feeding babies formula and/or water

Hi,

I work with babies, some of who are ff. Some questions have been raised by parents re ff and introduction of water, esp in summer/hotter weather. Also asking about 'overfeeding' with formula - once again related to hotter weather and a baby feeding for thirst rather than hunger?

If anyone could refer me to info relating to this I would really appreciate this. I'm not sure where to start and want to make sure I give parents the right information????

thanks and hope I have posted in the right forum?

hun i wish i could tell u where to look... but i know my kids loved water n i would put maybe 10-20 mls of luke warm water n give them maybe 2-3 mls before they took the bottle n again after burping....
n whenever it was hot id give them maybe 5 mls every now n then cause i was scared they were too hot lol

GL hun :)

Hi Amali,

thanks for your advice - it will be interesting to read what people do re the hot weather and ff - perhaps there is no straight forward answer to this one? guess I'll wait and see?

Thanks xx

2 of my girls were ff and I introduced water from around 4 months. Both were tiny over summer and I felt they needed water to keep hydrated. I always stuck to their normal feeding schedule for their feeds and offered water in between. I used to feel their fontanel as a guide too or if they lips were dry looking I would offer water. If the babies are on solids I offered water at each meal and as soon as they woke from sleep.

I would also recommend giving water in a sippy cup where possible. This way the baby doesn't get upset when you give them a bottle without milk in it and it helps with weaning off a bottle later on.

I also introduced water very early with Palmer - who was FF - and while it was hard work, it paid off.

I have had a couple of midwives tell me that it is okay to put 20ml extra water into their formula when mixing it...it makes sure they don't get constipated and stay hydrated apparently. I did it over summer with P and she turned out okay.

What were you feeling for BekZ when you felt their fontanels?

Good topic...I had never thought of introducing water :o

when they are encaved it means they are becoming or are dehydrated so its a good tip when its really hot when u have tiny bubs

Both my kids FF practically from birth. I just fed them their usual amount of formula and in between gave them drinks of cooled boiled water in a sippy cup so they knew what they were getting and wouldnt get upset when it wasnt formula. No need to up their feeds, just give the extra water when needed.

thanks girls, this is all great. It made me think of another question - what is a formula schedule? Do some people demand feed formula?
Interesting about the fontanelle too....

Thanks,

Demand feeding formula? No Idea!

I fed on a tight schedule because at the time, I was told that's what you're meant to do.

At daycare, when the parents write down the feed times they want on the day sheet, that's usually the baby's schedule. But maybe other parents don't do it as strict as I did, as I said above.

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thanks girls, this is all great. It made me think of another question - what is a formula schedule? Do some people demand feed formula?

Thanks,

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I never demand fed with formula as youre always aware of how much bubs is getting. I usually went with pretty much what it said on the tin and also fed pretty close schedual. Give or take. If bubs is on the higher range of the percentile, keep in mind they may drink a little more, or if smaller a little less etc. But otherwise as an estimate you can always go off is, 70g of baby formula for every 500g of your baby's body weight every 24 hours. Again that is just an approximation as every baby is different and every formula is different.

Cool , thanks for your info!