for her bodily needs.