Fear of dehydration?

Question

I may be paranoid but I have to ask. My eight month old daughter is not very interested in breast feeding right now. In the morning and at night before bed she'll nurse but I don't know if she's getting enough. She won't take a bottle or a sippy cup but she loves her fruit and vegetable baby foods and her oatmeal during the day. I'm worried she'll become dehydrated. What should I do? How would I know if she was dehydrated? How would I treat that? Thanks.

Answer 1

It is very normal for an infant to go through a stage of slowing way down on feedings at this age. They're at a plateau for growth, so they cut way back really fast in what they need to take in. As long as she's wetting her diaper about once every 2-4 hours, she's just fine (and most doctors will say they should produce a wet diaper once every 6 hours...they usually won't consider a child "at risk" for dehydration until they've gone 7 hours straight with a dry diaper). If she starts slowing way down on the number of wet diapers, I would call her pediatrician for some advice. The other thing you can try is cutting back on the food for a day or two to make her more hungry for milk. Hope it helps!

Answer 2

A baby who is becoming dehydrated will start to look a certain way. Their skin will look like tissue paper almost, very white and frail, it won't have any elasticity or "spring" in it, they'll develop circles under their eyes, they'll become lethargic, will have (obviously) fewer wet diapers, and their urine will be very dark. The more fluids you drink, the clearer your urine gets. (If you don't believe me, drink 2 gallons of water one day and see what your urine color is. I'll bet it's a LOT lighter than normal.) As long as she's nursing twice a day, and eating lots of fruit and vegetables, I wouldn't freak out too much. There is a lot of water in baby food. At eight months I would ask her pediatrician about Pedialyte. I'm pretty sure she's old enough now to have it, but some docs are pretty "iffy" on the whole thing. Personally, I'd give her a small bottle of it a day just to be safe. Probably nothing more than 4 oz. Do NOT give her Gatorade, Powerade, Propell, or any of the "sport" drinks. Those are not good for babies and small children as it can set their electrolytes off balance. Hope some of that helped! Good luck. =)

Answer 3

hey. u arnt being paranoid dont worry. I think the same thing all the time. My suggestion is that maybe you could give her a bottle of formula once a day preferably in the morning so that she dosnt run low on fluids during the day with her crawling and other activities etc. and at least you will know how much shes had. And also try giving her some baby fruit juice. You should be able to find it in the baby section of your supermarket. Sometimes they just arnt interested in water, it comes already diluted especially for babies.
Also you didnt say whether or not she can use a sippy cup or just refuses it? If she doesnt know how to drink from one the best thing to do is to find out that doesnt have a hard plastic spout on top. Try finding one that has a silicone spout like a bottle and she will then bite down on it and release some of the drink and realise that is she sucks she can get more.
Some of the symptoms of dehydration in babies are, Less than 4 wet nappies in 24hours, sunken eyes and fontenelle on babies head., dry skin, mouth and tongue, no tears. dehydration can be pretty dangerous in babies but all you can do is try, just keep offering her more fruit and maybe even a banana or fruit smoothie made from formula and just a banana/fruit. Sometimes babies just get sick of the taste of milk i think, so its best to keep offering different things until you find something she likes. Dont worry too much though, my little boy is nearlly 12months and he is going through the stage of not wanting to really eat anything! Its very stressful. Hes gone from not wanting to drink much like your little girl to not eating but wanting to drink all the time! all fun an games hay!! =) Hope i have given you some ideas anyway..

Answer 4

I completely agree with the above response. At her age, it won't hurt her to give her a bottle of Pedialite during the day if you are concerned about dehydration. This will help keep her hydrated and also has nutrients. If you notice that she is dehydrated, this will keep her hydrated if she loses her apetite. I always keep this on hand just in case. It has been very handy a few times! Remember that you know your baby better than anyone else. If you are really concerned call the doctor, but Pedialite works well. Good luck and I wish the best to you and your daughter.

Answer 5

Babies sometimes get "Bored" with nursing for awhile then take it up again, but make sure she has a least 4-5 wet diapers a day and poops at least once every other day. You will have to get creative on how to get liquids down...... like sucking on a washcloth... pedialite (electrolites) popscicles are great for preventing dehyration, also make a special trip to the store and let her pick out one new sippy cup and make a big deal out of it and see if she'll drink from that one....( make sure you buy her some pedialite to prevent dehyration in the first palce and get a little down in one way or another)

Answer 6

You are not paranoid, but apparently this is your first child and everything sounds frightfull...
Why are you so terrified at the idea that she becomes dehydrated? Who has stuck you this impression?
Don't be afraid! Try to give her some more juice with a spoon -preferably sweet- or some more water with a spoon and then, try to teach her how to use a sipping cup or a straw. When she realises how fun it is to use those things, she'll love them and she will start sipping more. Don't panic if she chokes the first couple of times she uses a straw; she will soon understand how much she has to sip without choking.
And... calm down girl! Everything will be alright.




p.s. If you are still afraid, contact your paediatrician! He/she will tell you what to do.

Answer 7

Babies are normally pretty smart instinctively about what they need but............dehydration is a serious thing in a baby. You would know she was dehyhdrated because she isn't making enough wet diapers throughout the day (normally she should be wet about every 2 hours) and her urine should be pretty clear (not dark yellow). I would give her things that are heavy liquid base (applesauce, really watered down oatmeal, etc....). If she hasn't urinated in 24 hours take her to the ER immediately. And try a variety of things in a bottle (warm water, watered down juice, breastmilk). Hope that helps.

Answer 8

I am so glad you asked that because I am worreid about that inmy near 6 month old. e shows no signs of anything amiss, but I just worry that he isn't getting enough. These responses have been helpful. The only thign I can add is that Pedialyte is definately OK at that age - my son had to have some at 3 week for extreme diarrhea (rotovirus) adn I always have some in the house since then!.

Answer 9

i don't understand approximately heaven and hell, yet there is extra to discomfort than actual suffering. Ever had a broken heart? this is not comparable to somebody has taken a knife and stabbed you interior the chest with it, besides the undeniable fact that it feels like that! that's a worse style of discomfort, the phycological and emotional variety. Edit: Lol on the source, what the f*ck does that recommend? I swear i did no longer write it!

Answer 10

The best way to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated to to make sure she urinates at least one every 8 hrs. Make sure if she cries she has tears and her mouth is moist.