4 Month Old Will Not Drink Breastmilk or Formula

Hi!
Try giving him an ounce(or even just a sip) of breast milk every 20 minutes or so. Then as he is holding more down gradually increase the amount. When my daughter had a touch of the flu when she was 4 months that is what I did.
I know when I am sick it is very difficult to keep large amounts of liquids down but with little sips here and there it seems to be much easier.
HTH!

So sorry, what a tough situation.
My daughter (at about the same age) had Rotovirus and she was so dehydrated, that she too had to have an IV. She would not take breastmilk or formula, so I just tried to give her pedialite, to keep her hydrated then kept trying to nurse her between. It lasted a couple days, but it sounds like your case may be a little more severe. I would try giving pedialite, maybe the different taste will help spark the desire to drink. I would also pressure the doctors a little more for answers if you need to take him in again to get another IV.
My prayers go our to you and your son. It is so hard to see our little ones sick and nothing we do helps.

Hi J.,

What type of vomiting is it - projectile? The reason I am asking is because my son developed pyloric stenosis at 10 days old which is most common in baby boys. What happens is the stomach muscle tightens up and does not allow anything in and requires surgery to open up a passage. It is sometimes hard to tell and required multiple visits to the ER before my son was diagnosed which happened through an ultrasound of his stomach. After surgery my son has never had a problem since and you can't even tell where his scar is. Hopefully this isn't the case but for my son it started with vomiting and he could not hold any liquids down. Email me if you have any further questions.

He's 4 months old, have you tried to mix a little bit of baby rice cereal into his bottle? It's thicken up the milk and add some more calories for him. Also, if that works, try if he like to drink some water so he get enough liquid. My son hated to have bottle when he was 2-4 months, we had to swing him while he was drinking from a bottle so that he could consume about 18-20 oz a day. Then, i started mixxing rice cereal either in the bottle or spoon feed him (mixed it thicker) and gave him some water on the side. And that was his source of nutrition for about 3 months until he started eating some other baby food. It's tough, especially when you son was sick lately. But maybe he's also tired of milk and probably rice cereal mixing would help him, and you can give some water to help him hydrate.

Also, another issue, when he was in hospital, did they do any test to make he's healthy otherwise? Was he vomitting because of coughing or it was some other stomache issue? If they didn't do any of that, and then you may need to ask his pediatrician to perform a blood test or something. I mean, baby taste bud could change, but there could be other health issue too. So, have him check up just to make sure.

Good luck,

Hello J.,
I have 4 boys myself and understand how frustrated you feel. I have found with all of my boys that after they have been sick, it sometimes takes 2 weeks or more for them to regain their appetite. Your son will eat when he is hungry. Water is more important. I assume he is no longer vomitting. ??? If you still feel that he may need to be hydrated, take him very early in the morning to an ER. A good way to tell if he is in need of IV fluids is to check to see if his mouth is consistently dry and if he makes tears when he cries. I hope I may have helped a little bit. It is scary when a baby wont eat. I am sure he will be okay once whatever he has has run its course.
Hope he is better soon.
C.

Please, Please get him to the doctor again ASAP. I had a similar problem with my 4 month old, and after doing blood tests, we discovered she had severe acidosis - her body was turning acidic. Turns out, she had a severe UTI, and we discovered other health probs after. The blood test we just did to rule things out, and I wasn't going to do one, but I am glad we did. I am not sure she would be around if we didn't. I am sure there may be other stuff going on with your baby, but my point is that there may be other reasons that he is not eating. If he is sick or in pain... You just want to rule every possibility out! I would recommend a blood test to check things out, and make sure his levels are all normal. Good luck!!!

Jeannette,

I'd try sticking with breastmilk as much as possible and trying to avoid formula until he feels better. Breastmilk is considered a "clear fluid" (just like pedialyte but much better for him) and will actually help him heal while formula is likely continuing to tear up his stomach. I hope you get through this quickly. It sounds terrifying!

T.

Hi J.,
This is really OLD...however when my brother was born the acid in my mothers breast milk ate the lining out of his stomach. The only thing he could keep down was whole milk & "KARO" syrup. You might try that.

Lynnette, 61 yrs with only 1 child and he has thankfully made it to 22 years old.

I have worked in Peds for 25 years and I am thinking you should see a Pediatric GI doctor. Until you can get the referral and all that, I would ask to have the child seen every few days to stay on top of the hydration and weight status. If you go to an ER, they may admit him and then you would see a GI doc more quickly. It may be reflux. You don't mention that he cries, which alot of reflux babies do, but the GI docs at Long Beach Memorial or CHOC are great! At LB, the doctors are Dr. Mathis, Steinmetz, Tran, and Herman and at CHOC, Dr. Grant, Katz, and Younes. Good luck! Don't go on too long like this--not normal!!

Dear J.,

You didn't mention what your son was hospitalized for. Did you ever receive a diagnosis for his illness? What tests were done? What were the results? All of this information is very important for working with your son's pediatrician to figure out what is happening now.

The key message, before I go any further is: GO BACK TO THE DOCTOR! Don't be afraid to be a pest, if you have to be. You clearly have a sick infant, and the cause needs to be determined and treated.

If your son is refusing food, the likely causes (not diseases -- just general causes) are that he is in pain, he is nauseated, or he is satiated (full). Any one of these causes can stem from a myriad of different possibilities.

Many of the moms have already given you good suggestions on what to speak to the doctor about. GERD is actually pretty common in infants, but it's usually associated more with colic-type of symptoms. Nausea, as from any number of stomach and/or intestinal viral or bacterial infections, can cause vomiting and refusal of food.

One mom mentioned pyloric stenosis, and this came to my mind almost immediately, too. Early typical symptoms include projectile vomiting (my son was able to hit the wall at high force from 3 feet away!), or vomiting towards the end of a full nursing or bottle -- sometimes as the baby is nursing. It happens because the pylorus (the juncture between the stomach and small intestine that controls the flow of food) swells, stiffens and eventually closes. When the stomach fills up and the food has no place to go, the upper "valve" (called the cardiac sphincter) between the stomach and esophagus spasm and the baby vomits. For more complete information, go to

http://health.yahoo.com/digestive-symptoms/pyloric-stenos...

Also, because the stomach remains distended, the vagus nerve (which tells us if we're full or hungry) remains stretched. This sends signals to the brain that the person's not hungry. If this is the case with your son, that is why he is refusing food. Mixing cereal into the breast milk or formula will only make things worse if this is what's going on.

Many doctors think of pyloric stenosis as a rare condition as it only occurs in 1 -to 4 out of 1000 live births (.1 to .4%), so they may not consider it early on in the diagnostic process. But it's common enough to warrant investigation, which is very simple: the baby is fed a "formula" of barium and the radiologist takes X-rays over the course of about 1/2 hour to see how the barium passes through the stomach. The solution is surgery to weaken the pylorus muscle so it can open appropriately.

Having to wait for your infant to come out of surgery is VERY scary (our son's surgery was done at 5 wks of age), but it's a pretty simple surgery with very low risks.

Good luck, J.. I'm sure if you persist with the doctor, your son will get the right treatment for whatever it turns out is causeing the problems.

R.

Hello,
You poor things. I agree with Kelly H. Also, just so your baby has some fluids, try a bottle of sugar water (just a tiny bit of sugar). Not to much but if they baby is still not feeling well you he may want something else other than milk.

K.

Can he directly breastfeed? Breastmilk is the best thing to hydrate him, and to give him the nutrients he needs (however you are able to give it to him). When babies go on any kind of a nursing strike, sometimes they'll nurse when they're half-asleep (not fully asleep--they could, G-d Forbid, possibly choke on the milk), and when moving around in your arms or in a sling. You could also try feeding him with a small paper cup held up to his lips or teaspoon. I hope he gets better soon.

This may be far fetched but at 4 months old my daughter was diagnosed with baby acid reflux. She was in pain whenever she drank because her esophogus was so inflamed.She would vomit into her throat constantly and vomitted out too. If you son arches his back after eating he too is experiencing this. That is one of the signs. Besides you can hear the reflux coming up into his throat. If this is the case with your son, my dd was put on prevacid powder so I mixed it with water and gave it to her through a medicine syringe. I hoping this is what it is and not something more serious.. I'm surprised none of the doctors have come to this conclusion if this is what he has. Good luck, I know its hard to see our little ones in pain / discomfort.

Hi,
I would just like to encourage you to listen to your instincts and if you have concerns, or something doesn't seem right to you, then to seek out help. Dehydration can be serious.
Here is a link to some information from La Leche League on identifying infant dehydration: http://www.llli.org/NB/NBNovDec94p184sup.html
La Leche League is a great organization and might be able to offer some insight/suggestions for you.
Again, I personally would take this seriously, and not be inclined to a wait and see approach. I'll check around on the internet and see if I can find more info for you.
Lots of love to you and your family.
M.

Has the doctor tried to figure out what the problem is? Blood work? Maybe there is really something wrong? If it was my child, it would make me very nervous that something could be internally wrong.
Please get a second opinion, or force the doctor to do some more poking around.
Good luck.

maybe try pedialyte? At least it will keep him hydrated. 10 oz is not enough to sustain his weight or gain, but hopefully enough to keep him hydrated. Might take a few more days to get over this bug. I would take him to the pediatrician just in case in the AM.

Hi J.-
Sounds like what my son had when he was 10 days old...
After 3 1/2 days of dr's & ER visits, our dr admitted us to our local hospital for 3 days- then down to Los Angeles Childrens hospital for and addition 4 days... I was scared to death for my son. So many tests on such a little guy...they finally figured out it was pyloric stenosis.
They did have to do a surgery ( which was scary )but when completed our little Zain started to drink from a bottle and then nurse again within 24 hours!
I hope this helps you and your family-
Blessings to you and yours,
S.
***
(From www.wedmd.com)
What is pyloric stenosis?
Pyloric stenosis is a condition in which a baby's pylorus gradually swells and thickens, which interferes with food entering the intestine. The pylorus is the connection between the stomach and the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). Pyloric stenosis can occur any time between birth and 5 months of age.

ATTENTION J.!!! Your baby could be completely lactose intolerant---including the lactose humans produce!! There are tests that can determine this in the hospital, so please check it out. There are a couple of soy products out there to replace the majority of lactose formulas. Keep pumping or expressing your milk and when your baby begins to tolerate lactos better, retrieve the formula from the freezer and get the baby caught up on it!! (they usually feed better at 6 months)Also, your baby may have problems keeping down food due to defects in the stomache of esophagus. Quite often, babies will also have thrush (white patches of infected tissue in the mouth like a yeast infection)that makes it painful for them to eat. I hope this helps, because that baby needs food!!

Hi Jeannette,
My son, who is now 14, was born with a hiatal hernia and associated esophagitis, and wouldn't take breast milk or formula. It took us over 2 years to finally do an endoscopy to see what was going on. He weighed 10 lbs at 1 year and he and I fought constantly over food. You may want to be sure that you see a gastroenterologist and see if he'll do an endoscopy. The upper GI series we put my son through at 10 months was awful and a waste of time. If you ever want more info, feel free to contact me. Good luck!

J.
www.shaklee.net/healthyfriends
Creating Healthier Homes & Lives for Over 50 Years!

First, I'd get a new pediatrician. If your baby is vomiting and/or not eating he could end up VERY ill, VERY quickly. He could also have somthing seriously wrong healthwise, therefore he should be seen by a doctor immediatly. I am married to a doctor and have three children of my own. It's also a good idea to get expert medical advice when you are dealing with medical issues, rather than the advice from us out here! I hope your baby is okay...

My 7 month old just went through the same thing. It was right after I weaned him because of health issues that I have that I needed to resolve, so it was kind of confusing for a while. We thought it was the formula, because up until then he had exclusively been breastfead. But he had a stomach bug, most likely that roto-virus, and the Dr. said it can last for up to 2 weeks. He could keep down the pedialite just fine after the first initial day, but could not keep down even an ounce of formula for over a week. He lost like 2 lbs in that week. However,luckily he never got dehydrated because he could keep the pedialite down. We then had to introduce formula only an ounce or two at a time every hour for the first couple of days( boy was he frustrated since it's not like he was a newborn, he's 7 months old he wanted to EAT) And we had to switch his formula to soy during this time because it is the most gentle on stomachs and sometimes it takes a while for them to be able to handle the milk and lactose based formula again. Your Dr. should have done a stool sample to see if it is a virus or parasite or what that it causing the vomiting. And if everything checks out ask the doctor if you can switch to soy like my doctor suggested for a little while. My son is still on it and it's been a few weeks. We'll be trying to introduce the regular formula back into his diet again soon. I hope this is over for you soon , I know how frustrating it can be , because your miserable and so is baby. Good luck, and be sure you let us know what happened.

I had a similar problem with my baby (at 6 months). He is now 9 months. He got really sick (fever, ear infection, etc.) Of course, he was teething. It was a full 2 weeks before he would keep any formula down. I, too, was totally freaked out because I never had that experience with my first. My pediatrician kept me calm and let me know that I just needed to continue to try to keep giving him Pedialyte (he would only drink the clear kind). He would barely keep that down, but I always had a bottle ready to go. He eventually came around (just as I was sure that I would never be able to get him to keep formula down). I know it's scary (I felt so panicked), but if your baby is taking Pedialyte (or similar) and keeping most of it down, I wouldn't worry quite yet. He is still getting nutrients. Your biggest worry really is if he dehydrates again.

I hope this helps calm your fears for now.

I had the same problem with my son about a month ago. First off, in order to keep him hydrated, give him pedialyte. Even if he only drinks a little bit, it is still better than giving him any other kind of fluid. They have all kinds of flavors too, so he might like the taste of it and want more. If you're worried about how much food he's getting in his system, you could try to put a teaspoon of rice cereal in his milk; banana works pretty well too. Just don't give him too much because if you give the baby food on a regular basis right away, it can cause them to have food allergies later. So a little food goes a long way. Even if he still won't take much, it's still giving him more protein and calories than with just plain milk. Another thing to consider is the kind of milk you're giving him, if it's regular milk, you might want to consider a soy formula and then try to switch him back later on. (I did this with my son because he got horrible diarrhea. I switched him to the soy formula and he was fine. About 2 months later, I started mixing the regular formula in little by little, then I eventually gave him just the regular formula, but watered down, then I was gave him full strength. The switch went fine and he's drinking the regular formula like crazy.)The same goes for breast milk, just try to stay away from dairy products for a while and see if anything changes.

Have you tried another formula? Maybe he is allergic? Or try eliminating dairy from your diet. Breastmilk is the best to help with this so just be really careful about what you are eating and keep at it. My son had a lot of allergies and was really underweight but he outgrew it. Hang in there...Ill pray for you! S. :)

Hi, our daughter had the same issue for a very long time and it turned out to be acid-reflux. Have you checked out that possibility? Apparently it's pretty common. There is medication for it too. If you need advice on a pediatric GI doctor let me know. Good luck. I know, it's very hard to see your little one have such a hard time eating!!

Keep going with the dropper. We have suffered through and survived several horrid bouts with the flu with our two boys. At that time, the pediatrician recommended giving them teaspoonfuls of fluid every 10 minutes. We used gatorade and pedialyte. We also had them suck on ice chips or pedialyte frozen popsicles. Given that your little man is so young, maybe try rubbing some ice chips on his lips. Trust your instincts and maybe call the advice nurse at the pediatricians clinic. You may want to just float the question of GURD to the advice nurse as well. I have had several friends who's infants have had horrible reflux which made nursing difficult.

Hi J.,

I agree w. Kathie, but I would take my child to the hospital, simply because he is under 6 months of age, and sometimes the Ped. doesn't give as much attention as a hospital would. If the Pedialyte doesn't work, I would consider this. I hope all goes well for you and yours.

has anyone mentioned the possibility of reflux or Gerd. If the baby is throwing up constantly and even frequently then it may be caused from excessive heartburn. They learn real quick that if they refuse food then they don't feel as sick as if they eat. I would definitely call your pediatrician and discuss the possibilities.

PLEASE COUNT WET DIAPERS. IF THE BABY HAS LESS THAN 6 WET DIAPERS IN 24 HOURS. iF YOU HAVE ANY SIGNS OF THE SOFT SPOT ON THE BABIES HEAD STRTS TO SINK IN, IMMEDIATELY GET BABY BACK TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AND MENTION THE POSSIBILITY. lAST TWO SIGNS OF DEHYDRATIONS, CRYING NO TEASR, DRY LIPS. ALSO IF YOU PINTCH THE SKIN ON THE TOP OF BABIES HAND AND IT STAYS INDENTED THEN THIS IS A SIGN OF DEHYDRATION. gOOD LUCK! iF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL ###-###-####. THIS IS MY BREASTFEEDING HOTLINE NUMBER. PLEASE CALL ANYTIME.

H. BUSHY
IBCLC

Have that baby checked out immediately that there is no stomach of esophagus problem. He might be in pain any time he tries to swallow. Good luck

Please take him to Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, it's off of Sunset. Both of my niece's have had the same problem you are describing and have had a problem with their esophugus (sp?) or gastrointestinal area that wouldn't allow them to keep the food down (both were newborns when this happened) and have had surgery. One neice just celebrated her 4th birthday the other one is currently recovering from surgery, she's a month old. Children's Hospital was the only hospital that paid specific attention to the disorder and were able to treat both girls right away. I'm not saying that your son is suffering from the exact same problem, but I am recommending Children's Hospital as an excellent resource. Good luck and God Bless.

This is quite concerning. He may have something simple as reflux or something wrong with his gastroesophageal anatomy. Has the pediatrician taken an x-ray of your baby? You don't want to expose your baby to too many x-rays but if this continues then you may want to investigate further. Definitely get a second opinion from another pediatrician if the same one keeps saying to take him to the ER. It's a doctor's "safe" way of covering themselves to refer to the emergency department. Do you breastfeed the baby or just bottle feed? You may also want to try different nipples/bottles/formula. Good Luck to you and take care of your little munchkin!

I had the same experience with my son when he was about two months old. My doctor had told me that I was burping him too hard. He ended up so dehydrated and almost died. My husband took him to the emergency room and found out that he had pyloric stenosis.... which is basically a problem where the opening between the stomach and the intestines had closed. One symptom to look for is having dry diapers, or very little pee which means that not much is actually getting through. He had a simple surgery to correct it and had been fine since.

J.,

First I have to say I am not a Mom. I would love to be but it just hasn't worked out yet. I have however helped each and every friend I have with her children and have stayed with several of them after giving birth, to help them for a few weeks so they can get on their feet.
I am passionate about natural health and wellness and even do consulting for Naturopathic Physicians. After reading your concern I am wondering if there is something in the formula that does not sit well with your four month old so he is rejecting it. In all honesty formula is not much more than starch and high fructose corn syrup. A licensed Naturopathic Doctor would be able to suggest a substitute that may work. ND's go through eight years of college and take state board exams etc...to get their license, they just have a natural approach to health and wellness. Depending on where you live, I could suggest a source to find one if you are interested.

Good Luck!
KA