My son has been eating single grain cereal since he turned 4 months old. This was OK'd by our ped because he was always hungry and able to roll forward and back w/ no problem, hold his head upright during tummy time and able to sit up w/ some assistance. He started out great eating his cereal immediately no problems- no tongue thrust or anything. NOW- he won't eat it. After the first few days he progressively got worse and worse. I tried to offer him his bottle in between bites which worked for a few days. Then I did something really bad once that stopped working- I would trick him w/ the bottle and then give him a bite of cereal instead. I know. Shame on me. Now he just won't eat his cereal at all. I think what I need to do is stop trying to feed him cereal for a while and let him get it out of his system. He seems to be viewing the cereal feeding as a very bad thing. Has anyone else done something like this? Any kind of advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Thank you everyone for the great advice. We ended up just making cereal for his twin sister. He would watch her eat each evening and have a bite or 2 of hers. We started them both on bananas about a week and a half ago. He loves it! Still not as good of an eater as his sister- but he's really getting a hang of it. We've fed them bananas, apples and sweet potatoes now.
Try adding fruit to his cereal. Or 1/2 spoon cereal
with 1/2 spoon of fruit. I have a feeling he will like
that. If he does not maybe stop for a few days and
then go back. I would also vary the cereal every day.
Rice one day, oatmeal next, mixed the next. Some
babies just like variety.
have you ever tasted that stuff? its nasty..no wonder kids dont want to eat it! i used to cook and puree apples and put some cinammon into mine, or puree bannanas..i also made my own cereal - the store bought brands really taste horrible!
Lay off it for a bit, and try again, but its ok to sprinkle a teeny dash of sugar or cinammon or add some of your own fruits to it..
I also had the same issue with my son at that age. My son was a preemie and at the age of 5 months only weighed 8 lbs so we really would try everything in our power to feed him. What worked best with us was mixing a little baby dessert in his cereal or giving him 1 spoon dessert and then 1 spoon cereal. Sometimes the added flavor does the trick. If he doesn't want to eat cereal I wouldn't worry too much as long as he's getting his formula in. My son is now 4 yrs old and weighs 50 lbs and feeding him is not an issue these days. Good Luck!
Hi R., I think you are right and should trust your instinct to give it a rest with the cereal for now. Let it be his choice to go back to it rather than him feeling like you are forcing it. There is a great book out there called Super Baby Food. It has great recipes and a super helpful chart of all the foods and when to introduce them. Really helpful...and maybe if your little guy is really into eating more food this will help you. good luck
A.
At 5 months (APA recommends starting solids at 6 months), you are just trying to introduce solids, not try to supplement diet. This should by any means be providing him any nutritional value. For the 1st year of a baby's life, breastmilk or formula is all he needs. I did not start solid with my daughter until she was 6 months and I started off a few times a week for at least a month before I tried any more. They are now saying that some cereals may not be the best first foods either. You could try some veggies or fruit too (mashed bananas and avocados are great). I always nursed my daughter first before offering her any solids.
Why cause yourself added stress when you don't need to. Best of luck to you!
~Annie
I would stop the cereal also, after all he is only 5 months,that is kind of early anyway. It is not hurting him to stop and if he really dose not want it - why force him.
try a spoon ful of applesauce mixed in. it will be fine.. maybe try a different cereal.. like baby oatmeal... maybe he just doesn;t like it. try different textures.. maybe more formula mixed in.. or less.. good luck
Hi R.,
There's no need to trick him into eating cereal or turn food into a battle. At 5 months, he's younger than the AAP's recommended age to begin solids. He does not need cereal. Cereal doesn't add anything to his diet nutritionally. He gets all he needs from his milk. Nothing bad is going to happen for him not eating cereal. Just stop. Try again in a month. He doesn't need food. At 6-12 months, milk is still their primary nutrition and food is simply a supplement, for tasting and experimenting. It should be given after a milk feeding.
Good luck
My son never liked the rice cereal and the oatmeal gave him digestive issues. Since they aren't getting much from the cereal anyway you can either stop it completely or introduce him to some fruits and veggies instead. My son loves pears and it is sometimes recommended as a good first food. It is really easy to digest and doesn't cause constipation. My son is almost 6 months and we've already given him pears, apples, bananas, squash, prunes and peaches. We gave up on the cereal and he really doesn't need it.
I tried cereal at 6 months, but my son honestly didn't eat much of cereal or baby food until 1 year old. Don't worry about the cereal. Milk only is fine for the first year.
If you think he is getting tired of the cereal I think you have two choices stop the cereal or add some fruit or veggie to it. Cereal really has no nutritional value it is basically a filler so it won't hurt him to stop. However if you think the formula is not enough then you can add a small amount of bananas, applesauce, or veggie to it to make it taste better. If he wants just formula for now and is content with that then that is fine also. I think you just have to see if you stop how hungry he is. You do not at this point want to turn eating into a battle. Children will eat when they are hungry this is something we do not have control over and should not make an issue. I think you are wise to consider stopping for a while. Good luck
Don't fight nature. It seems the baby knows best. He shouldn't be having cereal. Shame of the pediatrician too.
Don't fret about it. He should be getting all of his nutrition from his formula (or BM) anyway. My son also did well immediately after being introduced to cereal, but within a few weeks lost interest. I thought it was too early to start other foods, so I stopped the cereal for a week or two and when we went back to it, he loved it. At that point another week or two later I started with some fruit.
