Poor appetite in babies: reasons for what to do

A child is born in the family - long-awaited happiness! Young parents are not informed how to react and act in different situations with a baby. It is important for the mother that the little one is warm, cozy and comfortable, and most importantly, that he is fed and slept soundly. Life in the first 3 months for young parents becomes a test if the child has a poor appetite. When feeding, the baby spits out the breast and does not take more or shows signs of anxiety, becomes lethargic.

Young parents often complain that the child is underweight, has lost appetite, and restless sleep. The baby has anxiety, moods, he often wakes up. Mom puts it to her chest, the situation does not change: she does not eat or does not gorge herself. A pediatrician will help to understand the situation and find a way out.

Causes of poor appetite in breastfed babies

Difficulties arise in weak, premature babies. You need constant sleep, the body requires rest, and in a dream it gains strength. In this situation, young mothers are advised to have a free diet. The child eats on demand, not on schedule. Do not force the baby to eat more than the body requires, offer a sufficient amount of food. Feeding is simple - a spoonful of expressed milk, up to 3 months.

Poor appetite in babies 1-8 months old

An infant, growing up, loses its appetite. Not gaining weight, not active. The parent in a panic measures the temperature, monitors the baby's bowel movements. In the described situation, only a doctor is able to discover the true cause of what is happening. The visit to the clinic should be immediate.

There are a number of known reasons for refusal to eat in children aged 2-8 months:

• Colds. Loss of interest in food appears before symptoms of the disease appear. The child is hungry, but in a dream he can take the breast.
• Diseases in the oral cavity: stomatitis, thrush. Pathology is determined by a white coating on the gums. The mucous membrane is redder, small ulcers are formed. The baby is in pain, he cannot eat. Symptoms require prompt treatment.
• Physical activity is low. Parents should go out with their child more often, give him more movement, massage and gymnastics.
• Painful cramps in the tummy - colic. Symptoms are defined as follows: pulls the legs to the stomach, does not take the breast. Often noted in infants 4-6 months of age. Drops according to a doctor's prescription will help the baby, mommy presses the baby with her tummy to her, soothes. Colic is less common with a diet and a normal breastfeeding regimen.
• Teeth are being cut. Beginning at 5 months, baby teeth erupt in babies. When teething occurs, discomfort appears in the mouth. The kid is naughty, refuses to eat. To relieve discomfort, babies are allowed to gnaw on a teether, the gums are lubricated with a special gel that cools and soothes the inflamed mucosa.

Lactation and Mom's Habits

A small amount of milk in the mother's breast leads to poor appetite. This is due to improper attachment to the breast. Consultation with a medical specialist will help to cope with the difficulty. A young mother should follow a diet, consume a sufficient amount of liquid per day, correctly and often apply the baby first to one breast, then to the other, drink tea with fennel.

Poor appetite in a newborn is associated with a number of situations:

• A lot of milk, the baby is frightened by the sharp splashes and quits to suckle at the breast. Before breastfeeding, you need to express a little milk.
• Cracks or severely flat nipples can also make eating more difficult. Unexpressed nipples cause colic in the baby, he hardly captures the breast and, together with milk, air enters the baby's stomach, the cause of spasms in the intestines.
• A baby will give up breast if there is a strong and pungent smell of perfume or deodorant. For the period of feeding, mother should refuse to use perfume.
• While breastfed, the baby is sensitive to changes in milk taste. When taking medications, dietary supplements, dishes with spices, the taste of milk changes, and the baby, feeling the changes, refuses to eat. For the period of breastfeeding, it is worth giving up carbonated drinks, spicy, smoked and fatty foods.
• Refuses to eat, the reason is otitis media. It is detected by external symptoms: the baby is actively shaking his head, it is impossible to touch the earlobes. This is a serious symptom. A pediatrician will help to cope with the disease, if the child is constantly crying and restless - you should immediately call an ambulance.
• The nose is breathing badly. A cold clogs the baby's nose, causing difficulty breathing through the nose, which can lead to poor appetite in babies.

Poor appetite for artificial people

In bottle-fed babies, the causes of poor appetite are rooted in nutrition. An improperly selected formula for feeding causes a decrease in appetite, leading to pain in the tummy. Quantity - no more than one mixture. It is worth dwelling on one that the baby eats with pleasure, containing probiotics and adapted to the age of the child.

What to do if a baby has a poor appetite

The baby's body is an independent system that determines the amount of food required for normal development. When a newborn shows signs of poor appetite, it is necessary to determine which ingredient is not suitable in the incoming food and, if possible, replace it.

1. Walk more time in the fresh air. Walking and oxygen are natural stimulants of hunger.
2. Emotional stress that a baby experiences among a mass of people. For the period of difficulties with feeding and treatment, you will have to prohibit the arrival of a large number of guests.
3. Protect the calmness of the child. Pick it up, let the baby feel like inside the mother's belly again.
4. Add a decoction of chamomile and string to the baby's bath. This is a special collection for calming the baby. Calmness accelerates the onset of appetite.
5. If the reason for refusal to eat is a clogged nose, drip 1-2 drops of breast milk into each nostril. Doctor Komarovsky advises to hang wet diapers and towels on the radiators during the heating season. This will increase the humidity in the air, the child will become less capricious, and an appetite will appear. Ventilate the room more often.
6. An infant has anxiety and tummy pains. To prevent the formation of colic, massage is performed regularly, making circular movements up and down.
7. Stomatitis and thrush - you need to see your doctor. At home, you can help your baby: soda and boiled water, warm. Gauze wrapped around an adult's finger is dipped into the solution and the baby's oral mucosa is wiped. Komarovsky and other doctors are of the opinion that the disease in the mouth appears only when using low-quality complementary foods or the child falls asleep while feeding. Modern infant formula contains preservatives that negatively affect children's health.
8. Teething is accompanied by whims, malaise, refusal to eat. Today pharmacies offer special teethers for teeth: simple and with a cooling effect, special ointments to soothe irritated mucous membranes and reduce pain symptoms. During this period, the introduction of a new product into the diet is undesirable. The baby has an unpleasant impression of the food.
9. Change in the quality of incoming food. A nursing mother must adhere to a certain diet, enriched with the elements necessary for the nutrition of the baby. A change in the mother's diet leads to the abandonment of the baby's breast. In this case, you will need to exclude unpleasant food.

Tips for introducing the first complementary foods:

• The first complementary foods are introduced at the 5th month of life.
• The first product that gets into the baby's body after mother's milk should be fermented low-fat kefir. The contained bacteria contribute to the normalization of the intestinal microflora and disinfect from the microbes located there.
• The first feeding does not exceed 4 teaspoons and should be supplemented with breast milk. The next day, 2 times more is given - 8 spoons. Increase the dose daily, and during the day observe the reaction of the body.
• The 4th day is marked by the addition of cottage cheese to kefir. It is made at home or purchased in the children's dairy kitchen.
• 10th day - try to replace one feeding with kefir and cottage cheese.
• From the 11th day, try to replace the second feeding with cottage cheese and kefir.