She drinks so much water!

[sparrow]

14 mo dd is pretty obsessed with water.  She breast feeds 3-4 times a day, and sometimes still once at night and yet she still loves to drink water (and drink and drink).  Is there such thing as too much water? Should I take her cup away after a few sips?  Her solid intake varies -- sometimes she eats tons, other days not so much.  My gut tells me she'll drink as much water as her body needs, but I don't want it to take away from her solid intake.  I also wonder if excessive thirst a sign of anything (not that I know what "excessive" is)?  She's normal, healthy, and never had trouble gaining weight (as I write that I realize I probably shouldn't worry about a thing).  Thanks!

[elf]

My boy (15 months) also drinks a lot of water.  I've always thought it was a good thing.  He still eats really well.  We are in Summer here so I think it's a good thing.  My DD has always been a great water drinker as well - and still at 3.5 years old asks for water, not juice, when she's thirsty.  I wouldn't be worrying about it at all.  I find children that drink a lot of water look really healthy - they seem to have a glow to their skin and bright eyes - I think it's a good thing, and drinking water and being hydrated is very important...   I've also read that water helps digest a protein meal easily and that not enough water during the day can actually be a cause for a NW.  I generally give the meal first before a drink of water, so if you find that she's drinking too much water then not eating food, then try that.  But like I said, my son drinks heaps and still eats all his food...

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I was concerned about Spencer's excessive thirst too lately (that and the fact that she will pound back 20 oz and then pee it all out in one shot!)  We had her blood sugar tested for diabetes and then took a pee sample to make sure she had enough of the hormones that concentrate our pee.   She still eats her food too, but would take in upwards of 30 oz or more of water (mixed with a very tiny amt of apple juice) plus 24oz of soy milk. The Dr. couldn't think of anything else that would cause it. 

[Mum-of-Two]

When my son first started drinking water he was excited about the idea of it and drank and drank.  I worried for a short time too.  I keep water available to both my kids all the time and now a days am more worried about dehydration then the other    If you feel like it might interfere with meal times then you can always hide the cup an hour before a meal.  I find only now with my almost 5 year old that liquids are becoming an issue at meal times.  If she drinks a whole cup of milk before eating, she's not hungry as an example.

[sparrow]

Thanks for the replies. Mostly as I expected.  Great idea to hide all cups at meal times. Often if she sees a cup she gets so obsessed she wont eat until I let her drink.  elf, she definitely has a glow to her skin and bright eyes, that's for sure!

[Nauvoo]

Just keep an eye on her weight gain and if it's normal she should be fine.  If her weight starts to drop then you should be concerned.

[Chicane]

We're in same boat. I sometimes get the feeling that my son just loves cups in general. He has a set of stacking cups and sometimes pretends to drink out of them even if his sippy cup is near by. I was worried too at first, but all signs say he's healthy and happy. However, I have a friend who's son has a unusual type of diabetes where he needs to drink lots of water a day (like 4 litres! he is now 11 years old) they found out when he was around 16 months cause he was starting to drink the bath water, the pool water and from the dog water bowl! I think if you start seeing that kind of behaviour then its perhaps worth getting checked out, otherwise..here we all are!