Babies having water

Over the time I had children it went from sleep on tummy to sleep on side, oh and put your baby halfway down the cot so it couldn’t slide under the bedclothes.

HelterSkelter1

The putting the baby to sleep on their stomach threw me completely when I baby sat for a friend when my 2 girls were 5 years plus.. It didnt seem right at the time and then was proved to be wrong later.

Mine were put on their backs or side to sleep. However I was advised by a GP to give teaspoons of boiled water. I asked should I sterilise the spoon?? He couldnt have rolled his eyes more and said...just wash it. For someone of 28 years I really knew very little about babies. How on earth they survived my care??

Oh yes, I was told to put my first child on her tummy to sleep.

She hated it from the start but the Health Visitors were very cross if you disobeyed! My mother wasn't nearby to advise.

I always gave my babies water or horror of horrors some people may think Rosehip syrup in a Dormal! Remember those? They both grew up with lovely healthy teeth.

I thought my DD should be well past her night feeds but how to break the pattern?
One night instead of her bottle of milk I offered water instead.
The look of disgust as she spat out the teet was priceless

It worked though, she went straight back to sleep and night feeds ended.

I did as I was told, having no experience of babies in the family or of friends babies, so boiled and cooled water in between b.feeds. It just shows how things we used to do get succeeded by different ideas.
For instance I no longer rinse my mouth of toothpaste after cleaning. Everyone always rinsed their mouths but Makes perfect sense not to.

Babies get all the water they need from breast and formula unless they start on food. Not sure how new the advice is but my breastfed babies didn’t have water. Never occurred to me to give it before they started solids.

The putting the baby to sleep on their stomach threw me completely when I baby sat for a friend when my 2 girls were 5 years plus.. It didnt seem right at the time and then was proved to be wrong later.

Mine were put on their backs or side to sleep. However I was advised by a GP to give teaspoons of boiled water. I asked should I sterilise the spoon?? He couldnt have rolled his eyes more and said...just wash it. For someone of 28 years I really knew very little about babies. How on earth they survived my care??

As I have a big gap between baby 1 and baby 2, almost 12 years, and boy did the advice change in that time!

I didn’t know if I was coming or going and followed most new advice, but countered it with common sense and prior experience.

Sometimes mum does indeed know best, I don’t really understand the water thing, especially with bottle fed babies.

All ours were breast fed and only had extra “drinks” when they moved onto tippy cups

It never occurred to me to give anything but breast milk to my babies.
I admit they nursed much longer in the hot summers!
...and I probably drank more too!

I was surprised when my grandchildren were born and was told that they now do not give water. Times change and I watched and learned. That was 11 years go and things have probably changed again.

All of my children had cooled boiled water between feeds, they've all turned out to be fabulous adults.

No, I never gave any of my children water as babies and I don't remember that ever being recommended either. I am not sure this is one of those "I did it and mine turned out fine" situations. I think the advice is probably correct and should be followed to the letter because while I have a lot of experience with babies I am very sure that milk is a liquid and if I can survive on tea alone a baby will do just as well.

No…don’t need it

Gripe water contained alcohol, still recommended by Health Visitors when my DC were babies.
When mine were too , and it tasted so delicious.

As people have said, times and opinions change. I had my first child in 1982 and my last in 1996 and the difference in care and advice was amazing. I am NOT 'wrong' LOUISA1523 I greatly believe mothers intuition is the best thing to go by and I used mine along with advice.
I must point out that I would never give flavoured water, as I said when they were older I used natural Camomile or Rosehip.

I wonder if this is actually what "flavoured water" is PernillaVanilla

DS1 was born in a private hospital, now closed, that specialised in natural birth. The first night after he was born he was very unsettled and the midwife gave him camomile tea to soothe him. It worked very well and I have both sons this if they were fractious as babies.

ViceVersa

Allira

ViceVersa

Advice changes all the time. As others have rightly pointed out, advances in science have proved that many of the older ways are not necessarily the best. Just because we may have done things in a particular way when our children were babies doesn't mean that there aren't better ways to do it now.

Fads and fashions change.
Babies don't.

There are 'fads and fashions' and then there is scientific evidence and advances. There was a time when it was considered acceptable to give babies a bit of brandy or whisky to settle them - and a time when no-one would bat an eyelid if someone was smoking around babies. Thankfully, most of us know better now.

Yes, I posted about that above, ViceVersa.
I have to say I rarely touch brandy now!

Gripe water contained alcohol, still recommended by Health Visitors when my DC were babies.

Allira

ViceVersa

Advice changes all the time. As others have rightly pointed out, advances in science have proved that many of the older ways are not necessarily the best. Just because we may have done things in a particular way when our children were babies doesn't mean that there aren't better ways to do it now.

Fads and fashions change.
Babies don't.

There are 'fads and fashions' and then there is scientific evidence and advances. There was a time when it was considered acceptable to give babies a bit of brandy or whisky to settle them - and a time when no-one would bat an eyelid if someone was smoking around babies. Thankfully, most of us know better now.

I never gave either of mine water. That was in the 90's

Things change, when I had my first they told me to start weaning him at 8 weeks old, my second it was 12 weeks, now it's 6 months.
Breastfed babies don't need extra water but bottle fed babies might.

Grannynannywammy

Things have changed alot - almost to opposites haven't they?

I also recall following advice for baby to sleep on his side. I put a rolled-up towel behind him to stop him rolling over. *

The contention was that if baby was on their back they could possibly choke on their own vomit if they were sick following a feed. That still makes sense to me - but my two little grandsons slept on their backs from birth. However, I kept quiet about my experiences as I'm the paternal granny not maternal one!!

* Reminded me of me doing the same when he was 30 and 6'3". We had dropped him off locally to meet some old school chums (all decent guys, good catchmdng pub). Within 30-minutes we had a phone call asking to collect him as he felt really ill. He appeared very drunk and could hardly walk. He vomited alot but we eventually got him into bed and onto his side with pillows to stop him rolling onto his back. I STILL, all those years later, thought that he could choke on his own vomit - especially as I had read a couple of times of it having happened.

P.S. Young girl at my hairdressers hearing me telling my stylist the story said saying my son hadn't left his drink or his friends, said ' "I can tell you exactly what happened. The pub only rinsed the glass quickly and didn't wash it properly. Some drug from a previous drinker was still in it". She said it happened to a girlfriend of hers when they were together and safe and it could be the only explanation.

I ended up telling said son to ALWAYS drink his beer out of the bottle. Words that I never have thought would come out of my mouth!!
.

ViceVersa

Advice changes all the time. As others have rightly pointed out, advances in science have proved that many of the older ways are not necessarily the best. Just because we may have done things in a particular way when our children were babies doesn't mean that there aren't better ways to do it now.

Could be. But take care if new 'scientific' advice involves buying anything. Always check who funded the study.
Remember when that milk formular told whole countries that formula was best - even when the mothers were able to breast feed and water was not always too clean.

Oh Fran, how I loved the support from the NCT and La Leche League.

I struggled to feed my 2nd until one day I was pumping (advice to increase supply). A friend remarked that my milk was very yellow. No help at all from NHS, but La leche told me to add boiled water to the bottle. Problem solved. She fed well, gained weight, slept better. It turned out she was dehydrated.

For baby 1, I bottle fed (again on bad advice) but giving him water between feeds was the only way to keep his feed down.