My son has a cold and won't eat his formula.

Question

He is 8 1/2 months old and for about a week now I thought he was getting sick because he wasn't eating his formula. He would only eat about 16 ounces a day, and I was told that he should be eating up to 30 ounces a day. Now he has a runny nose and is very cranky, so I think he is getting a cold, and has only eaten 8 ounces all day, and this would be from 8 this morning until 8 tonight. He has eaten some baby food though he has had no problem with that. I was wondering if it is bad for him not to have enough formula, but still eating baby foods on top of him being sick.

Answer 1

M M T is right. Also sucking on the bottle means he has to breathe though his nose and if it's clogged then he can't breathe. My daughter did the same thing when she was a baby.

Try some saline solution. You can buy it anywhere and it will clear his nasel passages.

Answer 2

if hes sick he can eat soup but more liquid than anything nothing should happen to him its because hes sick that he doesnt want to drink his formula

Answer 3

Taking a bottle is going to be difficult for him at this time.  His nose is probably stuffed up and that makes it difficult to breathe.  If he is eating regular foods that is a good sign, offer him soup as well as water/juice and of course formula.  You might also try the link below for the saline "recipe" for stuffy noses.  

Answer 4

Could be that he's really congested and sucking on the bottle makes his ears hurt.  That's usually one of the first signs of an ear infection....so an appointment with the doc might not be a bad idea to check the ears.

Answer 5

Sorry, i know how hard it is to have a sick baby, but don't worry.  Its not the end of the world if he doesn't want his bottle.  He's probably not drinking because he cant breathe.  As long as he's still peeing (shows he's not dehydrated) and eating baby food, he's fine.  Don't worry.  Offer it to him still but don't force it.  You could also try to use a bulbe syringe in his nose to suck out the congestion, they hate it when you do it but they really do help.  Hang in there!

Answer 6

This is not right there is a definite problem the baby needs alot more than 8 onces you need to seek medical help immediately . if i was you i would not wait for doctors office to open i would take him immediately to a emergency room so they can get fluids in the baby by a iv hope everythings ok hang in there but do the right thing and take him or her to the hospital