baby hunger strike

[ELT]

my 5 month old is having his hunger strike 'again'. Once every week or so he would have a day or two when he would refuse milk for as long as 8 hours. As a 17 pound boy, he is already taking less milk than most babies I know (5 x 4 or 5 ounces). Lately, he develops a habit of skipping the entire feed. He would turn his head away or arch his back. And even after 8 hours without milk, you would think he'll finish the whole bottle in his next meal, but NO, he would stop after he has his 3 or 4 ounces. I noticed that he is peeing much less on such days. He is playful and seems happy. Haven't weighed him for over a month so not sure about his weight gain progress. Should I be worried?

 

[Geo]

Hi there,

I encountered the same problem when my baby was around 6 mths...it lasted about 1 month....he refused to take his milk (usu last feed) even though the interval was long......at first I thought he did not like the milk powder so I changed...it was still the same.....so what I did was to lessen to half of what he usu take so it will not be so wasteful if he refused......

I read some articles and learnt that some babies do go through the "milk rejection" period. And it is perfectly normal.....I did compensate by offering cereals during the day.....try not to be too worried about the weight....let it be naturally...they know when they are really hungry and will scream when they really are....if they are happy and healthy....just grace pass this stage. Cheers.