Very fussy eater/drinker

[LilMusicalNote]

My 7 month old daughter had a viral infection a month ago and it put her feeding pattern to pot. Still a struggle to get any fluid to her. I decided to cut down on food and go back to bottle and slowly she started taking her usual 7 ounces every 3 hours, I have slowly began to introduce the food back but I have to give her bottle then food as otherwise she will refuse her milk and she doesn't like juice water I've tried it all and nothing, so now she is refusing milk after 2 ounces after her 3rd feed of the day her last 2 bottles are a struggle but my friend said with her little one she gave a bottle in the morning then food no bottle then the 3rd feed a bottle then food then the last feed a bottle so she still gets the required 20 ounces, could I do that? I have told my health visitor and doctor and even the hospital she refuses any liquid if I feed her and all they said is syringe water in her mouth?!? I can't keep doing that when she is older? It's causing me a lot of stress, I feel useless? I also have post natal depression, this is my first child and I feel completely blanked by all health care proffesionals.

[tiktok]

This must be so stressful :(

It's only been a month since she was poorly. Time and patience often sort these behavioural blips out. Making her solid food more liquid will help get more fluids into her - have you tried that? Just add the milk to the food. You could also try smaller bottles offered more often. Your friend's plan is also fine.

Are you being treated for the pnd? Can you have a private word with the Hv, and say just how worried you are?

[LilMusicalNote]

Hi tiktok Not being treated for PND, my doctors don't seem to care, Yesterday was a bad day she only took 9 ounces all day :(, I feel so awful like I am a doing something wrong. The health visitor didn't seem that bothered she isn't drinking her milk or any fluid. She is meant to have a pint of milk a day and she won't even take that.

[Lucked]

My baby is breast fed but has taken very slowly to drinking, it is improving slowly but still hardly anything has been taken from the cup at the end of a meal, she us now 9 months. (She won't take a bottle)

Are her nappies dry? Is she constipated?

I have been adding more liquid to her meals and just preserver ing with the cup.

What are your current bottle and meal times? And how well is she eating?

[tiktok]

PND is a serious condition, and if you have not been able to get the doctors to treat you, perhaps take someone with you and try again? If you feel your HV is not picking up how worried you are, can you speak to another HV?

Have you tried adding milk to the solid food she is eating?

Hope you find good real life help soon :(

[MissRatty]

Your post sounds so much like our situation, our LO drinks very little, an average of 450ml a day. After much to-ing and fro-ing to the doctor I asked for him to be put on high calorie formula and referred to a paediatric dietician and they agreed. You can definitely ask for this...our HV was crap, just said "oh he probably just doesn't like milk, try him with solids" (he was 11weeks old then!).

He was weaned at 18 weeks and started loving solids, then refused them also...it is so stressful, but at 7.5mo he's starting to enjoy solids again so we try to make as much as we can with his milk, definitely a trick worth trying as mentioned above. There are also high calorie foods you can wean with if you are concerned about weight gain...how is your LO's weight gain?

LO still doesn't drink much and drinks better either from a sippy cup at meals or by feeding him to sleep as he's too tired to resist...sounds horrid but it's the only way he will take anything without screaming the house down. He was tested for intolerances etc., but I think this is just him.

It is so, so important that you get help too...please make an appointment with your GP to discuss it all. Hopefully they can support you, as being a parent is stressful enough without having PND and a baby who is causing you to worry as well. Big hugs x

[MissRatty]

By the way, I wasn't suggesting your LO needs high calorie formula...just sharing our experience. I also agree that it can take a while for babies to fully recover from illnesses so you may find a gradual improvement with things...but do speak to your gp if you continue to have concerns x

[LilMusicalNote]

Hi Lucked, her nappies vary one day wet but sometimes very concentrated.
I tried adding more liquid to her food and she seems fine with that. With the heat the past few days it has seemed impossible to get any water into her.

Hi tiktok Recently single mum and so as soon as I show up to see a doctor they say maybe it's because you have recently split up with partner but tried to explain that I live with my mum (who I care for full time) house is overcrowded and never ending arguments with ex partner. I am currently trying to find my own place. I don't go out unless it is grocery shopping or doctor App. When I mention how worried I am about feeding HV says 'No that's fine' 'Give her cucumber' 'It's a phase'

Hi MissRatty I don't think I have heard of a high calorie formula. My daughter weighed 10lb at birth and she was on the 98th centile and now is just below 59th centile, she now weighs 18lb2oz. This will sound strange but sometimes she will go through a happy patch(only words I could think of sorry) where she wants food milk anything she can get then all of a sudden she will start to drop the milk then no milk at all then after 2-3 week struggle she goes back to happy patch time but only for a few days then back to dropping down in milk sometimes to 2 ounces every 4 hours. Ok sorry back to the strange thing.. She will seem happy feeding ok the happy patch week and seems to put a great amount of weight on then she will have a poo (sorry for TMI) which is really dark (she has green poo normally) and all of a sudden it's like she gas lost a lot of weight.

Thank you for replying it means a lot.