Baby with Phlegm, Won't Drink Water, Burps up Food...

I don't have any suggestions for the coughed up phlegm, but I would suggest getting one of the Nosefrida snotsuckers (I know, great name...but they work GREAT!). I have one and have used it since my daughter was about 6m old, though they work well for newborns also. At 2 years old she now doesn't even fight me on it because she knows it helps her nose feel better. I found getting rid of as much snot as possible from her sinuses/nose really helps keep it out of the throat and lungs. Here is a link, though you can also get them online from Target.com just put in "nosefrida" in the search.
http://www.nosefrida.com/

These work so much better than the bulb syringes that I wish they would give them to every new mother.

Have you tried watering down the Pedialyte? Once I'm not worried about dehydration (or in our case keeping blood sugar high enough) I start adding water to the pedialyte. It gets my daughter to drink much more without the added sugar and salt. We've also had great luck with Pedialyte freeze pops.

He'll absolutely hate it, but you could try rinsing his sinuses with saline to cut down on the post-nasal drip and hopefully the gagging. I'm sure you already know, but a humidifier in the room can really help thin the secretions, too.

Oh, and I hear you on the fruit juice front. I can't have more than a couple of teaspoons of apple juice or it makes me sick. I can't believe how often it is used as a "filler" for other juices.

The easiest and best solve for him is probably to increase how much you're nursing him. Your supply will increase if you increase how often he nurses. Since he's had a cold, the immunities in your milk will also help his little body recover and help him get over it sooner. You may have been told that you can't increase your supply at his age, but you absolutely can. I had to do it with my daughter and it wasn't any more work than at any other age. It's much easier than changing everyone's clothing all day! :)

So, how to do it: nurse often! Every time that you're currently trying to get him to drink something, give him your breast instead. He'll get some milk each time probably and within a day (maybe 2?), your supply will be up. Offer both breasts every time you nurse. Consume galactagogues: tapioca, oatmeal, fenugreek, blessed thistle, brewer's yeast, More Milk or Mother's Milk tea, etc.

I would go get a second opinion. Something does not sound right. Follow your gut inxtinct. You know him better than anyone.

L.,

I would suggest that maybe you cut back on some of the kinds of solids and try re-introducing them to see if one of them is part of the cause of his spitting up. My son only turned away the meats when he was starting out while I couldn't feed him fast enough of the rest. He loved sweet potatoes but he would spit them up every time (the only thing he ever spit up). I found that if they were mixed into anything, he would spit up.
I would wonder if some of the fillers might be part of your son's root cause as well.
We never had a big issue with sinus drainage while he was small but have discovered as he has gotten older that he is allergic to dust mites - which are everywhere.
I bought one of those "Little Noses" saline packs with the sucker bulb and we sit down with our "special water" and spray just a small amount several nights a week now and laugh as we "suck out those boogies so we can breathe better".
Your son is still a little small but if you sit him up, rather than lay him down where so much of the saline won't go down his throat, you might be able to make a game out of it as well. I started by sucking it on his hands and cheeks so he knew what we were doing.
Worth a shot.
And you can always help to hydrate him with the increase in your milk supply. Fenugreek was recommended to me and I had some increase with it but have heard of others who had a major increase. Just nursing more often, and me drinking more water, helped the most.
Good luck and I hope your little guy feels better soon.
T.

First off...you took him to a pedi (a sub at that) so if you had taken your child to a naturopath, you would have found out that the child might have developed a different allergy...and get more answers of what you can do...their digestive tracts are constantly changing at these tiny stages of life. wheat if first to mind...and you can take out the dairy from the diet and it should help a little more...if you haven't already done this...wow, there are also homeopathic remedies that you can use to dry the phlegm up a bit too...check into it more with a herbologist...

Water sometimes gags a baby,no real weight to it. So try sucrose water, sugar water. My Mom gave my brother karo syrup water, a small amount of Karo syrup in a bottle mixed with warm water. They liked the taste and it kept them hydrated. I used the sucrose water from the hospitals for my babies as they were breastfed, but summer heat would pose problems with their hydration. You might try jello water as well, mixing jello with water more than what's required for it to set up. Not knowing what is causing all your son's allergies, there is a possibility that his digestion problems are due to unknown allergies. I wish you well.

The best things I have found to get rid of phlegm for babies are baby vaporrub, taking them in a steamy room (bathroom while the shower is running), and saline nose spray and the nose sucker bulb. It takes some work but by using these things we were generally able to control our sons cold symptoms. Good luck!

Wow, L., what a tough time. I don't know of any offhand suggestions, other than to ask if you have worked with a naturopath. They are often very gifted at getting the "whole picture" of a person's health, and might have some ideas in regard to natural remedies. I, as well as several friends, have had very good results with this form of alternative care, and there are many NDs that specialize in pediatric/well-women's health. I hope that you find some resolution....I used to care for a child who had similar symptoms, but only when she cried....she'd throw up every time. It was very hard on everyone. So sorry.