Fussiness and breast rejection - help

DS is 5 and a half months, just cut his first tooth, so it goes without saying he's been a bit out of sorts - but really not that bad at all. I'm not sure whether the teething is related to this...

All day he has given me strong hunger cues and every time I pick him up he tries to latch on to whatever is closest to his mouth, so I sit down in our usual nice and quiet, relatively distraction free spot and offer him boob and he doesn't even try to latch on, just screeches and clamps down, which friggen hurts! I don't know why he's doing this? Fontanelle is very sunken, dry lips and its 35 degrees here today. Not sure what to do really..

Sucking on a cold face washer can help soothe sore mouths, and then baby might be more keen to feed.

Otherwise (my fall back plan) jump in the bath with bub and both of you relax and you might find baby will have a feed after awhile.

Love the bath idea - do you feed while still in the tub?

No ideas to help with the feeding, but is be going to the doc or hosp if he doesn't start feeding soon. He sounds dehydrated.

How worrying for you!
What is his nappy output like? Has he fed at all today?
If you suspect dehydration or some other illness, then I would get him to a doctor or hospital, as chody suggests.

How is he now? Sorry i missed the possible dehydration part of your post. I agree with the others get him checked out if you are worried.

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Love the bath idea - do you feed while still in the tub?

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Yep, jumping in the bath with baby and feeding him while we are both still in there has saved me many a time with both kids. Great if they are refusing feeds, or sleep or just out of sorts.

Oh how worrying for you, as MadB said. I found during DD's three odd months of fussy feeding that taking my top and bra off around feed/hungry time really helped so DD could sort of accidentally latch on herself without being 'put on' so to speak. But in the heat your bubba may have been beyond latching properly if he was over-tired and/or dehydrated.

LN, how's he going? :hug: Hope you found something to help get him back and feeding, or you have sorted something out anyway...?

we sit topless on the couch and cuddle, I put the TV on and relax, and find theyll snack while we cuddle

Hoti, the bath worked, so thank you for that suggestion!

His nappies have been wet but not like usual so yes I was getting concerned. Anyways, he's feeding now, a huge guzzle, making up for the minimal drinks he had today!

Oh and I'm topless all day lol, its hot. Plus so much easier to feed.

Wow I'm going to try this bath thing. It sounds relaxing and sweet. My newborn loves a bath but I have to keep them short as my back gets so sore from the awkward angle.

That sounds great LN. Have a lovely topless day, lol.

LN when DD was fussy I also used to find she would have a few days of crazy fussiness and I'd start to feel really anxious, then she would have one, sometimes two days like you described- feeding really well. So try not to focus too much on the individual day but rather the pattern across days.