For babies around 3 months old, many parents are having headaches, why is the baby eating less and less milk? The weight has not increased for a month, is it sick? Should we go to the hospital to see it? Especially for new mothers, they don’t know what’s going on and even find the reason on themselves, is it bad milk? Is it because I am not eating well? Those who do not know will also blame the cause on the mother, it is easy to appear some family conflicts. In fact, this situation, which has nothing to do with the mother, belongs to a relatively common phenomenon – anorexia! Why does anorexia period occur? Babies enter the physiological anorexia period around 3 months of age because their weight gain slows down after 3 months, and the weight gain in the first 3 months of the first year is approximately equal to the weight gain in the last 9 months. For example, if a baby is born with 3kg and is 6kg at 3 months of age, he or she will gain 3kg in these 3 months and may only gain 3kg in the 9 months from 3 months of age to 12 months of age, or an average of 0.3~0.4kg a month, and as the weight gain decreases, the milk demand will also decrease. Another reason is that after 3 months of age, the baby’s ability to absorb protein from milk increases, which increases the workload of the liver and kidneys, causing “fatigue” over time, which is reflected in a decreased appetite and a lack of interest in eating milk. It is also possible that some babies start teething between 4 and 6 months old, and the discomfort caused by teething may also affect the baby’s feeding. Is it time to add complementary foods if my baby is anorexic? Our dietary guidelines and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend adding complementary foods to babies at 6 months of age. 3 months is too early to add complementary foods, especially for babies before 4 months. Adding complementary foods too early will not only increase the burden on the baby’s intestinal tract, but may also have an impact on the baby’s development and eating habits. The best way to deal with anorexic babies is to increase the amount of milk. How to deal with anorexic babies? First, find a room that is quiet and free of other people’s disturbances. At this age, your baby is not limited to looking up at the ceiling. Instead of looking at people, you will find him looking around when you pick him up. Of course, this is also a good thing, indicating that the baby is more aware of the world. However, for breastfeeding, especially in anorexic babies, finding a quiet room is a good way to stay focused on feeding and not be disturbed by other things. Choose the right bottle. For babies who use bottles, parents should observe if the nipple is not suitable, the flow rate is too small, etc., so that it does not satisfy the baby’s sucking. Some dads say that they changed 11 bottles for their babies’ anorexia period. If your baby’s feeding situation still doesn’t improve after changing bottles, it may be something else, so don’t fight with the bottle. Don’t force feed. Because babies eat less, parents worry about the impact on their baby’s development and many will appear to force feed. This will only backfire and prolong the baby’s anorexia period. At this time, you don’t have to force your baby to eat the milk at the right time, you can eat less each time and increase the number of feedings appropriately. If your baby doesn’t want to eat, don’t force feed him/her. The above-mentioned baby’s father, who changed 11 bottles, stopped obsessing about his baby’s feeding at the right time after consultation, and increased the number of feedings every day, and gradually his baby passed this period. Increase your baby’s movement. If you want your baby to eat more, you must first consume more, and that is to increase your baby’s exercise. Some parents say, so small baby, also can not walk, how to exercise? For small month-old babies, exercise is a very physical activity, not as simple as adults think. 3 months old baby, you can let him more lying on his back, the ability to control the head, elbow support, and later turn over, crawling are very helpful. Head control ability of the baby, you can practice turning over, sitting and other sports. The exercise of large movement, not only to promote baby growth and development, but also to enhance the peristaltic function of the stomach and intestines, for baby appetite to enhance a lot of benefits. Parents relax their minds. Mom and dad’s emotions can easily affect the baby. If the caregiver feeds the baby with an anxious mind, he will resist because he feels the unpleasant message. As long as the baby is growing normally and is not sick, parents can relax and face the anorexia period with a natural attitude. Relieve the discomfort caused by teething. When the teeth erupt, they will pierce the gums and surrounding nerve tissue, and the child will show obvious pain and inexplicable discomfort, thus also affecting the baby’s milk intake. Parents can usually prepare some teething gums and teething sticks for their babies to chew on more often, or they can use a finger toothbrush to massage the baby’s gums to relieve the discomfort. Is it normal for babies not to have anorexia? Some parents may think that since anorexia is a normal phenomenon, is it normal for their baby to not have this stage? Some parents may think this question is to pull hatred, but there are indeed such parents who are first time mothers and fathers and do not know how to distinguish between what is normal and what is not. Each baby has its own idiosyncrasies, no anorexia phase is also normal, and not 100% of every baby will exist. Be alert to these cases of milk aversion! Acute aspiration tract infections can cause nasal congestion and prevent your baby from getting air when sucking on milk. The anorexia period lasts for several days to half a month. If your baby continues to have no weight gain or even a decrease in weight, go to the hospital promptly.