5.5 month old not eating

[mariarico]

hi there

any suggestions pleeeeeaaaaassssseeee!!!!!

my 5.5 month old use to drink 25-27oz of pumped breast milk, about 5 1/2oz at a time

she caught a cold last week but is better now...not congested anymore. No high temperature.

but for the past 4 days now she is not drinking as much..19 oz,,i'll be lucky to get 3oz in her at a time

this morning she only ate 2oz!! and she hasn't eaten since dream fed 10pm!! 

The milk tastes the same as i always try it before i feed her. nothing is different.  There is no reflux problems either.

she seems pretty happy overall but just refuses to eat more than 2-3oz at a time.

no teeth came out yet and i haven't started solids...waiting til 6 months...soon.

what am i suppose to do? even if her gums are bothering her...what do i do to feed her more?

i'm already using teething gel before she eats...not helping.

i'm scared she is getting use to eating less now! and it is even affecting her sleep....she wakes at 3am but soothes herself

Please HELP me!! i'm a first time mom,

[*Kara*]

She may not be feeling 100% back to her old self yet... how often do you feed her during the day?

[mariarico]

 thanks for replying,

she eats every 4 hours...she seems very happy and i don't hear congestion.

[ZacsMumme]

Teething always affected my ds1 eating. Have you tried pain meds before a feed?
Honestly, she won't starve herself Hun, I would keep offering, try some pain meds, or try feeding when she is drowsy xx

[mariarico]

for the last feed i put the nipple (of the bottle) in the freezer and i gave teething gel before her feed.  it helped a bit, she took 4oz instead of 6oz.

how many oz of milk would be a concern for dehydration?  she is at 17oz today.

she only had 3 heavy diapers..is that enough?

i don't see any white on her gums...how long should i expect this to take?

[ZacsMumme]

Ohhh the other thing it could be is a developmental leap. The one in particular they say to watch out for LO not being hungry
http://www.thewonderweeks.com/mental-leap-5/ starts around 23 weeks. You can google for info or download iPad app etc.

Kara will know better than me what is a concern for dehydration but given it is EBM anyway it's hard to tell all I know if my LO will often have careless milk than ideal (he has other issues reflux etc) and my ped said as long as nappies are wet and he is well in himself ie not floppy then he is probably ok in the short term.

I your really worried you can try an extra DF maybe?

[*Kara*]

So long as you get at least one wet diaper a day - no worries about dehydration.

Agree with Sara though hun... it's scary when they won't eat but really, she won't starve herself.

It can take a few days even after all cold symptoms are gone before they feel themselves again so try not to worry too much.  As Sara said, so long as she is happy and herself, no need to really be concerned (easier said than done though).

[mariarico]

yay, i'm glad to report that she is eating more! finally after a week.  i find that freezing the nipple of the bottle and using teething gel work well before her feed.

however, she still only drinks 4 1/2 oz at each feed and she's 5.5 months! 5 times a day!

[ZacsMumme]

Fwiw my boy is on strike too and then tanking up at night so hoping it will pass.
They do this sometimes as a developmental thing too. The wonder week 5 (approx 23 weeks) mentions not eating as a symptom.

In this house I think it's just his reflux etc.

Lets hope that tooth cuts soon for her!

[*Kara*]

however, she still only drinks 4 1/2 oz at each feed and she's 5.5 months! 5 times a day!

I remember mine "regressing" around this age to more frequent feeds that were smaller too!  I think it had become habit from a teething bout... I just pushed as close to 4 hrs as I could and then fed... she would take a bit more at each feed and we got back to 4 hrs in no time!