The short answer
Offer a few sips of plain water from a cup with meals once your baby is eating solids. NHS advice does not set a compulsory daily volume at this age. Breast milk or first infant formula remains the main drink for the first year.
In this guide · 11 sections
Keep in mind
- Offer a few sips of plain water from a cup with meals once your baby is eating solids.
- No.
- When your baby is sitting upright and safely supported at a meal, offer a little plain water.
- Babies may put a cup to their mouth and then stop.
How much water should you offer in a day?
NHS guidance does not set a fixed daily water allowance for each month from seven to nine. Once your baby has started solid foods, offer sips of water with meals from a cup; breast milk or first infant formula remains the main drink during the first year.
If your baby only takes a few sips today, there is no need to think they have failed. Milk feeds, interest in food, weather and wellbeing all vary. What matters is offering a chance to practise and looking at feeding overall.
Can water take the place of breast milk or formula?
No. Water does not provide the energy and nutrients in breast milk or first infant formula. The NHS recommends continuing breast milk or first infant formula as the main drink throughout the first year.
Too much water instead of milk can displace needed nutrition. Never prepare infant formula with extra water beyond the instructions on the pack. Think about water as part of your baby’s overall feeding pattern.
Is drinking different at seven, eight and nine months?
A seven-month-old may be getting used to tasting water alongside new foods. At eight months your baby might try holding a cup, and by nine months offering it at meals may feel more routine. These are examples, not monthly drinking quotas or tests.
One baby may take a few sips while another spills nearly everything. Getting used to the cup is learning in itself.
When and how can you offer water?
When your baby is sitting upright and safely supported at a meal, offer a little plain water. The NHS suggests an open cup or free-flow beaker without a valve. A straw cup may also be learnt as coordination improves.
Some spills on the bib are normal. If your baby looks away, shuts their lips or pushes the cup aside, do not force it. Learning to use a cup is different from meeting a particular water total.
Does hot weather, constipation or illness change things?
In warm weather, your baby may seek breastfeeds or formula feeds more frequently. Offer sips at meals but do not substitute large quantities of water for milk. Heavy sweating, less feeding or significantly drier nappies need attention alongside their overall wellbeing.
Water alone may not solve constipation. Stool texture, foods and milk feeds all matter. With vomiting or diarrhoea, both fluid and salts may be lost: seek NHS 111 or appropriate medical advice rather than relying on plain water.
Are juice, tea or sweet drinks suitable substitutes?
Fruit juice is not advised before one year. Sweetened water, herbal teas, fizzy drinks and flavoured drinks are not necessary to teach your baby to drink; plain water is the preferred extra drink.
Cow’s milk should not be the main drink before 12 months, although suitable foods such as plain yoghurt are a different matter.
Should you worry if your baby refuses water?
Babies may put a cup to their mouth and then stop. Offering it at meals without pressure is a good beginning. If milk feeds, wet nappies and alertness are normal, some water remaining in the cup does not by itself mean dehydration.
Get medical advice if there are clearly fewer wet nappies, a dry mouth, fewer tears or unusual drowsiness. A baby who is difficult to wake or very unwell needs emergency help.
What can you try today?
Put a little plain water in a small, clean cup at mealtime. Offer a few sips while your baby sits upright and let them explore it. There is no need to make them finish the cup.
Look at milk feeds, solid foods, wet nappies and your baby’s overall condition, not water in millilitres alone. Ask your GP or health visitor about individual growth or feeding concerns.
When to seek support
Some signs need emergency help; other concerns can be discussed with your child’s healthcare team.
- Seek medical advice promptly for markedly fewer wet nappies, a dry mouth or fewer tears.
- An unusually drowsy baby who is difficult to wake or cannot drink needs urgent assessment.
- If vomiting or diarrhoea causes signs of dehydration, do not rely on more plain water alone; get medical help.
Sources used for this guide
English editorial review:
The English text and regional guidance have been checked editorially. This is not an individual clinical assessment.
Luluna provides general parenting information. It does not diagnose conditions or replace your child’s healthcare professional.
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