DS 17 weeks refusing milk but takes water no problem

[potatocakes]

DS has been unwell with gastroenteritis for the past 5 days, and has been gradually refusing his milk more and more. In fact, he was already getting awkward some 4 weeks ago. Due to the sickness, I've been offering him water to keep him hydrated, which he takes no problem at all. If you quickly swap the bottle to one with milk, he notices right away, starts bucking and crying. Dream feeding works somewhat, but even then he still doesn't want much to eat.

Why doesn't he want milk any more? Should I try a different brand? Could the lactose be making him unwell?

Hmm, he may associate the taste of milk with being poorly. You could try making quater strength milks and building him up slowly. When my DS1 had gastroenteritis at 4 months our GP told us to switch him to a soya milk (you have to order it from the pharmacy) and start with q strength on Day 1 and build up slowly as he tolerated it. We were able to switch him back to his normal milk after about 10 days.
Before you do anything though you should probably take him to see your GP
hth
phee