Teething nursing strike almost 5 month old - to pump or ?

[@llli*hawthorne]

hi, my nearly 5 month old has cut his first tooth in the last week. he has had a low grade fever (99.1-99.6) during the day for the last five days. and has hardly nursed during the day. three sessions - wake up session at 8ish, then 5 or 6pm and at bed around 9pm. usually he nurses every two or so hours or whenever he wants. granted he is also super distracted during the day so nursing has been less frequent. he hasn't really been napping during the day either. but does nurse often during the night. not sure how often, i just try to make sure to wake up and let him nurse as much as he wants at night (cosleep.

so do i pump? how often? i have pumped to comfort after 8 hours without nursing.

do i try to give the babe milk via syringe or cup (he doesn't take a bottle)?
i am worried about dehydration with his little fever and lack of fluids.

he did just nurse a ton but then spit up four huge amounts in five minutes. i also pumped on one side cause i don't think it had been emptied for 10 hours or who knows!? i kind of let things play out as baby wants so i usually don't keep track of things. although yesterday i did count his wets and he had 6 and 2 big poops. he has been in good spirits generally - smiles and giggles. tries to gnaw on everything!

thanks!!

[@llli*mommal]

I think you're on the right track with counting diapers and allowing unrestricted nursing at night. As long as you let him nurse all night and you see the minimum number of wets in a 24 hour period, I think you're okay without syringes or cups or whatever. If this continues, I do think you might want to pump every few hours during the day, just to maintain production for when your LO decides to nurse more. I also think you might want to try nursing him in a low distraction environment, like a darkened bedroom. 5 month olds are notoriously distractible!

If the fever continues more than another day or so, I'd take him in to the doc. An ear infection or sore throat could explain the behavior you're seeing, and I know my pediatrician says to bring kids in if you have 3 consecutive days of fever. Even if it's low grade.

[@llli*hawthorne]

thanks mommal! i went to the pediatrician today. she said that, haha, the baby is bored! actually she said he is doing very well and that none of this behavior surprises her. this is not his usual doc.
i think distraction is a part of the nursing breaks and maybe teething too.
thank you for the advice!!