8mo won't be eat

[Diaperchanger]

I took my son overseas to visit my family 11 days ago. He hasn’t seen them since he was two months old, but he immediately took to the entire household. The house itself, not so much.

He usually wakes up once during the night, and some glorious nights he sleeps for 12 hours straight. He’s been waking up at least four times each night since we’ve been here. I usually play with him on the floor, but now he wants to be carried most of the time. I reckon this is very normal in a strange environment.

What worries me a bit is that he won’t eat his breakfast or lunch. He will however take a few snacks during the day (corn puffs which are mostly air, and a few small bites of fruit which he usually enjoys) and he eats his fill at dinner time. Other than that he’s back on the boob almost full time. My production has gone way up, so he’s not starving by any means, but normally he’ll eat whatever I serve in very large quantities.

Can I put this behaviour down to the change in environment as well, or could it be something more serious? I’m telling myself that he wants the security of the boob, but that doesn’t explain why he rejects the foods he usually loves.

Food rejection is quite common at this age, and can be due to LOTS of things. As you say, he is in an unusual environment. Or he could be teething, or have been exposed to a new illness and feel slightly off colour. It’s usually short term and resolves itself and is nothing to worry about. Remember, they don’t NEED food at this age, it’s just a experience you are exposing him to.

If It goes on long term speak to a health visitor, but it’s very likely to just be a brief phase and resolve itself. My DD did this a couple of times in her first year, and most of her friends went through these phases too.