6 Months Old and Not Eating Well

If he is not feeling well......then he is not going to eat well. My son has gone through this a couple of times and it is nerve-racking for a mom. You just want to make sure that they don't get dehydrated.......as long as he has tears and drool then he is ok as far as that goes. My son was sick at Christams and hardly ate anything but was fine when the cold went away. Just hang in there and if you have any questions call his Dr........Not much can be done for a cold unfortunately and you just have to ride it out but I wouldn't hesitate to contact the Dr to help ease your mind....I do it all the time. Hang in there......:)

The best thing my mother ever did for me was to buy me a baby scale. My son was a preemie, and the hospital told me to wake him up to feed him every two hours, but he never wanted to wake up. She went and bought the scale and told me to weigh him, and that the second he began to lose weight, I could worry. He never did, and I never woke him up to eat again. Babies eat more when they have a growing spurt, less when they slow down, and less can seem like almost nothing sometimes. If he is not losing weight and seems to be getting better, cold-wise, he's probably fine. You don't say how old he is now, but since he's on baby food, he's probably big enough that not getting enough to eat won't hurt him in only a few days, so it's not an emergency situation, it's more of a wait and see one. If you notice him losing weight, by all means take him to the doctor right away. Same if he's not getting better from the cold or if he's way more fussy, lethargic, or spits up alot more than before. But if he's just eating less, it's probably fine.

My second daughter had projectile vomiting from birth until she was probably 8 or 10 months old, then threw up more easily than the other two all through childhood. I took extra cloths for both of us everywhere we went. But she kept growing and gaining weight, and I had several friends who were doctors who said she'd be fine as long as that was the case. A friend of ours had a baby with the same condition and he ended up having surgery because he was losing weight and getting dehydrated (he's now 19 and 6'5", so he did just fine.)

Rule of thumb--babies shouldn't lose weight generally, and if they're growing and gaining, they're likely to be fine.

As long as there are no other symptoms, he is probably just going through what I call the 'resting' phase, which means he'll soon be going through another 'growth' phase. Both of my children would go through periods of eating more when they were growing, then they would slow down and back off the food a bit. I still see it in my son who is now 5 1/2 yrs. old ....when he is hungry ALL the time I know he's growing and will soon be outgrowing all the clothes I just bought. My daughter is now almost 10 mos. old and recently went from 7-8 oz. bottles back to 5-6 oz.(along w/ baby food) and she recently outgrew all of her sleepers. 18-23 oz. a day is still very good, especially if he is getting baby food as well. My guess is he will soon be eating more and growing like crazy!

Hi B.,
My son never has much of an appetite when he has a cold or is getting over a cold. Just think of yourself if you have a stuffy nose and/congestion- it sometimes takes a while for your smell to come back 100%. The sense of smell gets the appetite going, and if your smell is diminished, your appetite is too. I wouldn't worry too much unless he isn't eating at all. Just make sure you give him plenty of fluids. I hope he gets back to normal soon!

babies are all different, and they are all great at eating when they are hungry. your son has probably just gotten over a growth spurt and is eating less because he needs less, as long as his growth continues normally, he is probably fine. my son was always on thickened formula too for reflux, and i think that 4 oz was all he ate at one time at this age. around 8 months he moved up to 6 oz and that was because we were able to thin his feedings a lot at this age. he is a big healthy boy, and im sure yours is also. my daughter was not on thickened feedings, but she never ate as much formula in a day as the ped said she should and she is healthy and grew well. all kids are different.

I have a friend whose baby also suffers from acid reflux. She recently heard of a chiropracter who works with infants and, after much debate, took her baby there. The baby is doing much better since the treatment and has been able to drastically reduce the amount of medication she takes. My friend heard of the chiropracter at the Nutrition 2 health food store in Danville, KY. Perhaps you could contact them too.

I have an 11mo old and we are experiencing the same thing. He has had an ear infection for 3 months on and off. Since we had tubes he is eating better but he is still not on track and has actually lost weight. Our ped told me to RELAX! No one likes to eat when they don't feel good. Unfortunately my son was sick for so long it's like starting over with the baby food so it has been tough but otherwise not a big deal. See your ped to take care of the stuffy nose and your problem will take care of itself.

That's ok if your baby does not want to eat as before but don't force baby. When baby gets over that cold he will let you know he wants more food. When my baby has the cold I crush 500mg of vitamin c in his milk and give him lots of sunshine and that prevents him from getting the cold or fever.

take him to the dr., did you change the milk?

I would have his swallow study repeated to see if aspiration has decreased. It is possible that he may need to have reflux med dosages increased due to weight gain.

It is not uncommon for anyone to eat less when they have a cold. If your son is having a difficult time breathing while taking a bottle, you could use the bulb syringe to suck his nose out before he eats. This would clear out his nasal airways and allow him to breathe more easily. If he is eating less at a time, you could just try feeding him more often. As long as he is gaining weight, he is eating enough. You could try weighing him to make sure he isn't loosing weight. You would need a scale that measures in ounces. My husband uses his fishing scales. He weighs our son in his carseat and then weighs the carseat by itslef and we subtract to get our son's weight. HOpe he gets to feeling better soon!

B.,
At this stage, don't worry about it at all. As my pediatrician told me when I had the same worry for my then 7-month-old daughter, "I haven't seem a baby starve themselves to death yet." Truly, your son's appetite will pick up again when all of his symptoms have gone away. Keep in mind that milk or formula will thicken the secretions produced by his cold in his throat and make it harder/stickier for your son to swallow it. Doesn't sound like he's getting dehydrated which would be your real concern, so give him another week to get back to normal. Good luck!

It would not be a bad idea to go ahead and get him back in to see the dr. He probably just doesn't want to eat due to all the mucus. Even if it is not in his nose if it is in his throat it is going to change the way his food tastes and he won't eat as much. Just think...when you are sick with a lot of mucus doesn't your appetite decrease? Since it has left his nose but you can still hear it then you need to make sure it is not working its way to his chest.

B., My son was the same way , except he could only keep down an ounce or two!I felt so useless. I tell you what I should of done is breastfeed, he would of not had any problems if i did. But he grew out of it about 7-8 months. Then he would not eat hardly anything. He is now 21 and 5'6'' and about 155 lbs. But when he was growing up I had to make him eat. He sure remembers that! Make sure he gets plenty of calcium, like broccli, beans, whole grains,and natural foods. Try to stay away from refined and processed foods like bologna,mac and ch.any type of boxed stuff. Try to make your own wholesome foods. Stay away from msg's which is in alot of foods.

My youngest is 6 months old and she also just slowed her feedings down alot. She doesnt have a cold or anything but she is teething. All of my kids slwoed down there feedins when they were teething. That might be the problem with your baby as well. But generally as long as they arent losing weight and arent denying foood totally itll be ok.

I would check with the doctor, if your son has reflux and you say he has a cold (you hear it) but no runny nose. Please check with your doctor to make sure that he is not getting the liquid in his lungs.

The last time my little boy had a cold he ended up with an ear infection. He did not get the ear infection until his cold was pretty much over and the only reason I took him to the doctor is because he did not want to eat,that was the only sign I had to know something was wrong. The pediatrician told me that ear infections usually occur after the cold. I hope this helps and good luck.

He will be okay. I have a cold now and no runny nose but it feels like something is there. But there is drainage in my my throat area and it doesn't make your stomach feel like eating a lot. He is eating some though so he is getting nutrition.

Hi B.. I am a mother of a 9 month old as well as a feeding therapist. A few things stand out to me with your question. If you have cut back on the amount you are thickening your sons bottle, he may not be eating as much because his reflux is flaring up. Lots of MD.s start to tell you to start decreasing this and meds because they should be fine by now however I have found the opposite with my son as well as through my job. Kids taken off reflux treatment too early have a tendency to become picky eaters becaus of the negative association they get from eating and refux. I see quite a bit of these types of kids in the clinic. Your son could also be refluxing which is then entering his lungs or even ears and resulting in congestion. Of course with this time of year a cold is not uncommon anyways, however if the change in thickening came first you may want to return to previous amounts. With a cold though it is VERY common to see a decrease in the amount they eat because it's challenging to breathe and coordinate continuous sucking. Good luck. I hope this helps.

If you're using cow's milk check into allergies. Not saying that's the cause but I know for myself and my kids cow's milk makes us all have mucus issues. It's really common and overlooked. If you do decide to move away from cow's milk be sure and do the research as things change all the time. Apparently soy is only good for us when prepared a particular way. There's also rice milk, almond milk...not sure about the lactose free milks...lots to look into.
I'm sure the cold and appetite loss have a connection.
It's tougher to coax a 6 month old into eating when their diet is so limited. My youngest loved sweet potatoes and rice cereal mixed together. I used milk to mix the cereal and get another ounce or two in. It is quite common to hear that rattling mucus sound while they eat, particularly if dairy in the diet.
I wouldn't worry too much so long as he seems to keep improving gradually. Follow up with your doctor but don't let them fret you too much with numbers, unless of course your baby is underweight or has health issues. That's a totally different situation. Good luck to you!