Ok you may remember a week or so ago, I asked if it would be ok to give Abby sippy cup for drinks of water because she always cried when I tried to give her water in a bottle (I think she was disapointed because she was expecting milk).

So I went out and got a bright pink Tommee Tippee cup, which said it was suitable from 4 months, and tried that. It worked better, she didn't cry - but just spat out the water instead.

Anyway - I am starting to worry, because she is still being quite sicky, and if I can't get any water into her then I am going to have to give the dioralyte (that the GP gave me - for just in case) and i know that Dioralyte not only tastes foul but is mainly sugar and salt, with a bit of flavouring thrown in.

So (and this is the bit that might be quite bad) today I tried mixing a tiny bit of apple juice (it is organic, and contains nothing but apples, not additives at all) with the water - (1 part juice to 12 parts water - just enough to make it taste a bit different) and she loves it - she drank over an ounce - no problem.

So - how bad is it to give my 10 week old Apple juice. I sort of think it would be better than her getting dehydrated, but am I being a bad parent? Should I just try harder with the water?

Nx

not bad hun try the baby juice its free of all bad for babies. people esp HV try to put you off juice but they will drink it as kids anyway not water! so i mix baby juice with cooled boiled water it wont do ny harm at the end of the day its a damn site better than dehydration and babies get dehydrated v easily and its v dangerous xx

well i might get shot down for saying this but .....give her the juice if she wants it and will not drink water then why not ,u cant let her get dehydrated and as long as its not ribena or something its fine hun xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nothing wrong at all with giving her juice. Who cares what other people think shes your baby not theirs. If she enjoys the juice then let her have it. Im always of the belief that each mother should choose what is best for their child and not be railroaded/brainwashed by various advice, guidelines etc.

I don't think it is a problem once in a while but it does shock me when I see young babies being fed juice regularly. I think it's ok as long as you only do it when she is constipated/dehydrated. Other than that, a 10 week old doesn't need any water or juice unless it's v v hot like it has been lately.

I would stick to the pure juice and not bother with baby juice as a lot of it's pure sugar and tastes ick. Gabe refused baby juice so we didn't try him with juice again till he was 1, he just had water. He has orange squash now and likes that. xx

Aww thanks girls - it is baby apple juice that I used (forgot to say).

I am so glad you think I did the right thing, I didn't want to ask my HV, cos she is a cow (and will tell me off - I just know it!) but I didn't want to carry on giving it to her if it was really bad.

xx

You dont have to ask your hvs permission for anything x

I was advised by HV to give Niamh some Orange Juice mixed in with water from around 4 weeks coz she was constipated.. so it can't be that bad. xx

Can I ask why she's being so sicky - sorry that sounds stupid what I mean is has she had a bug or something? Just wondered what had made your gp give the dyrolyte sachets? Cos if she is having enough milk she wouldn't get dehydrated???

Anyway I think youa re doing what you feel is best which as a mummy is always the right thing!!

Crafty Charlie - not sure why she is being sicky, but last week she was struggling to keep anything down, so I took her to the GP, he didn't know what was causing it and said she might have a bug, coould be due to teething, or she might just be "a sicky baby" he said it didn't really matter as the treatment woud be the same (feed little and often, and dont let her get dehydrated, give the dioralyte if she does get dehydrated).

Also she is gradually on more and more formula (rather than breast milk) so HV said she will need water in the hot weather.

xx

i'd say go 4 it too hun, whne we had the hot weather last year jason was about the same age, tried him with water, wouldn't have it, baby juice hv advised against it coz of the sugar, we ended up resrting to the robinsons h2o water or flavoured waters!
he has them now n he 14months. well done for getting her to have a tippy cup to! jason wouldnt take one till he was bwt 7 months! literally had to leave him with it!!! n then it took about 2 weeks!!!

If she has always been sicky then it is worht keeping an eye as it may be reflux that's all I was thinking - it took me ages to getmax diagnosed as the docs all fobbed me off with 'oh he's just s sicky baby'!

hi, I think it's fine hun. when ds was 6 weeks the gp said to give him very diluted orange juice as he was having a bit of poo trouble, but that just made him sick so she said to try apple (as long as not the cloudy stuff) instead as its gentler on the tummy. hv went a bit doolally when I told her tho, started reading her auto cue about nothing other than milk or water til 6 months, apparantly she knows more than a doctor. anyhoo, if its ur only way of getting water into her then that's ur only option really, she needs plenty of fluid especially in this heat so personally it think u've made the right choice.
xx

Daisy was not taking any fluids last week (she's 14 weeks) - on Thursday which was the hottest day ever (!), she took 3 oz of milk - she won't touch water still, she gags when you try to put it in her mouth! She was weeing less (obvious really in that heat with 3oz of fluid) and hadn't had a poo for 2 days - most unusual for my little Princess Poo! So, I phoned the HV, who made me take her to the doctors, who said that she was perfect (I knew that already!). Both the doctor and my HV said to give her juice, diluted as much as I could so that she would drink it - their opinion was that it's better for a baby to stay hydrated (all through the year) than keep fighting with the lack of fluid. When I gave her the juice (in her normal bottle at that point) she drank 4oz straight off and was immediately like a different baby!

Do what you feel is right - as usual, there are lots of different schools of thought from the professionals and from the girls here. Trust your Mummy instinct and don't feel bad about it!

xxx

Totally agree. My lo is 9 months and only has 2 bottles milk a day and only ever a few sips of water, nothing more.

So as it has been so hot I've been putting baby juice or baby flavoured water (from Boots) in his cup and he's taking an oz or 2. Still not great but better than before.

So I think just do wha you think is right and it will be right for your lo. S x

I agree with cc, dont let the gp fob you off with sicky baby when it could be reflux which can easily be helped by gaviscon.

As for the juice its your decision and has nothing to do with anyone else xx