Brief Answer:

Giving the syrup will not help.

Detailed Answer:

Hello!

I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concerns.

I do not suppose that Aptivate Syr. or any other syrup would be of any use. Please be informed that there are NO syrups, medicines or tonics that can help in changing the situation.

I would insist you not to go for any one of them. It is good to know that the child is not dropping percentile lines. So long as the growth plotting continues to follow the percentile lines nothing needs to be done about it.

There is no shortcut (natural or unnatural) to increase the appetite. Children are often fussy eaters.

My suggestions for you would be:

1. Do not force feed the baby. This will increase the child's apathy towards food. Rather wait for the child to get hungry. At times you may have to wait several hours. Be patient. The urge should be her and not yours.

2. Visit a dietician and discuss the scenario so that she can design a calorie-dense diet chart in accordance to the preferences of the child.

3. The build of a child depends upon the build of the parents. If you and your spouse were thin in your childhood you cannot expect your child to be otherwise.

4. Try to avoid any minor feeds between meals. They take the appetite away.

5. Treat the child as a member of family and make him dine together with others. Even if the child is not eating, make her sit with others while they take their meal.

6. Keep the meal amounts small and keep other food items readily available for the child to pick up. For example, keep fruits ready to be picked up from the table.

7. Take the child along with you while you go to fetch groceries. Pick fruits and vegetables as per his choice (ask for his choice). Make food preparations using those food items. The child is more likely to eat those without a fuss.

8. Award the child a star for every day be feeds well. After he collects a certain number of stars, promise him some non-food reward like extra sleep time or something that you would possibly have given him anyway (a pencil, eraser etc. of his choice).

Hope I have answered your query. Feel free to write back.

Regards,
Dr. Diptanshu Das, Pediatrician

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Brief Answer:

You can customize it with 3-4 hours gap between each.

Detailed Answer:

Hello!

The meal times could be customized as per your habits. However, it could more or less be like:

7am: Breakfast. Cereal and milk. Cup of milk or diluted juice.

9.30am: Snack and drink of water.

12 noon: Lunch.

12.30pm: Nap (around two hours)

3pm: Snack and cup of milk.

5pm: Snack/fruit/Savoury course/pudding.

7pm: Bedtime. Cup of milk if wanted.

Hope I have answered your query.

Regards,
Dr. Diptanshu Das, Pediatrician

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