what to feed unwell baby?

bub got feverish over the weekend and doc reckons it's mostly likely gastric flu.


he is going to be pretty miserable the next few days. just wondering what should i feed him during these few days. his throat is sore so he is not interested in his solids at all but he is drinking lots of water. the only solid food he seems ok with are bananas but can't possibly feed that for every meal.


thinking of making chicken soup because he seems to prefer liquids to solids now that he is ill. any other ideas? thanks!

Hi Wheelymate,


Hope your little one gets well soon. It's horrible when they're ill.


I just hope he hasn't got what my LO had. He's not throwing up I gather which is a good thing. When my LO was ill with a cold etc, he only wanted to drink milk - not interested in foods, except perhaps milky soft cereals. Anything lumpy he would choke, cough and promptly throw everything up.


When my LO had gastroenteritis, we took him off milk. However, as yours isn't throwing up, maybe milk wil be ok for him? We also fed him bananas (great for the diarrhea which he had), toast, and lots of apple juice (1/2 and 1/2 diluted with water).


Other things he would nibble on - cheerios (dry)/biscuits and he would also eat some of those Organix fruit pots. How about yoghurt? Maybe congee with cheese and egg? I know with our little one it was a constant challenge to find him non-dairy food for about 10 days, but if your little is ok on dairy then just give him what he wants.


I remember someone telling me, we don't always have to go to bed full, and yet can still sleep through the night - therefore, so can babies. Also, when we're sick, we're not hungry, so babies are probably feeling the same as well.


It is hard and it is horrible - hope he gets well soon. Good Luck!

Mine tried to eat. Gave her all her favourites but threw up. I then tried glucose water, chicken soup, diluted apple juice (fresh) and she wanted none. Took maybe a spoonful of white rice. Refused milk. I was soooo worried because she wasn't eating. Loved water but still threw up. I even tried to give her the water from her congee but didn't work. If yours would take bananas, that's excellent. But after a few days of not wanting anything, she ate heaps to make up for it.


It's horrible when babies are sick, I agree with squiggles and it gets us so worried when they refuse everything but they do make up for it.... after a few days (mine can go up to 3-4 days without 'proper' food but I couldn't get her to open her mouth).

hi mums,


thanks for the advice.


this non-eating thing tells me he must be feeling pretty rough because he is a pretty good eater and usually has 3 good solid meals per day.


for dinner at 5pm today, he must have been hungry from not eating earlier so he did managed to have some of his usual dinner. but i stopped as soon as he looked like he had enough as i did not want him to throw up. he did it once this morning after his morning milk. no diarrhea though, thank goodness. doctor says i can still feed him the same stuff and milk too, but for milk feeds to go for either half strength or frequent small feeds to make things more digestible.


i have made a batch of very watery chicken stew puree for tomorrow, hopefully he will take that. if not, he will have to eat bananas again! i think when kid is ill, we just feed them anything they want, right?

I would defo feed the LO what he wants with the exception of milk when they're vomiting. During the time mine was ill, he was crying like mad for his milk but it was making him throw up 1-2 hrs later so we really had to stop it. It was horrible. Instead we gave him clear liquids. If your little one starts to throw up more, even if your doc says it's ok to keep feeding milk etc, I would stop it. My doc had advised me the same initially - so I would give him milk, and hey presto, 1-2 hrs later (generally as soon as he would wake up from his nap) he would throw it up. Then as soon as we stopped the milk, the vomiting stopped! So, the second time he had a tummy bug, the milk went straight away....

Doctors get really worried with the throwing up - the diarrhea doesn't worry them as much as the throwing up, so as soon as you can stop that, it goes a long way to stop them getting admitted to hospital!


Glad your little one ate something last night. How did he sleep? How is he this morning?

hi squiggles,


we sneaked into his room at 11pm last night to feed him his meds as we were told that you wouldn't want the fever to rise during the night. he slept well until 5-6am this morning - we went in and he looked mserable and was pretty warm. i think tonight i might actually do his meds during the night (like 2am or something) so that he can sleep better and not wake up warm and feverish.


for brekkie, he actually drank most of his milk and had a few teaspoons of very diluted cereal and some bananas. but he was really tired so i had to pack him off to his nap quite early and i'll let him sleep longer. he usually naps about 30-45mins in the morning or else he won't sleep as much after lunchtime but i think when you are sick, you probably need more sleep!


i really really hope we don't have go to the hospital. as it is, i have cancelled all playdates for the week and i don't plan to go any further than a walk around the block.


milk: he is still ok with it (touchwood) but if he starts puking, i will have to give half strength or small frequent feeds. i think when you are ill, it is difficult to digest milk. but right now, i'll just give him anything he wants!

Hi Wheelymate,


Sounds like your little one is doing ok. We had to take our to hospital because he was getting dehydrated (vomiting constantly and diarrhea). Hopefully you will escape that! Let him sleep. My LO slept alot too when he was ill, and he just couldn't be bothered to play too much either. I just keep thinking about what I would be like if I was ill so I would 'know' how he feels - lots of sleep, not much food would be my reponse.

You're right on cancellign stuff - he won't enjoy it, and other mothers won't thank you either if their one falls ill!!

I do feel for you - I have discovered that I never knew the meaning of the word 'worry' until now!

Hope he gets better soon!