How can I tell if my daughter is dehydrated?

She had a barely wet diaper this morning and I haven't changed it since I put the clean diaper on this morning, my SO just now changed her and it was barely wet again.

Is the soft spot on her head sunken?
How much has she eaten?

Check the amount of saliva in her mouth, if dehydrated it will be dry. Check her soft spot. Push on the pads of her finger tips, if the color comes back quickly she is not dehydrated.

Her soft spot isnt sunken in and I gave her a little bit of cool water earlier because it is so hot and right now she is drinking a bottle. This morning she had a 4oz bottle and some mixed berry & banana puree

Yes--that's dehydration.

Quoting Sarahhhnicole[Paislee's M:" Her soft spot isnt sunken in and I gave her a little bit of cool water earlier because it is so hot and ... [snip!] ... it is so hot and right now she is drinking a bottle. This morning she had a 4oz bottle and some mixed berry & banana puree"

Is there a reason you haven't given her anything else to drink other then a little water and 4 oz of formula in the last several hours?

I would say yes, she sounds dehydrated.

Quoting speaktruth2powr:" Is there a reason you haven't given her anything else to drink other then a little water and 4 oz of formula in the last several hours? I would say yes, she sounds severely dehydrated."

this!


DD hadn't made a wet diaper in nearly 24 hours, and was not dehydrated when we went into the ER. It takes a few days for them to become severely dehydrated. If her soft spot isn't sunken and the other signs I mentioned, she isn't dehydrated yet. But if you continue to not give her bottles, she will be.

I give her plenty of bottles but if she is pushing them away I am not going to make her take one. She lets me know when she wants one. I tried giving her formula before I gave her the water and she didnt want it I gave her the water and she drank like 4oz