Mommy October 1, 2018

By a Doctor – How to increase your baby’s appetite

For most mothers, there’s an immense pleasure and satisfaction to be had when your baby likes the food your makes and eats it wholeheartedly. But this may not always be the case as there will be times when your baby utterly refuses to eat anything, especially solid foods. Your baby may lose their appetite due to various reasons.
During this time, it becomes vital to make the food attractive as well as interesting while keeping the nutrition quotient intact, so that your baby at least makes an effort to eat.

Here are a few ways you can increase your baby’s appetite:
•    Prioritize quality over quantity: Baby food should not be measured by its quantity, but its quality. Your baby should be given food that’s rich in nutrition and not rich in the plate.
•    Massaging baby: It has been observed that babies feed properly after a soothing massage and bath.
•    Add more green foods: Green vegetables always attract babies due to their vibrant color. They also fill the nutrition quotient.
•    Make the plate attractive: Presentation also serves an integral part in drawing babies to food, much like it does for adults. A plate, glass/ bowl with a picture of their favorite cartoon will surely make your baby try the food. Also, consider arranging the food to make it look more colorful.
•    Set a feeding routine: You should also make an effort to establish a feeding time routine. This may include putting a bib over babies, making them sit on a chair, placing a plate on the table etc. This would give them signs that it’s feeding time, and will slowly get used to it and start enjoying their food.

Of course, every mother would also like to know why their child has a loss of appetite, to begin with.

Well, babies may lose their appetite due to things like an illness, teething, extreme tiredness, etc. In addition to this, the ambience of their feeding area also plays a vital role. Your baby may get disturbed due to distractions like TV, mobile, toys, mosquitoes, flies, etc.

You should ensure a feeding time routine by setting the room in such a way that those distractions and pests are kept away from your baby; with special efforts being made to keep mosquitoes at bay. For mosquitoes, use a repellent like Goodknight Neem Agarbatti in the room where you’re feeding your child. Apart from disturbing your baby during feeding time, mosquito bites are also responsible for causing various diseases like Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya, etc. Just switch on the device for a mosquito-free room.
You could also use personal repellents like Goodknight Fabric Roll-On and Goodknight Patches for babies above two months of age, to keep mosquitoes away. Both products are perfectly child-safe and are excellent solutions to warding off mosquitoes. They also work well outdoors. Four drops of the Goodknight Fabric Roll-On on your baby’s garments is enough to repel mosquitoes. Goodknight Patches can be stuck to a pram or cot and create a barrier from mosquito attacks.

With these simple tips, you can ensure that you’re doing the best to curb your child’s loss of appetite for their healthy development.