Baby's Nursing Disinterest and Changing Appetites

Lack of interest in nursing

Most babies enjoy clinging on their mothers' breasts for their breast milk and comfort. However, your baby may depicta lack of interest in this when he is about nine months old. He may avoid your breast completely or feed himself from your breast for hardly a minute or two. After this brief suckling, he will automatically detach himself from your breast. One reason for this withdrawal may be his curiosity in what is happening around him. Or, it could be a temporary change due to the change in taste of milk because of the hormonal changes during your menstrual cycle. He can also temporarily be put off due to the discomforts that are a part of the teething process. He may also not like the flavour in the milk because of the food you ate. Remember that breast milk flavours change depending on your diet.

As a loving mother, you should not stop giving your little one breast milk until he is a year old. You must continue giving him breast milk as a part of his diet even as you get him introduced to formula or solids. Some tips for you to combat the decreasing interest in nursing are:

• Choose a calm and peaceful quiet atmosphere that is less likely to distract your baby. You can try stroking him or hugging him to relax him.
• Try feeding him whenever he is sleepy. This may be right after a warm bath or a gentle massage.
• If you can breastfeed your baby as you walk around, go ahead and do it. You can wrap him in a sling as you walk around. Alternatively, you can offer him expressed breast milk using a feeding bottle while you are on the move.

If your baby still shows no interest in breast milk, there is nothing else that you can do but provide him the best nutrition from other food sources.

Decrease in appetite

Your baby may occasionally show a change in appetite. Sometimes, he may not be as hungry as usual. In some other cases, you find his intake more than usual. Your baby may spurt many times and eat a lot for a few months. Suddenly, this increase in appetite drops off. Both the situations are normal and you do not have to worry about them. There are many reasons that cause your baby to show a decrease in appetite temporarily. Some reasons could be:

• Your baby is distracted by the surroundings. He prefers walking around the place trying to explore as much as he can instead of sitting in one place with a bowl of food.
• Your baby is choosy about his food and demands a variety of tastes. You can feed him the food of his choice so long as it provides him the required nutrition. Also, this is the right time to encourage self feeding.
• Sometimes your baby may not like being seated on the high chair for his food. If this is the reason why he is refusing his food, you can allow him to sit with you on the dining chair and make him feel part of the family. But, do make sure to see that you fasten him to the chair so that he does not fall off.
• Your baby is restless and does not have the patience to finish his meal. Try getting him seated only after you finish setting the dining table with his and your meal. This reduces the time he is confined to his high chair.
• Your baby may have started teething. This could cause him discomfort accompanied by symptoms such as irritation and finger chewing. His appetite will return to normal once this discomfort stops.

Your baby's decrease in appetite may follow a mild fever or cold. This is normal and his appetite returns to normal once the illness has passed. However, if your baby stops gaining weight completely, you may have to contact your pediatrician.

Increase in appetite

Your baby may be eating more for quite a few reasons. However as long as he eats healthy food, this should not be a cause of concern. You must pay attention to the quality of food that he eats rather than focus on the quantity that he eats. You can avoid giving him snacks to munch when he is placed in the push chair. If he eats just because he is bored, you can encourage him to play with his toys. Sometimes, he may cry because he had a fall. You can hug him as a sign of comfort rather than offer him a biscuit. Some reasons for the increase in appetite are:

• Your little one may be drinking less liquids which result in eating more solids. This may be because you have just begun to wean your little one to his cup. The calorie intake through milk and other liquids may decrease which are compensated through solids intake.
• Your baby may be having quite a few growth spurts.
• Your baby is becoming more active due to a lot of walking and other activities.