Can you reassure me? Getting very worked up...........

[usandnosleep]

My DS is 7.5 months, breastfed and we have started solids. He gained weight really well until he was 2 months old and since then has dropped 3 centiles.

We have been referred to a paediatrician and are currently waiting for an appointment.

Last week he was doing really well with milk and solids now this week he is back to taking very very little of either. He is very up and down, intake is good for a while and then nothing. He is happy for periods and then grumbly and whingy. Surely if he was hungry he would eat?
I go from feeling ok about it to feeling worried and anxious.

It's really hard to stay relaxed about it, I'm trying to offer little but often and not make a big deal out of mealtimes but today I feel quite wretched!

He also sleeps poorly and wakes every 2-3 hours for a feed, but it takes ages for my milk to come through and he is so sleepy he then feeds for a few minutes and then he's sound asleep again.

He is very active and alert, he began crawling a couple of weeks ago and pulls himself up using the furniture. So there can't be much wrong can there?

Oh God I know I'm rambling.
Can you think of anything else I could do, am I worrying unnecessarily?

He may be teething, and feeding uncomfortable because of that. If so, Calpol and something hard and cold to chew on might help.

Forgot to say I have seen the HV for advice and been to the docs.
The HV goes on and on about switching to formula but that is another nightmare because DS won't take a bottle or significant amounts from a cup. In any case my milk should be enough shouldn't it?
The doc was much more relaxed and said continue with breast feeding if I'm happy too and try to offer yummy puds to up calorie intake. I was reassured by the doctor but typically he was eating then.

Thanks Helenswheels. He has been teething on and off for a couple of months now, I have given Calpol before mealtimes are due and but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Hi - I remember my ds (now 20 months) going through a phase like this. It is horrible and frightening when your little one wont eat but it sounds like you're doing the right things. My ds did this for about a week at a similar age and then started eating all sorts of things. Maybe you should try cutting back on the breast milk as it sounds like he might be taking enough of that to satisfy himself for a short time and then waking up hungry. If he hasn't had a feed for a while you could offer him water in a cup and some puree. Hope this helps.

I'd say if he's feeding every 2-3 hrs during the night then he is probably hungry. Are you offering him protein foods during the day? That can help. My ds also dropped 3 centiles and we were on the verge of being referred. But he started eating well (after about a month of weaning) and is now remaining on the 9th. I realise some people say that milk is the most important food for the first year and that solids are just to get them used to eating. But I personally don't think this is the case for ALL babies. Mine only started gaining weight when he was well established on solids. So maybe worth cutting down on some of those night feeds (if you can bare it!) He will probably be more keen to eat during the day.

It's horrible Buttercupbabe isn't it?
I've tried resettling him without feeding but he just wakes again after 20-30 mins, then its doubly hard to drag yourself out of bed! I'm glad your DS picked up again quickly

Sorry, I think it is unhelpful to suggest you don't feed your baby in the night, in the (maybe forlorn) hope he will eat in the day.....waking up to feed in the night is normal behaviour for a baby of this age, despite it being tiring for parents.

Letting him cry with hunger in the night seems to me to be unkind and distressing for everyone. And if there is any chance concerns about his weight are justified, then why restrict his calories?

Your description of his behaviour, moods and development all sound normal to me, as does his eating.

I assume he is gaining weight and not losing it. I expect the paed will reassure you and be a bit cross with the HV for referring you.

Thank you everyone

I just have to trust he will take what he needs and there isn't much else I can do.

Tiktok, he has only had one weight loss at a weigh in, he either gains nothing or a samll amount. But better than nothing hey!

Thank you all for your posts, I'm going to pull myself together!