Well ladies, I'm needing a little help here. My 8 month old son has stopped eating really anything but his breastmilk/formula. He has always loved to eat and was eating at leat 2 meals a day. For breakfast he was having a whole tub of YoBaby yogurt with rice or oatmeal cereal. For lunch he was having a whole stage 2 babyfood of either fruit, veggies, or a meat. For dinner he was eating finger foods such a fruit puffs, bread, or a few bites of something I ate for dinner. He was started on cereal at 4.5 months, and fruits and veggies at 5 months.
Well, for the last 3 months he has been sick with something - you name it - RSV, colds, ear infections, bronchitis, stomach virus (suspected Rotavirus). Even with all of this, he continued to eat fine until last Wednesday (Dec. 19th) when came down with the stomach virus. He had throwing up for a day and diahrea until yesterday and now he has a double ear infection.
I'm completely stressed about all this illness...and now on top of it, he won't eat his normal food. He will take a few bits of cheerios and bread-like things, but that is it. No yogurt, no fruit, no veggies, no cereal. YIKES!
Anybody else's child started this after being really sick. Now he is just starting to feel better, how do I get him not to turn his head at his food?
Thanks everyone. My little man has started eating again, but has went on a babyfood strike. So I'm scrambling to find healthy easy "big people" food to give him.
he may be teething. my son did this exact same thing around 8 mos. Once his tooth cut hrough he went back to normal
Don't worry so much about it-- he will come back to it if he was a good eater in the past. Because he was sick, he is likely just slowly getting back into it. My daughter (who is 2.5 now) has had bouts of not eating when she has been sick, but always returned to eating later. Just take a small amount of yogurt out and save the rest (so it doesn't get contaminated) and keep trying. Crackers, cereals, and toast are a good start. My daughter is famous for throwing up (I swear she can at the drop of a hat) and when she is not feeling the best, she is a good eater to this day and I am sure your son will start eating again when he feels better. Good luck!
check out the latest information on the raw food diet. Go to rawfamily.com I have a feeling his body is just reacting to the "new food". Your education will be his future.
Well, when children are sick like that, they should be on the BRAT (Bananas, rice, applesause and toast) diet anyway. He will regain his appetite when he is feeling better. The stuff he normally eats will probably just make him feel worse. Keep him hydrated with Pedialyte or something similar. He will eat when his appetite returns, try not to worry so much. Why has he been so sick lately? Did he recently begin daycare or did his schedule change somehow?
It sounds like my granddaughter. Get him tested for food and other allergies. It may just take some allergy meds for a while to get him on track. Keep a diary of everything he eats, what you clean with including his laundry, perfumes you use deodorants, air fresheners, leave nothing out. If you find he is allergic to molds & mildew you will have to have your home professionally tested. I know it sounds like alot but you will be amazed at how quickly he responds once this is done if he is actually allergic to something. If it is mold & mildew and it is in your home & you can have it removed it will blow your mind at how fast he feels like eatibg again. Take care, Christie
Hi C.,
He will eat when he regains his appetite. You know how hard it is to eat anything as adult when you are recovering from illness. Just keep the fluids going on overdrive until his appetite returns. If he starts turning away formula or breast milk, then I would worry and call the ped. Hope he starts feeling better soon!
He's probably teething and/or has a sore throat - either of which would cause him to not want to eat. By the way, even if you can not see teeth coming in, that doesn't mean he's not teething. My pediatrician told us that the most painful part of teething is the "mounding up" part of the process (which is before the teeth start to press through the gums). If it is teething, I highly recommend the Hylands teething tablets. They are just the best! Really calms babies down and soothes away their pain - and they are all natural with no side effects or toxicity of any kind. If it's a sore throat, then probably baby Tylenol or Ibuprofen would work the best for him. You might try giving him Pediasure in the meantime just to make sure he's still getting his nutrients - although he's probably getting everything he needs through the breast milk and formula. Like the other ladies said, I'm sure he'll return to his normal eating pattern once he feels better. Hang in there! God bless you.
I wouldn't worry much about him not eating.
I'm surprised he ate well so far considering how sick he has been. because of the vomiting and diarrhea, he's probably a bit dehydrated and just needs fluids anyway.
Once he seems to be hungry again (probably in a day or two), start him on the BRAT diet. The foods on the brat diet will help to settle his stomach and firm up his poop.
Bananas, Rice (cereal), Applesauce, Toast.
No juice, no dairy. if you are worried he isn't getting enough fluids, you cna alternate pedialyte with breastmilk or formula.
Don't worry. It may be that the bottle is giving him comfort or that it hurts to chew (pain from ear infections can increase with jaw movements). If he's been normal up until now, he'll be normal in a few days or so. I would suggest to continue to offer him food at regular meal times and milk/formula only after that. That way, he has a chance to choose the food first before filling up on the milk. Good luck!
As long as Caleb is still getting breast milk he is getting all of the nutrition his little body needs. The body's natural defense mechanism during a stomach virus is to flush the digestive tract, which helps to get rid of the germs. Breast milk will help to give him immunity to the illness, as well as provide him nutrients. He will start eating his solids again when he is better. Those solids really aren't necessary until he is 1 year old, anyway. Hope he is feeling better soon.
If he starts refusing breast milk, the diarrhea gets worse or doesn't start to get better, or he acts really listless and tired, take him to a doctor.
Since you are nursing your little one is getting everything he needs through your milk, which is the easiest to digest. I am the mom of 8 children all of whom I nursed. My youngest son had a lot of ear infections and his baby doctor told me that just to nurse him and he would get everything he needed. That is what I did and he grew and is now 12 years old and doing fine. Babies will normally eat when they are hungry so I would just relax and see if he has anymore problems.
