Can Babies Drink Distilled Water?
Once your baby reaches 6 months old, you can start to introduce water for drinking beside milk. Giving her a few sips of water a couple of times through out the day are actually good to keep her body hydrated.
If your baby already started on solid, giving her water together with the food is great at helping the food to smoothly go through her throat and also to prevent constipation.
While there are many types of water to drink from but not all waters are suitable for babies. Drinking the wrong kind of water can result in diarrhea and other help complication for your baby.
If you ever wonder whether can babies drink distilled water, the short answer is YES. In fact, expert recommends distilled water as a safer source of water for infants below 1 years old.
Expert recommends distilled water as a safer source of water for infants below 1 years old. #SafeWaterForBaby
What Kind of Water to Use with Baby Formula?
When it comes to baby formula, you might be unsure about the right type of water to use. Our usual drinking water (regular tap water) has minerals and chemicals that might be harmful to the baby at such a tender age. Before you settle on the water to use, it is important that you seek the advice of your doctor.
Distilled water remains one of the safest water for consumption. The water is processed through a distillation process that removes impurities and minerals. It can be fed to babies after six months. Some distilled bottled water has been specifically produced and is suitable for baby formula. Pay attention to the bottle label and some of them will even indicate that the water is specifically produced for baby formula.
While distilled water can be easily purchase at your local store but if you are interested on making it yourself, you ought to check out this cool article - “How to make distilled water” by WikiHow. Image below is a general concept how distilled water is collected.
Other Type Of Water You Can Use
Apart from distilled water, you can also use tap water. However, this depends on the area you live. There are some areas where tap water does not contain a high level of concentrations. However, there are some water supplies with high levels of additives and certain chemicals.
Therefore, make sure you establish the level of chemicals and minerals present in your tap water before using it with babies. You should also boil it first so that it mixes with the baby formula perfectly. For more about water resource and information, you can find out at USGS.
Regular bottled water contains added minerals for taste. Therefore, if you choose to use bottled water, ensure it is plain water with no additives. Since bottled water is not sterilized, you will have to boil it before you mix with your baby formula.
Water You Should Avoid
There are some types of water that you should avoid using with babies. Some of them are:
- Well water: Usually you would want to avoid using any well water, as the safety of the water is unknown. Well water should only be use if it’s certified safe by the professional. Some minerals present in well water include nitrates and irons that cannot be removed by boiling. In some instances, boiling well water not only cannot remove the impurities but it can even escalate the concentrations of these minerals. It is therefore advised not to use well water for your baby.
- Water with HIGH fluoride levels: water that contains high fluoride is not safe for babies, regardless of the type. While any regular municipal water does contained fluoride and it’s normal to have fluoride in the water but too much of it can cause fluorosis.
- Mineral waters and carbonated waters: These types of waters should also be avoided completely especially carbonated water has been known to create digestive problems such as diarrhea and bloating.
- Nursery water: Folks at Incredible Infant run an article on the infamous Nursery Water and found out that this water has extra fluoride added.
Nursery Water
Folks at Incredible Infant run an article on the infamous Nursery Water and found out that this water has extra fluoride added. While the label can be somewhat misleading but do not assume that the word "nursery" is safe for you baby. If you look closely at the label, you can see that the label clearly stating "with added FLUORIDE". This water is not recommended for babies below 1 year old.
Pediatricians Recommends
Before using any water for your baby, you should first consult your pediatrician. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, water should be boiled first before being given to babies, whether for drinking or mixing with formula. Boiling kills germs and removes impurities from municipal water.
Pediatricians recommend that water should be boiled during the first three or four months, before being mixed with baby formula. There is no existing evidence that proves that bottled water is safer than municipal water, it should also be boiled first before mixing it with baby formula.
Other type of water recommended by pediatricians is distilled water that has been purified already.
Fluorosis and Its Side Effects On Babies
According to the American Dental Association, children who are less than a year old should be exposed to less fluoride as possible. If you expose your child to fluoridated water, which is mostly the case with municipal water, your child will suffer from fluorosis.
Fluorosis is a condition that occurs when teeth are exposed to too much fluoride, when they are developing. Although fluoride present in water prevents tooth from decaying, it can lead to staining of teeth if present in excess amounts. A tooth that has been affected by fluorosis has white streaks or stained enamel. Fluorosis can also happen to infants’ tooth even they are still hidden in the gums.
Different municipalities and water supply companies use different levels of fluorine. Therefore, if you are unsure about the level of fluoride present in your water, consult your local water supply company or your dentist. If you do not use fluoridated tap water regularly, then your child has minimal risks of getting fluorosis.
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Water Intoxication
Babies can get intoxication if you give them too much water. Also referred to as hyper-hydration, hyponatremia or water poisoning, and can cause fatal brain disturbances.
When babies consume too much water, there is a huge imbalance in the levels of electrolytes found in their bodies. Therefore, when babies urinate, there is a huge reduction of sodium in their bodies. Due to this huge reduction of sodium levels in their bodies, the brain may swell, become irritable, or even lead to seizures.
Other less severe cause of water intoxication is diarrhea, which leads to loss of electrolytes and water. Babies become dehydrated sometimes, however, you should avoid giving them too much water and instead opt for other rehydration solutions such as Pedialyte.
How to Add Water to Baby’s Formula
Usually the instruction to prepare baby formula is written at the milk packaging but here is the basic rule of thumb for liquid-concentrate or powdered formulas:
1) If you are getting water from the tap, let the water run for a minute or two before start filling up the kettle for boiling. This will let the initial water with chemical concentrated to flow away and lower the mount of contaminants.
2) Once boiled, let the water to cool down to lukewarm. This will take a while so it is always best to plan ahead and prepare the milk before your baby needs it.
3) Once the water is lukewarm, start to mix with the baby formula. Make sure to mix accordingly to the instruction. A diluted milk will not provide much nutrition for your baby and an over concentrated milk formula will likely to up sad your baby digestion and might cause constipation too.
Here is a great video on how to prepare a bottle of milk formula for your baby:
If you are looking for organic baby formula, here is a great review article on the top 5 organic baby formula that you ought to check it out.
Can Babies Drink Distilled Water Everyday?
Distilled water is perfectly fine for your baby to drink everyday. However, do NOT give more than 2oz within 24 hours for babies below 1 year old. For babies that are above 1 year old, you can give them more than 2oz or whenever they require it.
