Question
Our three-month-old baby has recently been experiencing a lack of appetite and diarrhea. They had previously taken a medicine for tongue coating, which improved the symptoms, but after changing the feeding environment, the baby developed mouth ulcers, followed by more severe lack of appetite and diarrhea, with an increase in bowel movements to seven or eight times a day. Although the mouth ulcers have healed, the lack of appetite and diarrhea persist, and we’ve noticed that the baby has a stuffy nose, eating only once every seven hours with a small amount of food, and the stool is watery. How should we handle this situation? The baby has not yet started on complementary foods, but is in good spirits.
Answer
To prevent lack of appetite in children, it’s important to maintain a regular diet and proper feeding. During infancy, feeding should be timed and measured. After the baby reaches 6 months old, gradually reduce the amount of milk and introduce complementary foods such as porridge, rice noodles, fish, meat, vegetables, and soy products in a timely manner. For older children, it’s recommended to eat light and easily digestible foods like mung bean and lily rice congee. If you can stick to this diet for two months during summer, it can also help reduce the occurrence of other diseases. When preparing dishes, keep them light as well, such as winter melon pork rib soup, salted shrimp, steamed fish, steamed eggs, and so on.