When did you offer other drinks?

[ann_of_loxley]

When did you offer other drinks?  (like water)...and how did you go about it?  Was it like 'Here - have some water!', or did you just leave a cup/sippy of water (or other) out for them that they could help themselves to or did you just let them have it if they found it? 

DS2 is only nearly 11 months old and he has only ever had BM as a drink.  I havn't offered him anything else.  I don't think I should be and I don't think I need to either...but I was wondering when and how you go about it.  I mean, eventually he will be wanting a glass of water right?  The reason I ask is because I want to make sure that I am doing nothing to hinder child led weaning and our breastfeeding relationship.  If I start filling him up with water now, I am sure that won't be good to our breastfeeding relationship in the long run - right? 

[SubliminalDarkness]

We started putting a sippy cup of water on the high chair when we started baby led solids at six months. It was there, he could drink it if he wanted. 

[goinggreengirl]

I give some water when he eats solids. He's also had some orange juice (sipped from Daddy's glass) and a tiny bit of apple cider during the holidays. He has a sippy cup that roams around the house but he doesn't really care about it. He's almost 1. And, he just started a phase where he'll sip then let it dribble down his chin and all over his shirt. Fun.

[crunchy_mommy]

We did baby-led solids starting around 6-7mos and usually offered water in an open cup whenever we offered meals. Mostly he just played in it or dumped it out, rarely drank more than a sip or two. He's now 25 months and still nurses 10+ times a day with no signs of stopping. He drinks more water now but still gets the majority of his liquids from the breast. We didn't start using a closed cup (straw cup) until he was... I don't know, 16 or 18 months? And that's really only for when we're out & about when I didn't want to have to stop & nurse. I do have a theory about sippy cup usage = less time sucking from the breast (and it's just that, my personal theory/opinion) ...so we didn't want to introduce any kind of 'sucking' device until absolutely necessary for convenience (obviously in some situations it's just not practical to have a 1-yo walking around with an open cup and spilling stuff everywhere so the straw cup (sports water bottle) was handy then!)

[PatioGardener]

nak

blw at 7 months, offered water in an open cup at 10 months, now offer water maybe once a day in an open cup.

[katelove]

We introduced her to a sippy cup when we started BLW at just over 6 months but she wasn't interested. She was interested in Mama' Camelbak water bottle though so we got her a little one of her own. She mostly chew on the top but every now and then will have a few gulps. I haven't noticed a change in her breastfeeding habits.

We don't offer her any other drinks but she has had a sip of Daddy's smoothie and a sip of Grandma's plain mineral water when she's showed a keen interest.

[Marissamom]

a little after we started solids I had to start giving DD water whenever she had solids because she was getting constipated. looking back, she was having some milk-transfer issues, I think she has a posterior tongue-tie. as she has increased solids and decreased nursing she has increased how much water she drinks. 

[ann_of_loxley]

Thats about what I was thinking.  I didn't want to introduce other drinks because other drinks would probably have to come in a cup/sippy of some form and I figured this would reduce his nursing time and I don't want that to contribute to premature weaning iykwim.  I would like him to wean naturally when he is ready and I realise this is going to be years of nursing so I am looking forward to that! :)  I may let him play with an open cup outside when the weather is better!  (our house is fully carpeted and we don't have a dining 'room' as such - just a dining area with carpet underneath (ugh! lol) so if he is just going to mess about with it and spill it- and he will - then I think ill hold offering him such a device indoors! haha...baby-led solids is proving to be messy enough and thats about all I can handle with a 5 year old running around the house too! haha). 

I was thinking about this because we were at a friends house the other day and he really wanted her DDs sippy cup (with water in it) and I know he just wanted to play with it, so I put the spout down (and non-suckable) when I gave it to him to play with but I was asked if I was giving him other drinks yet.  I don't feel I should be and I don't want it to hinder the BF relationship.  A lot of people I know push giving babies water at a very early age - espeically when they start solids (and we didn't start offering till he was 9 months) - almost like its a must...like as soon as they turn 6 months, they must have a sippy with water yet I know they don't need water - if they are BF on demand that should satisfy their thirst and hunger (right?) ...but then I also don't know many toddlers/children still nursing much past a year of age!  lol 

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

We did baby-led solids starting around 6-7mos and usually offered water in an open cup whenever we offered meals. Mostly he just played in it or dumped it out, rarely drank more than a sip or two. He's now 25 months and still nurses 10+ times a day with no signs of stopping. He drinks more water now but still gets the majority of his liquids from the breast. We didn't start using a closed cup (straw cup) until he was... I don't know, 16 or 18 months? And that's really only for when we're out & about when I didn't want to have to stop & nurse. I do have a theory about sippy cup usage = less time sucking from the breast (and it's just that, my personal theory/opinion) ...so we didn't want to introduce any kind of 'sucking' device until absolutely necessary for convenience (obviously in some situations it's just not practical to have a 1-yo walking around with an open cup and spilling stuff everywhere so the straw cup (sports water bottle) was handy then!)
 

[LaughingHyena]

We gave both kids drinks of water once they started solids. Neither of them took to a sippy cup till fairly late (over a year for DD) but could take sips form an open cup much younger.

I always liked them to have a couple of sips to rinse their mouths out after eating. I hated feeding them to find they still had bits of food in their mouths, I'm not a fan of finding chewed veggies on my breast :lol

[crunchy_mommy]

Well lol it is much easier for me to tote around my breasts than to remember to pack a sippy cup of fresh water I also worried that he wouldn't get enough calories if he filled up on water. But at any rate, even though he was offered the open cup and regular meals starting at 6-7mos, he ate almost nothing (0-3 bites a day) until he was 14mos old and at 18mos was still getting 90% of his calories (and liquids) from breastmilk. At that point we did really push more solids, water, etc. because I was tired of nursing 20++ times a day. So that's the only thing... at some point it can get tiring to nurse several times an hour and if they aren't used to drinking/eating other things then you have to deal with that. But I think a lot (maybe even most?) kids increase other foods naturally and you never have to push it. I do think it's kind of cool that my 2yo is still getting 50% breastmilk but at the same time it can be ANNOYING since even our friends who extended-BF are only nursing their 2yo's maybe 1-3 times a day and my guy nurses more than a newborn lol.

[Lauren31]

Barring something extreme, I don't think there is any harm in offering water. I doubt he'd  wean from breastvmilk just to drink water.

[lurve]

DS turned one a couple of weeks ago and still hasn't had water. he isn't much into food (just destroying it) and doesn't really want/understand water so i haven't pushed it.  i just like to remember that one day he will eat, he will drink, he will walk, he will talk. it is what they do!

[tillymonster]

Mine really liked the idea if a cup, a straw, sippy or mostly mamas bright pink water bottle pretty early on, around 6mo. She's loving utensils too. I think she's not so interested in being a mess. Ha! I love that! But I was alway reading that water or super diluted juice isn't a filler like milk is so not to worry.

Once DD hit 12mo I started getting looks and comments when I didn't have the cup full of cows milk. I mean YUCK I don't drink the stuff so why would she?!?! Plus I read the skinny b***h book and was totally grossed out.

Then I discovered coconut milk! Yes! A healthy plant based milk. It even has less sugar then milk, crazy right? My DD loves it and while it might fill her up a bit more I haven't really noticed less nursing. Try it! You can get at whole foods or any hippy-ish store.

[wishin'&hopin']

We have made a cup with water (either sippy/straw or open) at any solid meal since about 10 months or so--and now try to remember a sippy of water when it's warm out or if he's going to be playing hard (at the playground or something.  He's 13 months now).  Sometimes it's clear that he's thirsty and NOT hungry!  This has not diminished the amount of nursing really and I prefer him to have a couple of sips of water if he's hot and thirsty rather than nurse for a couple of sips (this is just my preference) and pop off and on.  He is VERY clear when he wants his nursies and will not accept water if he wants to nurse instead.

[Amanda1]

We started offering a sippy cup at about 7 months when he became interested in our cups, wanting to drink out of them. He is now just over 12 months and is obsessed with water. He has quite a few signs he can use but we see "milk" and "water" all day long. He will tote his cup around the whole house with him and stop to take a sip now and then. He is still nursing up to 10 x per day, so I am not worried about water filling him up

He has also started to do the take a sip and let it dribble down is chin thing...kinda messy but fun for him