The world is too interesting to feed

[Alison222]

My 4 month old is becoming increasingly difficult to feed. Although he is obviously hungry - I'm breastfeeding, the world around him is becoming more fascinating than food. He will eat for about 5 minutes at a time and then give up, wanting to do something else. This would be fine except that he won't settle to anything else as he is still hungry and grisly but screams when I put him anywhere near my nipple.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so do you have any suggestions.

Alison222 - I had exactly this problem with my son about 3-4 months. I think he was going through a growth spurt and I remember I had to keep feeding him every hour just like a newborn again! However it passed in a week or so. Don't worry about the very quick feeds as they can take a lot of milk at that age in just a few minutes. Just let him look at what he wants to and settle down before you feed him again. It will pass. Often this stage happens at 3 months and some misread it as being time for solids.

Also check he is not suffering from wind or a tummy upset. Is he on solids now? Perhaps the food is upsetting him?

he has begun solids on the advice of my health visitor. He has a little baby rice in the evenings after a very long full feed (about the only decent feed of the day!). He is feeding again at 10pm - again a good feed and then sleeping through the night on the whole - if he wakes I'm not feeding at night.
However come breakfast he seems to be hungry and looses interest after about 5 mins, then wants to snack on and off all morning. He is not getting any solid food at this time so I don't think that it can be that. I just don't understand what has suddenly brought the change from being able to settle from a full feed on both breasts of about 30 mins or so to this 5 minute snacking. It has not only started since solids. It just seems that anything is more interesting than eating, but because he is still hungry, its very hard work to get his interest with anything else. I am concerned that if he dosen't eat during the day he will go back to trying to keep us up all night feeding trying to make up for what he hasn't eaten during the day.
Nothing else in his routine has changed, I'm still feeding at the same times (or trying!) and in the same chair etc.

this happened to me too, Im afraid she's still a bit like this at 10 months, it just seems that she is too busy to settle. The only really long feeds she has is at bedtime and during the night. He may well be grizzling not from hunger but from frustration, or even teething.And they do get generally less settled and more alert at around this age in my experience. The only advice I have is that I feed as quietly as poss, away from siblings with loud voices and if she really is hungry, that does the trick.

While Im here I want to say thanks to Eulalia and everyone else for all the advice over the last couple of months on breastfeeding and sleeping etc. (or not sleeping) Im just about to give up(sorry Eulalia I want my boobs back!) and I nearly didnt keep going this long! Thanks!

Alison222, try giving him something else instead of baby rice, as it is very bland. Try the 3 meals a day as we do, food then milk, I know I may get shot down in flames for saying that, but, my eldest was 6 months old before she ate anything. Yet my son was only 12 weeks old when he started on solids, he was only on rusks and milk for about 4 days and then he went onto the 3 meals a day and what an improvement. Try this and see how you get on, also another tip some things you are meant to use water to mix with, use milk it makes them a bit more palatable. Good luck.

thanks for the advice everyone. He is now eating pear mixed in with the rice and this will change as we move through trying a selection for fruit and veg separately to make sure it isn't casing any problems. he seems to have found a renewed interest in food yesterday as he finally decided to be hungry again, but I still have the problem of getting him to actually settle down to eat without a screaming match in the first place.
And if I could just break that habit of waking up at 4.30 in the morning..... (no feeding just a period of wakefulness.)