6MO on hunger strike!! help!!

[emz31]

my DS of 6months is on antibiotics and still recovering from a chest infection and ongoing cold where he basically coughs til he vomits. i managed to wean him onto the bottle recently and he was doing ok on solids which were introduced at 17 weeks - never a great eater but took 3 meals a day. however, he has now totally refused any form of solids for the past week and only want milk (which as he is still getting used to the bottle only totals about 14 ozs a day. it's got tho the point whre when he sees food on a spoon he will just totally clamp his mouth shut and push the spoon away. i've tried making him laugh and sneaking food in (but he just smiles with his lips closed) and shamefully have even tried to force the spoon in but he still refuses point blank. i'm really worried that he's not getting enough nutrients and that he'ss never take solid food again. also feel really guilty that after months of trying to get him on the bottle he'll take it but at the detriment of solid food. can't even give him a breastfeed as now my milk has dried up!!
is this just because he's ill or has he genuinely taken a dislike to solid food? - i end up just giving him lots of bottles through the day as i know he must be hungry. any tips would be greatly welcomed! ta in advance x

Hi there - sorry to hear your little one is playing up. My twins did the same thing after getting bad colds before Christmas (aged 7 mths). Before that they were happily established on bottles and solid food but then we had about 2 days when they wouldnt take anything except water - not even milk (NIGHTMARE). Eventually they went back on their milk and are now back eating properly but it has taken 3 weeks to get back into routine. I saw the doctor as I was so worried and he said initially that the main thing was to keep getting fluids into them, whatever it was even sugary drinks etc just anything. After that he said not to worry about solids because the milk has everything they need. When they seemed to be over the worst (they were coughing and vomitting too) I just kept on trying the solid food once or twice a day and eventually they starting accepting a little bit, and then more and more. Although I must admit that the solids I was giving them initially was only their favourites and not necessarily the most nutritious stuff.

Hope this has reassured you a little!

I agree with blotto that you should not worry too much. Just give him time and he will come around eventually. In November my dd(then 13mnths) had a terrible tummy bug, ended up in A&E really dehydrated and feeding her 1ml at a time of liquid to keep her going.
But after that all passed she refused to eat and vegetables at all for weeks. Like you I got really worried, all she would eat was meat and bread. I spoke to my hv and she said not to worry as long as she was drinking milk it would not do her any harm for a while yet. Like blotto it was a case of trial and error. Frustrating for you when you prepare something and they refuse to eat it. But eventually I am sure he'll get back to normal. DD now eats away at her veggies. I made a load the other day into a sauce and now mix it with pasta and she loves it. Just some onion and garlic sauteed in a pot with some butter and then simmer lots of veggies till they are soft and whizz with a hand mixer and she loves it.

ALso how about some of those yummy organix fruit purees( I think they are ok for 6mths, not sure though?) Or my dd used to love their baby cereals or prune porridge. worth trying maybe.

hope it gets better, sorry to ramble on.

thanks blotto, i've even been trying him on his v.fave jars and his nose has been turned up at these too. have been getting really worried as i've heard that when you delay weaning they can really not take to solids, so was wondering if he's just taken a dislike to them but at least he's accepting albeit small amounts of milk. thanks it has reassured me a little.

carameli - have tried the organix purees even - which he used to love - nothing is getting past those sealed up lips of his!! - strange how they get wise isn't it - even when he's really annoyed at me trying to gert food in, he'll actually cry with his mouth shut!!! bloody amazing!! glad to hear that there's light at the end of the tunnel, and sorry to hear about your little one, must have been a nightmare for you. x

emz31, i had this with my dd, i was frantic with worry, she wouldnt eat anything at all!!! she was about 9mth at the time, i still dont know for sure why, i thought it was teething, but then discovered she had a virus, she did get over it and is back to troffing anything in sight now!! just make sure you get plently of fluids down and maybe buy some multi vitamin (boots do it) he will start eating again soon, the food that got my dd going again was some baby porridge probably because it was quite bland.sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward again, maybe try babyrice?!?try and get milk down him if poss, even if you have to go back to just milk feeds again.it did take dd a while to stop clamping her mouth everytime she seen food, became a habit i think.btw the virus dd had was no vomiting or anything just put her off her food point blank no other signs, the doc was so sick of me!! lol

sorry if this sounds waffly!!

hth xxx

by the way, my dd didnt eat anything for 3 weeks!!! dont worry, easier said than done i know you should have seen what i was like, i kept crying!! and was pulling my hair out!! but HE WILL go back to eating i am sure xx

emz31, thanks she's so much better now. One good thing that came out of it is she got addicted to dioralye rehydration fluids so now when I want to give her calpol/nurofen etc she will take anything from a syringe(she used to clamp her mouth shut when she saw one coming).
It this your first, like me? Its all such a learning curve isn't it. thank goodness for places like mumsnet where we can air our worries.

thanks guys, yes he's my first and just when you think you may have got the hang of this parenting lark, they go and change! may just let him off the food for today as i really don't want to frighten him off and feel such a meanie forcing it down. at least he's taken to the bottle and seems to want a bit more milk than usual today. doc also said he had a sore throat so could be that it hurts to swallow - poor love - since i gave up BF he's just been permanently ill and has passed it onto me too - sometimes i think it was so much simpler when he was really little and all i had to do was whip out a boob!