water

The twins are 3.75 months(1.75 months adjusted) we have been taking a walk in the morning but they are starting to get fussing part of the way through the walk. It is not time for them to eat but I wondering if I need to give them some water. It is not super hot here yet, low 80's when we are walking. With a daily high around 92. Today I gave them some water out of my bottle and they settled back down. Is this okay? I also gave them an extra half ounce of formula at their next feeding and they drank it so the water did not fill them up to where they would not drink their next bottle which was what I feared would happen. I have heard that you should not give infants any water without formula but I don't want to carry formula and feed them on our walk. We are usually gone 1.5 hours during their morning nap and I walk pushing them about 4.5 miles ever day I have them.

 

My guess is they are thirsty or hungry and you should be prepared to provide them with some formula. It is not recommended to give babies that young water.

The other alternative is that they simply don't want to be in the stroller for that long. It may be too hot or boring for such a long time for such young babies.

I'm not a fan of really strict feeding schedules for such young babies. I know formula fed babies are different than breastfeeding on demand but it seems to me that being out that long is bothering them and they may be thirsty, at which point a small bottle formula would be a prudent and appropriate solution when they are fussing on a hot day.

 

I agree.

 

I also agree. Water can dangerously dilute the electrolytes in such a small body system.

 

I agree too. Also if you were to give water, it would need to be boiled water, not bottled water as it needs to be sterilised. I didn't give my babies any water until they started solids at 5.5months, even though there were a few suggestions of doing so by older family members. It really is not recommended.

Also how long do they sleep in the stroller. It would worry me that this was their routine way to get to sleep and became a hard habit to break later.

 

I would be giving them bottled water for babies which is what I make their bottles with so mo worries there.

I was purposefully training them to be able to sleep in their strollers. I have had kids that I have waited until they are older and then we are stuck out at nap time and they can't nap in their strollers. Also they sleep when I put them in the stroller right now anyway so I might as well take them out at nap time. They sleep in the stroller for 1.5 hours. They go to sleep fine on their own during their afternoon nap and at night. They only sleep in the stroller in the morning. I tried to take them out at other times but they fell a sleep any way any time they were in the stroller. They typically wake up in the middle of their nap when they are in their crib so maybe that is what they are doing.

They are on a pretty strict feeding schedule when we fed them on demand they drank less only about 1-2 oz every 2 hours so they were not getting enough to eat. When they were not on a schedule they did not sleep well or for more then 30 minutes at a time. Now they are sleeping 1.5 hours in the morning and 2.5-3.5 hours in the afternoon.

The doctor had them drinking juice for constipation. Would juice still mess up the balance in their body? Maybe I should take 1 oz of juice instead of water.

They may be bored but if we were at the house then they would be swaddled in their cribs for the same amount of time they are in the stroller. I have been walking them for 1.5 hours for several weeks and they have been doing fine. They do always wake in the middle and fussy but now that I think about it they do that when they are napping in their cribs to so maybe I should let them fussy for a minute or 2 and see if they go back to sleep. Maybe I am reacting to quickly b/c I am right there.

I feed them as soon as we get home and I give them a .5oz extra so maybe I should just continue doing this. I did give them water yesterday out of my water bottle and then they settled down immediately after I gave it to them but it was but much just a sip for each of them.

 

Nursery water isn't necessarily sterilized, you may want to carefully check the bottle. Often times it is just regular water with a fancy label, lol.

Even though they are young for their adjusted age, they are still getting older and as they get older, their habits and schedules will change. With all three of my kids, I've found that as soon as I think they are FINALLY in a predictable schedule, it will change, simply because they are getting older.

I'm pretty crunchy, so giving water or juice to an infant really makes me wince, especially preemies who are already prone to reflux and other stomach issues. Giving water to infants is just plain dangerous when you read up on it, I'm not sure about the juice, but maybe it's just time to re-evaluate their feeding/nap schedule and adjust accordingly. Good luck!

 

I may be incorrectly assuming, based on your username and wording, but, if you're a caretaker, I would suggest checking with the parents before giving the babies any water. A little water won't harm them, but if the mom doesn't want you to give them empty calories, you wouldn't want to go against that.
It sounds like you may just need to adjust their schedule, or stroll through their fussiness!

Edited to add: I nannied for twins too! From when they were newborns through school age. Now I have twin nieces!

 

Yes I am the caregiver. These are not my first babies. I have had an infant for more then 6 years. Their mom is a first time mom. We have discussed this but she pretty much goes with whatever I say and she is usually the one asking me the questions about what to do. She left me out 2 baby bottles of water to take with us on our walk. I did some research and read up on water and babies I was just curious what other mom's did. I have never even thought about it before. If a baby was thirsty I just gave them a drink out of my water bottle. Never much but just wet their mouth and throat. I decided that I would stroll through it unless they fussed for a long period of time. One fussed quiet a bit so I did give him a small sip of water during our stroll but it was not even enough to be able to tell he drank any out of the bottle probably a 1/16 of an ounce. Then he went right back to sleep and slept until we were home.

Their schedule has been changing but for the better. When I first got them they were not sleeping well but I have now trained them to sleep in their beds and they are only waking 1-2 times to eat during the night and taking 2 good naps and a cat nap every day.

 

I second everyone with no water.

 

Given the babies very young adjusted age, I would definitely seek their peadiatrician's advice before giving them any type of water. I would also seek clarification on the juice for constipation if this is ongoing, some pedi's recommend water for constipation but personally I would try different formula, soy is supposed to be gentler.

 

Just wanted to add these links as this post really got me curious (we don't get bottled infant water in Australia)

USDA and AAP guidelines on water for infants andbottled infant water

While I was googling this topic, I was amazed at how many parents gave their infants unsterilised tap water some even from the hot water tap! Even though in their cases, their babies were fine, for me the risks are too high.