6 month old, cold/cough & no appetite! Is this normal and any advice please???

[getoffmystage]

Hi all, my 6 month old dd has had a nasty cold and cough all week and her appetite has been pretty poor. She normally takes around 7-8oz of formula at each feed and now is only taking between 1-4oz and not showing many signs of hunger between feeds (whereas she is normally quite a voracious little eater). She also had been having some pureed fruit and veg before the cold and is now refusing that too. Is this normal? Should i be worried? Will it pass? Any tips on enticing her to take more milk? Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thanks

This is very normal. A lot of chilren seem to go off food when ill. My DS is 3 and has not eaten for 3 days as ill with a cold. I know it is very worrying for you. I know it is not recommended but I always watered down formula when DS was ill, as keeping hydrated is more important than eating. He seemed to take watered down formula more easily and it made him cough less afterwards. Just keep offering formula - make just a little and offer every hour/30 mins whatever suits you. I would leave the solids until she is better.

Many thanks ksld for your reply. Sorry if this was a bit of a stupid question, this is my first dc and her very first illness so i wasn't sure what to expect. I have been persevering with the formula, and things are improving a little bit, definitelty given up on the solids for now though!