My 10 month old got a really bad cough and ear infection wherein he vomited for a week every time he coughed. During this time, he did not want to breastfeed at all and would only drink few ounces of milk to his normal 8 oz. Now, he doesn't have his cough anymore but he has refused the breast. For the bottle, he would gag when he doesn't want to drink anymore and this is only after 2 oz. He has lost 1.5 lbs already. What do we do? Do we switch to sippy cup? Now, we have started to just spoon feed him the milk.
UPDATE: It turns out he still gags but he won't finish his whole bottle with me. His nanny who has been giving him his bottle since birth can make him finish it. I was breastfeeding him before and because he stopped breastfeeding I have been trying to give him his bottle. I feed him his morning and evening bottle. He will not take the whole bottle from me. He struggles to finish the whole bottle with me. This is so frustrating!
It will take a few days of NOT being sick before baby/child stops associating eating with vomiting. Continue offering the breast FIRST and often, he will definitely come back to breastfeeding. He may still have some pain from the ear infection too, which makes any sort of sucking hurt.
It sounds like the cough/gag reflex is extremely sensitive right now and getting fluids too fast in his throat is freaking him out. I don't blame him, it sounds awful! A sippy cup would probably be worse, as that fluid comes out even faster. Maybe you need to keep spoon feeding him until he gets past it. Keep offering the breast and the bottle, I imagine he'll find his way back.
If we are talking about milk, being breatmilk only, then I would give him PB8 to settle his stomach and he'll be back on the breast. Open the capsule and dump 1/4 of the capsule into his mouth before each feeding. It sounds like his tummy is upset, maybe some leftover bacterial growth than can be cleared out, often with a GOOD probiotic like PB8.
I find that ear infections are related to candida overgrowth, so I use PB8, vitamin A&D together, as well as Herbs for Kids Echinacea/Goldenroot drops. That's why giving a child/baby antibiotics increases the risk of ANOTHER ear infection by 33%, according to medical research.
You may want to consider stopping dairy and sugar, if you are eating that...and maybe start the PB8 yourself.
The ONLY time my oldest got an ear infection was when we allowed yogurt and some cheese. Generally, kids who don't eat dairy or sugar never have ear infections. My kids do neither and are NEVER sick. I think 3 years ago, my oldest got a slight runny nose for 2 days and that was it. Other than that, they've really never been sick. we've never given our 3 younger ones yogurt or really another other dairy, but the occasional cheese.
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I would contact your pediatrician to see what they would recommend to be sure he's not dehydrated. If he is you may need to bring him to get some IV fluids and see where to go from there. 1.5 lbs is quite a bit for a baby in a week. Best of luck to you.
I agree with Kate B. Don't give him a sippy cup. Keep offering him to nurse and feed him with a spoon when needed. Poor baby!
goat milk. My daughter had asthma, hospitalized for pnemonia, ear infections & tummy troubles. She is now 5 and we finally, took her off dairy and she is weathering colds etc. much better. she didn't test positive for dairy allergies, but we feel it was a big culprit of her ill health as a baby.
