Taking care and raising a baby is no child’s play and one of the most difficult things is to understand what your baby is really trying hard to tell you. Since your baby can’t talk, as parents it is normal to be confused about what to do if he cries or refuses to sleep. Feeding is another big question mark when it comes to babies. How much to feed and what to feed your little one can often have you running around in circles. As an adult, we are used to a fixed routine when it comes to meals and food choices. This is not the case for babies. Babies work on instinct when it comes to how much and when they eat. The general rule of thumb is that when your baby is hungry – he will eat. Trying to force-feed him or withholding food from him until its lunch or dinnertime will get you nowhere. If your baby is not eating, it is another cause for concern. There are several reasons for a loss of appetite in babies. It could be something as simple as teething. If you have a seven or ten month old who is suddenly not eating as much as he used to or is unusually fussy at mealtimes, the reason more often than not is that he is teething.
If you have ruled out teething as a cause for the loss of appetite in your baby, there are other possible reasons. For example, if you have recently introduced solids into your baby’s diet, he may take some time to get used to chewing his food and protest by not eating. Other causes for a loss of appetite in your baby include:
An easy tip to deal with loss of appetite in babies is to try to make the food more palatable. Try adding a little honey as a natural sweetener to his baby food or mix a tiny amount of ginger with honey in his food to stimulate his appetite. It is important that you inform your doctor in case the condition prolongs for a long time. It sometimes helps to cook aromatic foods as this can induce a hunger reflex.