7 month old baby gets very upset while eating, any ideas?
This question is on behalf of my daughter...
My grandson just turned 7 months old and has recently become very difficult to feed a bottle to.
He is formula fed, and hasn't changed formula or bottles recently.
He cries and arches his back after just a minute or so of feeding.... and keeps it up until the bottle is gone.
It's very upsetting to try to feed him because he is so unhappy.
Has this happened to you with your baby? And do you have any ideas what my daughter could try to do differently?
The pediatrician hasn't been much help... she doesn't seem to think anything is wrong and that it's normal.
I had three children though, and they all seemed very soothed while bottle feeding....
toowit2wu2007-05-02T08:12:31Z
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If your pediatrician has checked him over and he is okay and generally happy in himself, then it may well just be teething. I don't think it sounds like colic.
I had exactly the same situation with my son at 4 months and again last week - he's just short of 6 months now, both times just before his front teeth broke through. I actually took him to see the GP last week I was so worried, he'd refused his feed four times in a row, kicking up a huge fuss everytime the bottle came near him.
My GP compared it to when we feel ill as adults and don't really feel like eating, he suggested we persevere and make sure he took some feed however long it took and not to stress! I found it a lot easier to chill out once I knew he was okay and only teething.
The other thing I would really recommend are bicciepegs, if you can get them. They are a super hard, sugar free biscuit stick for baby to chew on. My son chews on one a few times a day, before feeds and the improvement has been remarkable.
Another possibility is he perhaps he is wanting less milk now if he's weaning and taking most of his calories from solids? My son has cut down from over 40 ounces to around 25 and really upped his solids. It's confusing because it all seems to happens at around the same age! Perhaps it's a combination of these things which is making him react so strongly?
My first thought was to ask if he is eating anything other than a bottle? Has she introduced the sippy cup? My own children both use a sippy during their lunch feeding beginning at the age of 4 months. As soon as they were able to hold it up with some help. They never finished and it was more for the introduction of it mainly.
He may be hungry for something else. Children generally know what they want it is just that sometimes we can't figure it out at first.
Is she using a high chair? Make feeding fun and give him a buffet of food (small portions) and let him choose what he likes to eat. Then introduce different things a little at a time.
You should stick to one new food a week to let his body react, in case he has any allergies to any of the new different foods. I loved feeding time for my children. I put on some jams and had a blast with them. Keep in mine that its not work, but a first experience for him. Take some pictures and treasure the moments. Soon he will know what is about to happen and he'll be wanting and waiting for LUNCH.
It depends on how old your daughter is, but I would mix baby food with yogurt. Both of my kids wouldn't eat certain baby foods but would when I mixed it with the plain/no sugar yogurt. I'm sure she's thinking that the food is what made her throw up so I'd give it some time. One thing for the teething, maybe give her another spoon to hold while you're feeding her. Or a teething ring. Hopefully this will help. Good luck.
Could be: Teething Ear infection Sinus problems (cold, allergies, whatever) Throat soreness Digestive problems (possibly from an allergy to some other food in his diet) Contaminant in the formula (it happens)
Maybe try a cold bottle sometimes babies prefer that when teething. Also consider stopping solids for a few days. And if it is a continuing problem a second opinion wouldn't hurt.
Maybe try a sippy cup? He may just want to feed himself at his leisure. My son is almost 8mo old and has been off of a bottle since he was 7mo because he was getting way too playful and wiggling around when he ate from a bottle. So I bought a sippy cup and he took to it like a pro.
The crying concerns me though, maybe he is teething or has a ear infection? I would push the Dr a bit more or get in to see him. Good luck.