Poor Gavin picked up a sniffle recently.  Having a stuffy nose, my MIL assumed he would reject the breast so she suggested I feed him more solids - I think she is still afraid he will waste away.  It is understandable that some babies might reject breastfeeding when they are ill because a blocked nose makes it hard to suckle, additionally, most people generally lose their appetite when they aren’t well.  Ironically, I have noticed that although Gavin displays less enthusiasm for eating his solid meals (he eats only a quarter of what he could eat on a good day), he still takes to the breast like a fish to water.

At this point, rather than feed Gavin more solids, since he is still willing to breastfeed, I believe we should continue encouraging him to take more breastmilk because:

• he has just starting taking solids so his current repertoire of foods are insufficient to provide him the full compliment of nutrients for healthy living
• solid feeding at this point is more for taste rather than nourishment, babies still need their milk to provide them with the nutrients they need for a complete diet
• I have the same germs so my body makes antibodies which are passed to him through the breastmilk

I guess Gavin still has the right idea preferring his breastmilk to his solids…

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