Try smaller portions to encourage baby to eat
Dear Donya,
We seem to be encountering a unique problem. Our baby, who is five-and-a-half-months old now, does not want to drink his milk nor eat any food at all. Regardless, he never seems hungry at any time of the day.
Even after eight to 10 hours of sleep he pushes away his bottle, even with distractions like music or television or toys. This problem has persisted for the last two months. He is not drinking the required quantity of milk during the day and even what he does consume is forced, or accompanied by some sort of distraction.
We have discussed this issue with several pediatricians, however, they say that he seems to be fine and the general suggestion is just to keep on trying. We have studied material available on the Internet or in books but seem to find no reference to such an issue. We have also tried changing formulas a couple of times but to no avail.
Our baby boy's birth weight was 3.75 kilograms, and at five months he was 6.4 kilos. He does not seem to gaining sufficiently and we are worried that his lack of hunger might result in a lower rate of weight gain.
Please tell us what to do. -- Rajesh Kelvalkar
Dear Rajesh,
Sounds like you have tried almost everything to improve his appetite. One point you make is that distraction sometimes encourages him. It is quite difficult to advise you on how to help him. He is five-months old and refuses milk, juice and cereals and still does seem to be hungry. If he weighed 6.4 kg at five months his weight seems fine for his age, but as you said, if he continues to refuse taking food he will lose weight.
Five-month-old babies can start eating real foods such as cooked fish and vegetables (try a diversity of colors, such as carrots, potatoes, green beans. I have never heard of an infant that was not hungry but he may eat a little bit more if you feed him smaller portions more often, instead of normal meals every four to six hours. Please contact me again to let me know what else you have tried and has not worked. -- Dr Donya