My DS Won't Eat

Updated on February 02, 2009
K.R. asks from APO, AE
9 answers

My son is 9 months and won't hardly eat. He will take in about 15 MAYBE 20 ounces of formula in a 24 hour period and he might pick at cheerios or some other solid food we put on his tray. After a bite of his solids he will pack his mouth with whatever it is we give to him and hold it in for about 30 minutes before spitting it all out. Also, he gets very fussy if we don't hold him. We have to be standing, not sitting and if we put him down he just cries and stands up and grabs our pants until my husband or I pick him up. We've tried ignoring him but that doesn't work. My son cries even more. I can get him to drink a little bit of water if it's from a cup or waterbottle or through a straw but he won't use his sippy yet and he won't take it from a bottle. He has had diarrhea for a little over a week. That might be the problem but I want to see him eat SOMETHING. We think he might be teething but the doctor says he can't feel anything under the gums (he has 8 teeth already). I'm at the end of my rope trying to get him to eat. If you have any ideas please let me know. Thanks in advance!!

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So What Happened?

My son woke up with a temp of 103 this morning so we gave him a little bit of tylenol, put him in a cool shower with daddy and took him to the ER. Two hours after the tylenol they recorded his temp at 100.6 and said he just has a bug. The doc said to continue giving him lots of fluids, less formula, and tylenol as needed to keep the fever down. He also said the diarrhea will work itself out eventually and may last longer than just a week. I will keep all of you posted and thank you for the wonderful advice!

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M.S.

answers from Omaha on

HI

Try taking some of the Orajel and just spred it all over the gums. Just because you can not feel teeth dose not mean that they are not in the gums moving other teeth around. My 15 week old has teeth moving around all the time. We started using the Orajel all over the gums (not just over the teeth that we could feel) and she is doing a lot better.

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A.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

My baby went through a period of time at about 9 months where she wouldn't eat hardly any solid foods, and she stopped taking bottles completely. She nursed, but she wouldn't take a bottle when I was gone. She grew out of it after a few weeks, I think it was just because she didn't need it at the time. She wasn't growing. Babies know when they want to eat, and when they don't. But the most important thing is not to force him, and to make mealtimes enjoyable or else he will refuse to eat just because he dreads it.

The diarrhea is another issue. Your doctor is right, he needs to be drinking, and whatever you can get him to drink is good. Even if he will only drink water out of a waterbottle with a straw let him do it. My daughter really likes the sippy cups that have a straw on them. It is easier for her to get the water out of it, so you could try that. They have them everywhere, Target, Walmart, Babies R Us... also, he is probably clingy and fussy because his tummy hurts. Whenever my baby is sick she gets like that. The diarrhea could be due to teething, but that doesn't change the fact that it will dehydrate him. Also, fevers are EXTREMELY dehydrating, so if he doesn't start taking in more liquids, take him to the Pediatrician on Monday to make sure he isn't getting too dehydrated. Pedialyte is a great idea if things don't get better today.

I really hope your little one gets better. But i'm sure the eating will work itself out. He is only 9 months old, and he doesn't necessarily need all that much solid food. He will eat more when he is ready. Good luck!

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J.F.

answers from Rochester on

I love the advice Cassandra gave you. The only thing I can add is that my kids (and many of my friends/their children) have had a stomach bug for the last few weeks where either one has a fever, low appetite, stomach upset, diarrhea, etc. It's been different for all of us, there doesn't seem to be a "normal symptom", just a general "ick" feeling.

I agree it might be teething (all three of my children have acted like this when getting their first molars/incisors), but if it's not, try to give him things like lightly-salted crackers or things of that sort to make him thirsty so he'll take his sippy cup. Another thing I think of is, if he won't take his sippy (which he himself controls) he may be wanting comfort from having you hold his cup/straw/water bottle. From what you've said, I don't see this as a behavior for attention, but more of a "Mommy, I'm sick, I need a hug" feeling.

As far as his appetite, children will never starve themselves. My son was notorious at that age for holding food in his mouth at dinner time, just to spit it out later. It drove me NUTS! I was so worried he wasn't getting what he needed. Our pediatrician pointed out that their little tummies just aren't on our adult schedule. :) As long as he's not running a fever, and is at least getting some fluids in him, I wouldn't worry too much.

I hope he's feeling better soon! :)

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D.J.

answers from Des Moines on

The diarreah should tell you that his little tummy is upset. He is eating enough probably to sustain him. If the diarreah continues, take him back to the doctor maybe he has a bacterial infection that is causing a prolonged case. Try offering him some yogurt. There are wonderful types of baby yogurt out there. Try the BRAT diet, banana, rice, applesauce,toast. Just hang in there. If you feel that he may be losing weight, take him to doctor and ask that they do a stool sample. A friend of mine had her son in a hospital for 4 days with crypto and something like that really takes a toll on their tiny bodies.

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N.C.

answers from Duluth on

Your son's biggest problem in the diarrhea. Have you told his pediatrician about the problem? That is a good first step. In the meantime, you must insure that he does not get dehydrated. Pedialyte is very good for this, IF you can get him to drink it. Do not give him milk products. I'm old school, so if you cannot get him to drink Pedialyte, soften the water with sugar and see if he will drink that. See if he will eat soda crackers or dry toast. Let his pediatrician know what is going on, above all else.

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C.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

What did the doctor say about the diarrhea? Whatever else is going on with your son, he has to be dehydrated due to low liquid intake AND diarrhea. Diarrhea for an entire week for an infant is nothing to brush off. Will he drink Pedialite? Look into giving him probiotics and/or yogurt or kefir with *live active cultures* to help replenish the "good" bacteria his digestive track is losing due to the diarrhea. If he can get rehydrated, his appetite may very well pick up. I was once so dehydrated I had to have fluids through an I.V.

Now about the diarrhea, have any new foods/drinks been introduced in the last couple of weeks? Any change to his schedule? His environment?

Just in case this might all be due to teething, I would recommend Hyland's Teething Tablets. You can get them at Walgreen's, co-ops, and Whole Foods.

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E.I.

answers from Duluth on

worry less about the amount of food or formula hes having, and more about his general health. besides the separation anxiety, is he acting normally otherwise? is he active as he used to be, is he learning new things, is he excited about playing or the things hes usually excited about? if he has had a sudden drastic change in personality, i would take him into the doctor just to be sure there isnt a food allergy, illness, or something like that...
so dont worry about how MUCH he eats, this is probably temporary, and he will start chowing down again soon.
one thing you can make sure of is to give him very nutritious things when he does eat; fruits vegetables, whole grains. cheerios is good. pieces of fruit are VERY interesting to babies as they taste REALLY good. so thats a good idea.
good luck.

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A.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

see if your dr. will refer you to the children's hospital feeding clinic for an evaluation and possibly some therapy to get him to eat. It helped us out tremendously.

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C.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

If his growth is fine, I would say stop worrying and he will eat when he is hungry. Just make his food count. If he is little, avocados and black olives have fat. And I would give him one piece at a time until he will eat one piece and actually swallow it.

However, if this is all new, and he has diarrhea, could he be sick? As I read this again I thought maybe either it hurts to swallow or his tummy hurts. I would chat with the doctor. If you don't trust your doc, find a new one.

If he isn't sick you might have one who eats for a few days and then doesn't. I don't know many kids who don't go on some kind of feeding strikes at some point. Some kids have more extreme phases than others.

Good luck!

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