Q: My baby is five months old. Till the 3rd month she used to take proper quantity (5 oz) of milk every two and half hours, but after 4 months she takes only 3 or 4 oz at a time and after long gaps. I feel her appetite has died because she is not willing to take milk. What should I do to increase it? Should I introduce some solids to her, and what should be the solids?

A:First of all how has been your baby' s weight increasing, if it is more than say 500gm/month during the last 2 months it is adequate. If the baby is crying, irritable, has bouts of fever, get the urine checked for infection. If baby is playful, active and seems well and seems to gain weight, do not worry much, it is time to start semisolids. You may start with suji in milk, moong dal-thin, mashed bannana in milk, mashed boiled potato. Remember, initial feeds should be thin then you can gradually give thicker feeds, and start rice gruel or khichri etc.