How much water do you drink?

[treehugz]

Just wondering how much water other breastfeeding moms drink in a day... I know the current recommendation is to drink to thirst, but I don't get thirsty, and with my dd I had to drink at least 80 oz or my supply would drop.  Now with my ds I have plenty of milk but I'm having to drink at least 120 oz to keep from getting constipated.  That just seems like a ton of water to me!  How much water do you drink???

[skycheattraffic]

Let's see... That's a bit over 3.5 liters. To me that's an average to low water day. I am a water fiend though, I'll be first to admit. With nursing I get thirsty more easily for sure. DD is a copy cat and at 18 months she drinks more water than her father lol. Anyways if it doesn't bother you to drink that much then I would keep doing it. Have you looked into maybe changing something in your diet to lessen the constipation? I don't have much else to suggest except maybe eating lots of juicy things (watermelon, oranges, etc) might give your body enough water to ease the constipation without you having to drink so much. Hth.

[itsybistyspider]

I am nursing 2 kids, and drinking 6 liters per day or water, plus coffee/tea and juice. 

i am VERY thirsty......and very milky..... 

[treehugz]

Wow, 6 liters???  Do you have a water hose that you drag around with you all day?  Lol.  I feel like I'm constantly refilling my water glass, and I'm only drinking about half that!

Originally Posted by skycheattraffic 
Have you looked into maybe changing something in your diet to lessen the constipation?

Well, I thought my diet was pretty good, but I probably should reevaluate... not really sure what to change nutritionally to help constipation though except drinking more water.  Since the baby was born my husband's been doing most of the cooking, which probably means more convenience foods. 

[skycheattraffic]

Treehugz, I would look at fibre. We switched to whole grain bread and cereal and our pasta intake is about 50-50. It has helped me... But I also drink lots - walk around with a 900 ml water bottle all day. I should really count how many times I refill but that would take mental effort lol. FWIW, my 18 month old drinks more water than her father. We just got home and she downed almost a liter on a three hour outing.
Itsybitsyspider, I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one who drinks this much. Everyone around me has an occasional glass or sip. I always drank lots of water as a kid and remember grandma telling me that if I didn't stop drinking so much water, frogs would grow in my belly lol.