Benefits of drinking water ... need advice « Back to Group Discussions

[Tenk]

Good Morning Ladies!!

I hope your all well!

So, I'm sure this is bizarre or even stupid coming from someone that has had so many babies, but how much water is necessary, really??  I drink liquids and my urine is never dark in color, I don't have any infections or symptoms of something being wrong.  I barely drink water though, I just can't stand the thought and I pee at a normal rate and also realize that if I drink more then I'll be in the bathroom all day long.  I read that it's key to stay hydrated and in the 3rd trimester to prevent preterm labor, I am hydrated and not in the 3rd trimester.  So if i'm NOT guzzling water, we are still ok right??

Sorry if this sounds silly

[tri31]

You can eat your water, too. My youngest is all about fruit, that seems to work (to keep him hydrated) for him just fine. I crave water, early in the morning and late in day. I get a vague pressure headache if I need more fluids.

[becoming]

I only drink about two bottles of water a day (around 32 ounces). I eat a lot of fruit & drink other liquids (juice, etc.). I think you're good as long as you don't feel dehydrated or have any health problems.

[KristaDJ]

I drink tons of water but I need to in order to feel hydrated. I also drink milk, herbal tea and coconut water because, when pregnant, plain water is not enough for me. If you are feeling fine on what you are drinking I wouldn't worry about it. The feelings of dehydration are pretty intense and hard to ignore and I think you would know if you needed more. 

[rhiandmoi]

I have a hard time with fluids in general and I was advised that as long as my urine is light enough and I am not swelling, having headaches, hard contractions, or otherwise feeling dehydrated that 32 or so ounces was enough for me. But each person has to find their right amount. I do feel better if I can push up to 40 ozs but then I suffer from not being able to eat enough food.

[thegoodearth]

This is a good question. With my son I drank a ton of water. This time around I'm not drinking nearly the same amount. I feel bad about it, but its so hard to keep up on the water intake when you've got an active 2 year old to chase. I seem only to get intensely thirsty in the middle of the night which is why I keep 3 glasses of water next to our bed. I always finish all of them by morning. BUt I don't know if I'm getting enough water...

[kjm279]

My midwife wants me drinking 4 quarts of fluid a day (water, diluted juice, tea).  My friend that is learning a lot about hydration, because she's been chronically & severally dehydrated for years says that you should drink no more than 16oz an hour and to add a little salt in.  She says that if you drink more than that, you're body is just flushing it out.  The salt helps your body retain the water.

[LionessMom]

i like to make homemade lemonade/gatorade. i am not supposed to use sugar so i use stevia and dextrose. but i use a gallon of water, juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes. 1/2 tsp salt. 1/2 tsp pure stevia. 1 cup dextrose.  the salt, sugar, and the lemons all add to rehydration. the lemons and limes have phosphorous i think. i looked up the recipe online. i have to use less salt sometimes and less lemon juice, but my kids love it. i drink it everyday. it might be something to throw into the mix. it is better for you than real gatorade with all that stuff they put in it. i just cant figure out a different flavor to make it, although it did taste great with gin or vodka before i got pregnant. now i like to throw it in a blender with frozen strawberries. yummm. just an idea. 

[BroodyWoodsgal]

If you are actually thirsty, you are WAY past due for some water...so don't wait til you're thirsty to drink. If you are drinking water and have nice clear pee and never really feel thirsty....I would say don't even worry about it.

I would be extremely cautious about replacing water with juice...because sugar is really, really not good for your body and is especially "not awesome" during pregnancy. The way that our bodies break down sugars and the chemical process that takes place once it is broken down is not good for your body if you are taking in more sugar than your body needs..and honestly, we don't need much. The kinds of sugar that are packed into everything we eat these days are especially bad for us. ACTUAL sugar is nowhere near as bad as some of these sugar substitutes we eat so much of these days.

But things like coconut milk are awesome if you want something "more" than water...raw milk, etc. Just watch out for things like "minute maid" and other brand name juices...which are essentially trash food which give you very little if ANY of the benefits printed on the label and do more harm than good, really.

I've been sucking royally at staying hydrated this pregnancy. I'm letting myself get WAY too thirsty before I drink and it's driving me nuts. I've just been so crazy busy and running around this time! I've been very distracted. I drink very little in the first part of the day....and then a ton in the latter part of the day when I get a headache and remember to drink...the days are just passing so quickly!!!

[tri31]

Hi ladies. Hope you are all having a good start to your week. I am posting because I need some feedback. On Friday, I woke up with a tension headache and some muscle pain in my legs. It just got worse as the day went by. Around 1:30am on Saturday, really terrible pain in my head woke me up. 35 minutes later it was still really intense, and I called the doctor. Of course I was told to go to the ER. I really prayed, and prayed. I thought I was having a stroke! I am grateful the headache, went back to a tension headache, a few minutes after arriving. The ligaments in my lower back are so strained and inflammed I can barely walk after lying down or riding in a car. So, they wanted to put the baby on the monitor, we are fine. The L&D nurse went on to tell me that I am suffering dehydration and that I should be drinking 4 LITERS of water a day. I am thinking my body is crying out for something enzymes, minerals, I have no idea where to start. I did read that drinking tons of water can dangerously lower sodium levels. Honestly, usually I drink about 40 oz of water a day. I also take brag ACV a few times a week. I am sick of being told that it sucks to be me, suck it up. I am in allot of pain. What do you think? TIA   

[LionessMom]

if you are dehydrated then a gatorade is good for that. i make my own. i juice 2 lemons, 2 limes, and add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt, sweetener (i use a cup dextrose and 1/4 tsp stevia powder), and i like to add extra vit c to one gallon water. so you have your salt, phosphorous, and carb. that is what you need in a gatorade. 

[tri31]

That's the thing. I have no indication that I am dehydrated.

[Nicole730]

I didn't have any major signs of dehydration a few weeks ago.  Except getting frequent headaches (not major) and migraines (super annoying).  My urine was very, very light and I only felt thirsty at night.  I decided to try drinking more water to cure my headaches and it has totally worked.  I'm drinking at least a gallon of water a day.  Maybe some is just running through me, but I feel a ton better.  I find it is easier for me to down a bottle of water (18oz - Kleen Kanteen) and then wait a bit and down another bottle.  Just keeping up with sipping water doesn't work that well for me.   I'm not thirsty at night anymore.  Actually, I barely feel thirsty at all, which is nice.  I am in the bathroom a lot more!  But it's a small price to pay.  My chiropractor told me my whole back felt a lot better too.

[mirandamiranda]

I never feel thirsty usually and hardly ever drink unless I make myself. But my midwife made a big thing about drinking lots of water so I am trying as best as I can. I have noticed that once I get in the habit of drinking more water, I actually feel thirstier when I forget. I don't know if my body just gets used to having more, or if my signals are off normally and that's why I don't get thirsty?

It's true that it does make me wee a lot which is a pain, especially at night... like I need another thing to wake me up apart from 3 kids!

[mudhugger]

I'm so all about the coconut water right now-- I don't love the taste plain, but it mixes easily with stuff and if I'm thirsty it goes down fine plain.  A Thai friend of mine says that in many parts of East Asia pregnant women are advised to drink lots of coconut water...of course, for them it's generally fresh.  The best thing?  It gets rid of my heartburn!   Heartburn is my #1 reason for not wanting water-- water makes is worse.  I've heard that we actually can drink too much plain water...don't know if that's true, but since I'm more drawn to fruits and veggies when I'm thirsty, I can see how that may be on to something.  Maybe some of the things we confuse with dehydration are actually vitamin deficiencies?  Like Vit B and potassium for leg cramps... and we can get really B deficient in pregnancy.  Just thinking "out loud".  :)

[sraplayas]

It has been really difficult for me to keep up with my water intake--my goal is 3 liters a day. I tend to do well in the AM and then forget to keep drinking as the day goes on. Or, if I'm out, I don't have somewhere to conveniently fill up my water bottle.

But--it makes such a difference! I went a few days last week so-so with the water and ended up with a UTI. I'm sure it just brought it on. Then, on Sunday, combined with not walking/stretching that morning (due to oversleeping) I had terrible leg cramps during church! And then lots of BH's during the day. As if I needed another reason to drink water! I'm wondering now if I need to increase my intake to 4 liters per day.

I notice that it takes about 24 hours for my body to calm down after being a little dehydrated. I am sooo motivated not to let that happen again. One of my biggest fears this time around is preterm labor.