8 month old refusing food - please help!

[bobsi]

My 8 month old dd has been a good weaner so far, normally wolfing down her meals until this week. The last few days she has become disinterested at everything but Fruit Puree and Yogurt. She has no teeth yet, no other real signs of teething. She is completely normal in herself, showing no signs of illness. Last night she took one mouthful of her tea and promptly threw up all the milk (if she has her tea first, she refuses her milk). Tried to give her a slice of apple this morning and the same thing happened. I'm worried she's going to get dehydrated and don't know what else to do. Any suggestions? Could it be teething, behavioural or a bug? :(

Hi Bobsi

It could be any of those things. My DS often went off his food from time to time. Maybe just keep trying to give your DD her favourite foods and milk. Maybe a a bit of cooled boiled water. You will be able to tell if she get's dehydrated and on the off chance that, that happens maybe you could just take her to the docs.

I bet she'll be fine later on. I know so many babies who do this from time to time. Is she consitipated? That sometimes makes them go of their food.

Try not to worry. Your instincts will tell you if there is something medically wrong with her. More than likey it's just a blip and she'll be eating lots again soon.

Hi bobsi, I agree with cheesey, it may well be numerous things, but I wouldn't worry about it being behavioural - much more likely to be either teething, a bug, or as cheesey said being constipated can leave them with no appetite! I found that my DS went off his food when teething, and as soon as he was going down with a bug he would throw up......

so keep offering what you would normally, but don't worry if she won't touch it, just also ensure she gets something like the puree or yog, and water if she can't stomach milk..I would say it's important to keep offering her normal food, so that as soon as she is better she will pick up her diet from where she left off. If you stop offering stuff every time she refuses it this can be a way to a limited diet!

hope she's back to normal soon.

My 8.5 month old just doing the same thing. Threw up for no apparent reason last week and has been off food generally since. Then he was fairly constipated too.

So keeping him hydrated with cooled boiled water and if he fancies anything, which is normally fruit puree or yogurt with the odd rice cake, I've been letting him get on with it. He'll soon pick up when he feels like eating a more varied diet again.

I wondered if the weather being that much warmer has made him feel a bit off-colour / less hungry? If it's really cold, his appetite is always better. Just a thought - not a proved theory!

it seems to be a trend for babies of this age - we've had similar here. ds seems happier if he has his food at meal times then his milk mid-morning and mid-afternoon (and before bed) as a kind of snack.

Thanks for the encouragement. It means a lot to know that others have experienced the same problems. I'm a first time Mum and am finding this parenthood lark extremely challenging but very worth it!! I'm the worlds biggest worrier and think I need to chill out a bit - it's all the guess work that I get so stressed about. It must be easier when they can talk and tell you what's wrong! DD's had some fruit for breakfast and a proper lunch and has just had some more fruit. She's only had 4oz milk though and has refused all milk/water offered to her since 11am. Fingers crossed for bottle later.