8-month-old now very fussy, refusing bottle (still nursing OK)

[ProtoLawyer]

What's going on? Our formerly mellow baby has become VERY fussy this past week, both for me and for his dad. He's OK in public, oddly, but at home, he cries, hard. It doesn't seem to be separation anxiety, because he'll cry in arms (mine unless he's nursing, and my husband's). He got over a cold last week, but doesn't appear to have anything lingering from that--he's not pulling on his ears or chewing his hands or anything. He's sleeping decently other than the reverse cycling.

He's been refusing the bottle during the day (I WOH and this has not been a problem until now) and reverse-cycling (nursing a TON), but he's still pretty clearly hungry. He'll gum but won't really eat solid pieces, and is more interested in the spoon than what's on it.

He's been teething for months but doesn't have any actual teeth--are 12 trying to pop out at once or something? Something else up?

Thanks!

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

We are dealing with something similar here, but DD will take pretty much any item of food that she is offered, so we have increased her solid intake during the day. When I am home, she nurses lots and lots, but she has no interest in the bottle at all.  She is gaining weight, she's healthy, and mostly happy - so as far as I'm concerned, I think it's either a phase related to developmental stuff or she's just done with the bottle altogether. We have started offering milk in a sippy and she has been more willing to take it. Even so - she mostly just nurses all night long. It sounds like your LO is going through some of the same stuff - developmental/teething stuff has a profound impact on all aspects of DD's life. Good luck!

[ProtoLawyer]

Thanks. He's not particularly happy right now. I'd be more worried about him being sick (ear infection? reflux?) if it kept him up at night, but it doesn't. I have read that some babies can sleep just fine through teething but not through other pain. He wakes, feeds, goes back to sleep. (We co-sleep.) I will call the doctor if this keeps up and teeth don't come in. (I've got a good family doc who won't rush to medicalize everything.)

I'm also wondering if some of it's frustration--he wants so badly to be mobile but he's not quite there yet. He's a big boy, but VERY top heavy (tall, getting leaner, head circumference at the 99th percentile) and it's taking him longer to figure out rolling (he can do it, but not often) and crawling (he scoots backwards and gets angry that he can't go forward).

He didn't eat anything new before this started (he grabbed and ate some barbecued pork a couple of nights ago, but we were well into this already)--nor have I--so I don't think there's an intolerance. He's pooping a few times a day, varying consistency (some look more like BF poops, some look more like solid poops), and wetting as usual, no rashes.