Do babies need water?

You asked and you shall now receive. It’s only fair for us to share all of this stored up knowledge about a baby and what happens once the baby is born until they are no longer called a baby but a toddler! We now will answer, in a very public forum, all of those burning questions about babies and those first 12 months. Each Tuesday, we will tackle a commonly-asked-question from the point of view of a new parent. Chiming in to give her feedback will be an expert who has been there and done that as well as has oodles of professional experience with babies. Earmark, share and add your own input to today’s question; it’s good karma.

Do babies need water?

During the 1st 6 months of life breast milk or formula provide all the water and nutrition babies need. Around 6 months you should start to give 2 to 4 ounces of water twice a day between feeds and meals. Once babies turn 1 year old it’s very important to give them water and to get them in the habit of drinking water rather than juice. Juice is sugar water, which babies do not need. When babies start to eat fruits you should give fruit rather than juice. If babies under 6 months get constipated you can give them a couple of ounces of water to help relieve the constipation. If you do give your baby water who is less than 6 months old you should give “baby water” which you can get a the grocery store or pharmacy. Tap water may contain chemicals that may be harmful to a newborn or young infant. You can rinse an infants mouth with “baby water” between feeds as part of baby mouth care which should start early in infancy.

Expert: Dr. Gina Lamb – Amato MD

Gina is a general pediatrician and developmental pediatrician who works at Village Pediatrics and Agho Medical practices both in Manhattan, NY. She has a masters in child therapy and works with a child psychologist Rosa Vasquez PhD performing office and home consultation for newborns and parents, office and home developmental assessments, school consultations and parent child playgroups where play and art along with baby massage and other techniques are used to help parents bond and support their child’s development. Formerly, Gina was the Director of Pediatric Special Medical Needs before she went into private practice where she cared for medically fragile infants and children. She is also a Early Intervention Pediatrician for Early Intervention which assesses and treats infants from age zero to 3 years. She has extensive experience in Early Head Start programs which work with infants from prenatal to 3 years of age. She is the mother of a beautiful daughter who is 3 years old and the joy of my life. Her husband is an artist, producer and owns Synchronicity Space, a non-profit arts organization that supports emerging artist in fine art and theatre. Finally, she is also an artist who paints mainly babies and children.