My 6 month old EBF son has been poorly for the last week with a snotty nose, cough and wheezing. He has seen the GP who prescribed some saline drops for his nose, and we are doing the usual calpol, elevating cot, steam etc all with little effect.
Throughout this time he has been really difficult to feed, latches then arches and screams especially when let down occurs which can make him cough and splutter. The only way I can get him to feed is by waiting till he is drowsy then latching him on whilst walking around and waiting for him to nod off before I sit down- no mean feat as he is a brute at 21 lbs! I am managing to get 3-4 feeds into him during the day and 2-3 at night, but I am not sure how much he is getting. He has vomited a few times immediately after feeding after starting to cough and retch, his nappies are drier and my boobs feel fuller and were a bit lumpy 2 days ago. I know if will probably improve when his cold gets better, but has anyone any suggestions in the meantime. Do I need to express to maintain my supply?-so far i have only expressed once when my boobs were uncomfortable and lumpy. He is taking a few solids and sips of water but not a lot.
Any suggestions appreciated- unfortunately he will not take a bottle so cannot express and bottle feed him. Am beginning to get a bit down in the dumps and dreading every feed as it is such a struggle- he has also started biting me too just to add to the misery!