Not Eating as Much as He Used To

sounds like teething. If he is happy, eating some, not loosing weight, I wouldnt worry. Children cycle on how much they eat, my 3 year old still has days where he picks and days where he eats ALL DAY LONG.

Maybe his teeth are bugging him. Try not to worry. I don't think it would be a bad thing to offer him a little rice cereal at this age; if he's acting interested. Just mix it up with a little of his formula. But don't expect him to eat much at first; the natural reflex is to spit it out. Just keep offering and trying and he'll get the hang of it. But really, don't worry about a day or two of not eating much. If the baby seems happy and he's going potty then he's probably just fine. Wait till he's a toddler. Most of them are super picky and go through huge jags of hardly eating anything. My older boy lived off of crackers and cereal for so long. He's 4 and we're just now getting him to eat what we have for dinner.

Hi C.,
How long has it been since your son's last bowel movement? When my baby is constipated, he does the same thing, just eating 2-3 ounces at a time instead of his usual 7. He is so full, he just doesn't feel hungry I guess.
It sounds like your son may be teething. When my baby was teething he eating habits changed - sometimes he didn't eat for 6-7 hours straight, which made me worry. Try to go with the flow. It is just a stage and it will pass. Your baby would not starve himself. Sounds like he has enough fat reserves. :-)

It won't hurt him too much to start at 5 months...it's just best if you can wait until 6. i started my son at 6 months...kids go through phases when the don't seem to eat as much....then they will eat more than you have ever seen them eat. Could have to do with growth spurts, could have to do with teething...which at that age, i'm guessing is the cause...or maybe he does want to try to eat they way you guys are. I don't think it would hurt much to start him on rice cereal if that is what you want to do...if you have your mind set on waiting, i would try wetting a washcloth and putting it in the freezer for a few, then giving i to him to chew on...that should really satisfy him if it has to do with teething. Kids don't seem to eat quite as much when they are having trouble with teething...even liquid.

I think he might be teething. I know that all of my kids had a few days here or there where they didn't really eat because they had teeth coming in. Just a thought. :)

My daughter was almost 5 months when she pulled the exact same behaviors. Her peditrician (22 years in practice) said it was perfectly fine to start some cereal (brown rice by Earth's Best was what we used), and one new food (she recommended veggies first to avoid developing a too-sweet-of-a-tooth taste from fruit) a week (we made our own baby food aside from the cereal). We started with pureed avocados (put avos in cuisinart with a couple table spoons of warm water) and went on from there. Our pediatrician said the tell-tale sign was that she was grabbing for our utensils when we ate!!

She didn't get her first tooth until 7 months, but we were convinced she was teething for at least 3 months before it appeared!

A great book that can help you when he is ready for solids is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. She can be a bit "preachy" if you read the entire thing...but the back of the book has some wonderful information about preparing foods and allergy information. You can probably check it out from your local library.

I started my boys on rice cereal at 4 months. If he can move the food to the back of his mouth and swallow it, then he is ready. When I started my first son he could not do this, so we waited a week and tried again, but I am guessing at 5 months you son is ready. We started with rice cereal, then a few days later added oatmeal, and then vegis one at a time a few days apart. This way you can watch for allergies and will know which food caused them since you are only adding one new one at a time. I was told that you should do all vegis before you start fruits since allergies are more likely with fruits, and also since some babies are resistant to the vegis if they are used to the sweetness of the fruits.

Hope any of this helps.

I think my son was 5 months when we started to experiment with gerbers' stage 1 foods.He loooved the peas,lol:)

C.,

It sounds to me like he is teething. We are going through the same thing right now (my son is 4 1/2 mo.) The reason why they do not eat as much is because it hurts to suck. Try some Hylands teething tablets you can locate them at Fred Meyer in the natural food section. Or Babies R Us has them as well. You need the tablets though, they are made for infants.

Like I said it sounds like teething, but I could be wrong so watch him. It could also be that maybe he is ready for a taste of solids (rice cereal). In any case look up the symptoms for teething and talk to your childs doctor before doing anything!

good luck
S.

S.

My pregnancy books say those are all classic signs of being ready to eat solid foods, and my mom was recommending rice cereal at two months. Go ahead and try something simple. It might make his day.

God bless.

The advice from the others is great, but I wanted to speak as a mom of a large kid too. :) Our pediatrician had us start our son on cereals by 4 months, and by 6, we were adding veggies one at a time. My son has always been beanpole thin (gets it from his father's side of the family), but every time he would be getting ready to grow, he would almost stop eating entirely for a couple of days, then he'd sleep for absolutely hours on end, then wake up (and I'd swear he'd grown a couple of inches) and eat ravenously. That pattern continued through today, where at 19, he's 6'2", and if genetics are any indication, he's not yet done growing.

Obviously don't overdo, don't introduce new foods too rapidly, etc. But as pediatricians are so fond of saying, the "rules" about how and where a baby should be at a certain age are guidelines, and each child is different.

Good luck! And be prepared for buying clothes you can let out. :)

Angel :)

You haven't stated if he has his own teeth or if he is sitting on his own. So with that in mind, if he has started getting teeth and is semi sitting on his own then yes he probably is ready to start solids. That is what my twins started doing at about 4.5 to 5 months old. I did wait till they were closer to six before starting many foods. What I would try doing to see if it is teething is feel his gum line if you feel round raised areas those are the teeth coming in. You can wrap an ice cube in a cloth and give that to him or try a piece of beef jerky. The ice will numb it and the jerky is a great since he can gum it up. Do make sure to stay near him while using either one since they can both be choking hazards.

S.

Hi C.!

It sounds a lot like teething to me. My son is 6.5 months old and will refuse to nurse when his gums are sore. He acts fairly normal otherwise, just like you say about your son. :)

You could try "solids" at this point, but just know that he might not be ready, even if he acts like he is-heh. Again, my son acts like he wants our food all the time and when we tried giving him some baby food, he just spits it out. So far everything has come back out and we've been trying different things for about 4 weeks now. Then again, he could love it and be totally ready.

All babies are so different and I would try not to worry too much if he's not eating a lot for a couple of days. If it stretches into a longer period of time it could be something else, but otherwise, it seems he's doing just fine. ;)

It sounds like your little one is at the same stage as my daughter. Logan is ready for solids and I betcha he is teething too :) I noticed a drop in my daughter's interest in breastmilk and being very intersted in our eating process and foods. Go for it, start him on the solids, its really fun to watch :) As for the teething thing, that might also be going on. explains the drool and not sucking as much, pressure on the gums and so. Good luck!

C.,

I started introducing solids to my daughter at 5 months, and she was doing the same things that your son is doing. Always wanting what was on Mom/Dad's plate, not as interested in the bottle/nursing. She really took to the veggies, but hated the fruits until she was about a year old.

The other thought I had was that he's teething. The chewing on everything is usually the biggest giveaway when it comes to teething. Check his gums, if he'll let you, to see if anywhere is swollen/sore. If he won't let you stick a finger in his mouth, that's another sign (at least with my daughter).

Children's appetites fluctuate as well. They'll eat a lot one day, and hardly anything the next. When both of my kids are about to hit a growth spurt they will eat everything in sight. They chunk out then shoot up.

Hope this helps,
Melissa