Baby Juice :(

[Amatullah0]

I didnt know where to put this, so I decided here might be best.

DS still nurses all morning, and all evening/night, occasionally in the daytime(for naps) but I feed him solids for lunch/dinner(he eats whatever we eat, with the occasional jar of puree)

he refuses to drink water though. and he dehydrates himself. Hes been urinating a lot less than usual(I changed him around 10pm, then again at 7:30 am, and his diaper wasnt as full as usual(by that time its usually so full its leaking-i'm talking about sposies here)

I cant figure out how to get him to take water. Is an ounce enough? thats about how much he drank yesterday I've tried putting sugar in the water(in a bottle that we usually give him formula in) When he eats solids I usually give him water after in a cup(i dont think he drinks much though....) he was taking it on a spoon last weekend though hmmm..... how much water should he get? we gave him pedialyte(and prunes for constipation--there was blood, and possibly a hemmorhoid about 5 days ago) were about to resort to juice, because I dont know what to do, he loves the pedialyte, its flavoured like juice, so he'll probably drink juice, it just seems so terrible!

[mntnmom]

dilute the juice with at least half water. Make it as weak as you can to get him to drink it. It's not perfect, but it helps. Also, consider nursing him a little more often until he's more interested in drinking. Maybe you can nurse him after meals during the day? How old is he? My kids weren't really interested in much but breastmilk until almost a year old.

[Amatullah0]

hes only 8 months old, but hes so interested in solids that he will not let me eat if he doesn't get any food. he also wont nurse while i'm eating anymore, because he wants "real food" (and he feeds himself) if he doesnt get to chew food, he will try to chew mama milk OW!! (this ones got teeth too!)

[KristyDi]

Be aware of which foods constipate him. I know this won't help much with the dehydration, but maybe it can make pooping easier. I know for my dd I have to limit how much applesauce and banana she eats or she gets constipated. Grapes seem to get her moving. They're also very juicy, so maybe they could help w/ the dehydration. Just slice them if you're worried about choking.

Also, I found out at Christmas that I can mix just a tiny bit of apple juice in with water if I've mulled it. I mean between 1 and 2 oz in a 12 oz sippy cup of water. DD will suck this down. I just mull the juice with one of the spice mixes you can buy in the store and keep it in a bottle in the fridge.

I'd also offer nursing more often it that's an option and make water available all the time so whenever he gets the urge, he can sip something.

[redvlagrl]

We don't do juice here, but DD happily drinks water.

Perhaps you could start by diluting the juice half half with water and then gradually wean your DS off it but reducing the amount of juice week by week until it's just plain water.

Also I would try the 'better' juices like pomegranate rather than apple as it's higher in antioxidants.

It also sounds like he nurses plenty so I am surprised that you believe he isn't getting enough.

We always have a sippy cup of water available to DD including in her bed so she can sip it whenever.