Teething babies who refuse to eat, this is my son. He is teething and is often refusing his bottle. Even refusing to eat his normal foods he likes! Of course, as a mom this is upsetting, as I don’t want him to go hungry. He just seems to want nothing, even me.
I was glad to see I wasn’t alone when one of our mom readers contacted us about the very same thing. She wrote to us concerned that her 4.5-month-old little one is refusing to take a bottle now when teething. She is mostly breastfed but takes a bottle at night sometimes or when with other family members. Is this normal? Is it a phase?
Related: Help! My Teething Infant Stopped Feeding Himself!
Teething Babies Who Refuse to Eat: What Do You Do?
Can you imagine something as hard as teeth, pushing and poking their way through your gums? I might not want to put anything in my mouth either! But the boy has to eat right?
When he refuses his bottles and other foods, it is my first clue he is teething. Instead of getting frustrated (which is super easy to do!) I am just there for him and follow his lead. I give him small amounts at a time. Does he push it away at times? Yes, but I know he is hungry, so (please don’t judge) I fight with him for a minute, me trying to put the bottle in his mouth, and him pushing it away. It takes him a minute, but he eventually realizes that he needs to eat, and he will feel a little bit better.
What is a breastfeeding mom to do? It is not a secret that breastfeeding, whether actually eating or not, is comforting to your little one. If you breastfeed and bottle feed, while he is teething, you might want to just stick to the breast for a few days. Of course, it is always nice to be able to pass off the cranky tot to someone else for a few, but you are a mom, and he wants mom. You actually have one up on me if you breastfeed because we never did that! I can’t soothe my son, in the same way, you can.
Whether you breastfeed or formula feed, your baby is going to eventually have teeth coming in (cringe). My personal suggestion (because I am no expert) is to just surrender to your baby’s needs and crankiness for the time being. He will eat. Rest assured that it is a phase and it will pass. Once the pain passes for him, he will eat like a growing teenager! I can say this because my son just did this, he ate all of his leftovers from the fridge that he refused while uncomfortable.
Every child is different. So just when you think you have experience from going through the teething stage with an older child, your baby will throw you a curveball.
Oh, I hate this stage and remember it well! I think it’s important to remember that it will pass, and to go easy on your baby, as far as not being picky about what he’ll accept and what he won’t. He can be re-trained later :)
My babies all wore amber and hazelwood so we never really had an issue when it came to teething and eating. We were pretty lucky!
I had a child who was really refusing to eat. teething babies can be so hard to handle!
It was really sad when they were hurting too much to eat. I just had to trust that they’d get what they needed when they could.
The teething stage can be so hard! My little one is going through this right now and at this point he is still pretty happy. If he does get cranky I’m willing to do what I can to soothe him because I can’t imagine how bad it feels to actually get a tooth.
When my babies were teeming their eating slowed some, They were breastfed so they’d get some nutrition as they gnawed on mama to soothe their gums.
I am so glad that I never dealt with teething pain. Neither of my kids has had any problems, and both nurse(d) like champions.
Awww! Teething can be so uncomfortable for little babies! I always found a cold washcloth to bring instant relief. These are great tips!
This sounds like some good advice–cool or cold water will numb the area a bit at least.
I am lucky that my daughter’s teething wasn’t too bad. I used to freeze bananas and strawberries and put them in these little teething mesh bags for her to chew on.
Gosh, I always felt so awful for them. I let them take the lead. They’ll let you know what and when they feel like eating. It’s not forever!
I’ve never had children so have not gone through this. What you said does make sense and worth a try.
Sounds like sage advice. It’s been so many years since I’ve had children that small I’ve forgotten exactly how I dealt with the problem.
I am really not looking forward to teething this time around!
That’s good advice — hard to do though!