Poorly baby having less milk

[Nix99]

DS has just turned 6 months and has caught (yet another) cold. He's recently switched from BF to formula so we can now obviously see how much he's drinking. Since he's had the cold he's having 3/4 oz less each feed and I'm really worried he's not having enough. Is this normal when they're poorly and will he go back once he's better?

do you have your normal appetite when you’re poorly?

Sounds perfectly normal and as long as he's waking for feeds and is alert at times he should be fine. Have you tried any pain relief at all?

Thank you. Yes, I've been giving calpol which does seem to help a bit. Just horrible seeing them poorly

Depends what the illness is. With a cold, then yes.

Depending on the cold, it may actually be painful to swallow?
In addition to the above: are his nappies still wet?
We sometimes used pain relief if sleep was bad or if it seemed that eating/drinking was hurting. Just to give a little relief and extra strength.

Taking half feeds and having wet nappies still is what would be looked for. 100-150mls/kg/24 hrs.

and you can breathe through your mouth when you eat

My DD (now 5) has always eaten less when she's ill and then eaten like a horse once she's feeling better. As long as he's eating something (and peeing as normal) then I wouldn't worry about him for at least a week.

When DC had covid as a baby and I think they lost their sense of taste as feeds went off. Hospital said to me that as long as they were taking half of what they would usually have and having wet nappies they were OK. We were admitted to hospital as they’d dropped below that threshold and not had any wet nappies for about 9 hours and was vomiting bile. We only had to go to hospital due to having covid though, otherwise the GP could have seen us.

Is he drinking water if he's not up to milk so he stays hydrated.

He might not want that either though

Yes, unfortunately. Little sips of water might also help. Hope he feels better soon.