Please HELP - 7 1/2 month old with a cold refusing Breast!!

[JayLeigh]

My 7.5 month old has a cold, and I do too, but I have been having trouble getting him to take liquid feeds! He starting by refusing one side of the breast, but is now refusing both sides and skipping breast feeds altogether! His appetite is in tact (eating his solids), but he arches his back, turns his head and cries everytime I offer him the breast.

The other problem is he is terrible on the bottle, he mostly refuses it. He takes "sips" from his sippy cup, which I have put expressed milk in, but nothing substantial.

I am sure this all started because of his cold, he has congestion but I have been waiting till his blocked nose is cleared and tried and tried but he is still refusing. Generally he is happy and doesn't seem in too much discomfort. Should I be worried? The pediatrician is closed for the weekend, and this doesn't constitute an "emergency".

HELP!

[Shiv52]

{{{hugs hun}}}

While he is sick I wouldn't worry too much about the bfing.  I used to find the same thing.  its just so hard for them to feed when they are congested as they need to breathe through their mouths as their noses are all blocked up.  So long as he's taking his solids he'll not be hungry.  Keep a sippy cup at hand with water in it and offer milk in it throughout the day too and make sure he stays hydrated.  Otherwise just offer the bf and if he refuses thats fine.   I'd say once he is better he'll be back to normal.

One thing worked for us was letting the shower run really hot in the bathroom and making it really steamy then bringing LO in for 10-15 minutes before bed.  Cleared the congestion long enough to get a night time feed into her. 

HTH xx

[~ Vik ~]

I second the shower idea - it worked really well for us! As did saline nose drops, followed by using a bulb syringe to clear the excess mucus (though he didn't like that procedure much!)

(((hugs))) and ~~~get well vibes~~~ for your lo

[JayLeigh]

Thanks ladies! LO is on his way to full recovery and back to feeding well. It was a blessing in disguise: I was looking to stop night feedings, we got into a bad habit, since he went several days without feeding it night. Then one night he wanted to feed back to sleep, I resisted. The last several nights, he is has slept STRAIGHT through the night!

[~ Vik ~]

So glad that things are improving! And STTN - that's a great bonus!!

[Shiv52]

Great he's feeling better!!

And STTN- hip hip hurray!!!!!