Now that my baby is not breastfeeding, how much should he be drinking? I'm from the "let him eat until he's not eating" school of thought, but the drinking is throwing me. I don't want him to mess up his appetite. (We mix about half water/half juice) At the same time, he loves to be outside and it's so hot and I don't want him to get dehydrated. Any hints here?

I'm not sure how old your baby is, but if you're mixing juice and water chances are he's relatively new to juice overall? My son has had juice for a little over a month now and he takes about four ounces a day. I usually split that up into a mid-morning juice snack of two ounces and a mid-afternoon one as he drinks so fast he'll get gas otherwise. I would maybe check with your pediatrican on just how much juice he should be getting? Also, I give my son an ounce or two of water whenever he seems hot. He's not a big fan of just water, bu even if he just takes an ounce while we're outside I feel better.

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Tigriz
Mom to Alex - 1/21/06

Oh, and I don't know what kind of juice you're giving your son, but I recently found out that the increased acid in orange juice can lead to more frequent cold sores and such when children get older if you don't mix up what they get. Alex prefers apple juice and usually gets that.

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Tigriz
Mom to Alex - 1/21/06

I've always been partial to apple and white grape (it doesn't stain) and I water down their juice until their old enough to figure out what I'm doing. My son is 7 mths and I'd say he's getting about 8 to 12 oz of liquids a day. Is that enough, though?

My pediatrician told me that juice is basically "junk food" and to put off giving it to my children for as long as possible. Is your baby still taking formula?