DS refusing bottle... help!

[TheJen]

I stopped BF last month (DS is 12months) and after a lot of work he started taking a bottle of cows milk morning and evening. However, he's really ill at the moment- a snotty virus with a really high temp (39c+) and because he can't breathe he's refusing the bottle. I'm managing to get a bit of water in via a syringe throughout the day but tonight is the second night he's gone to bed without milk. He just pushes it away. I'm offering it when he wakes (which is a lot at the mo) but he's not interested. I was just wondering if this is common when they're ill and will he come back onto it? Also.. any tips for decongesting them when they're so blocked- he can hardly breathe in his cot he's really distressed and I find it so upsetting. Dr was not that helpful...We've tried Olbas oil, steam, medised, saline nasal drops but alas no improvement. This is day 4 now and we're pulling our hair out.

It's horrid when LO's are poorly!!

Are you happy that he's drinking enough/wet nappies?

I got the Karvol vaporiser from boots, it's a plug in thing, for about £6 with refills, each refill lasts 3 nights. I found that really helped along with a little vapor rub on chest & back.

Have you tried putting olbas on a small cloth & wafting it around near his nose whilst trying with a bottle or beaker?

yes but he pushes that away too, its as though he's gone off the milk. I wondered if it's too thick and mucousy whilst he's feeling so rough... he's even refusing petit filous so he must feel bad! To be honest it's almost impossible to get any fluid in- wont even put it in his mouth. Until this afternoon I couldn't get him to sip anything but he took a few mouthfuls from a syringe. Don't want to push it too much as it was such a striggle to get him to take a bottle in the first place.

sorry x posts! Think I might try the plug in thingy tomorrow... just nipping up to him now- he's screaming for 3rd time in an hour... this is awful. He's had colds before but never this bad.

He seems to have settled. I was very worried about lack of fluid intake and this morning he hadn't had a wet nappy for nearly 18 hours. I rang the Health Visitor who came out and typically he really picked up during her visit and took a few sips so she wasn't worried he's had 2 wet nappies today but he can't go on for much longer- it's really difficult to keep on top of his temp and I've been ok for 3 days but today I've been worried.

bump... experienced mummy's urgently required!

i wouldnt be worried about the lack of milk at this age,tbh,all of mine used to go off milk when they had bad colds or were teething,then go back onto it after a few days.

i would be worried about the lack of fluids though.can you see a different doctor if he doesnt pick up?

think i will try and see someone else tomorrow if no better. I just can't believe how blocked up he is and for 4 days now. reassuring to hear that they sometimes take or leave their milk. it's all new to me as he would never refuse the boob so I always had a way of getting fluid in before I stopped. Should I be worried about such a high temp for 4 days? Do virus' normally last this long? Seems like a fairly high temp with just a cold.

thejen, hope your baby picks up soon. my ds has been suffering from congestion. i rubbed vicks (its ok after a yr,according to pot) on his back and front which seemed to help. other stuff just irritated him. i also put a folded towel under his mattress to keep him slightly tilted as he seemed to flap when completely flat and wake up. I also kept a bowl of hot water with some vicks in his room.

he also had a terrible sore throat and earache, temperature etc and refused to eat/drink. am bf still so not much help with this apart from offering water all the time as well?
as diva says, perhaps see another doctor for some antibiotics. we also had an unhelpful doc at this time, so i did take him to another and asked for the medication which we were given instantly!

Yes Viruses can last a long time. You can use calpol and nurofen together, together they are powerful as a team and you only need to use 8 hourly.
As far as fluids are concerned, will he take any fruit?
Use a syringe to get little amounts down him, just keep trying to get small amounts in him very frequrntly, good luck

abs- thanks for the plug in vapour thing tip- picked one up and it made a huge difference. Thanks everyone for your help- I think ds is on the mend... he's eaten some food today- still not drinking much as so snotty but I feel less worried. Thanks again to mumsnet!!!!