I recently was told I could start my almost 5 month old on rice cereal. So we did this weekend and he hates it. He cries constantly when we try and give it to him. We mixed it with his normal formula and made it a little on the runny side so he could get used to the taste and not worry about the texture just yet. We even tried putting it in a bottle and he rufuses to eat it. Does anyone have any advice/tips they can offer to me on how to get him used to his cereal? I know it is a learning process for him, but I don't want to start him on any other food until he can get the basic procedure down first. Thanks!
Hey,
Although my daughter is 10 now, I had the same problem. I would mix small amounts of baby food to sweeten the taste a little. Bananas and applesauce were the best. Hope it helps.
Hi A.!
My little guy is 5 months now and we started with rice cereal over a month ago and he hated it. I was mixing it with breast milk and he'd spit it right back out. I tried it a couple of times and he just didn't want it. It's almost like he thought something was just funky with his breast milk. Aren't these little guys silly?
Anyways, I got the go ahead from the pediatrician to try introducing other solids (i.e. sweet potatoes and carrots, etc..) one at a time of course and I mixed in the rice cereal so he'd get that great iron! He took to that much better.
I am just now reintroducing the rice cereal in by itself at a thicker consistency and he's taking it!
Good luck and have patience, he'll get the hang of it soon and let us know how it goes!
Cheers,
M.
P.S. I usually feed my little guy in his Bumbo seat, but have found it more relaxing for him when he gets frustrated to sit on my lap and eat. Just a suggestion for now or down the road a bit.
We thickened it up a little, too, and our girls ate it better that way. Also, the first few times, they have no clue what to do with it. They are used to sucking on a nipple and having liquid go straight down...this is a learning process for them. Now, they have to figure out how to move the food to the back of there mouth and swallow it. That is a lot to learn for a baby! It will probably take several tries before he gets it down...and it will be messy for a long time!
Try giving him a few ounces of a bottle first, so he isn't starving when eating the rice ceral. He will be more willing to give it a go if he isn't starving! Then, after he finishes the cereal, you can finish the bottle if he is still hungry. In a couple of weeks, once he gets it down and you are sure there are no allergies, you can incorporate new tastes. You can only try one at a time. So, we chose to stay with the rice cereal and add veggie baby food before we switched the cereal to barley or oatmeal. Then, we added fruits. I mixed the baby food right into the cereal to give it a better taste.
Also...just my opinion...but I would refrain from giving him the cereal in a bottle. The idea is to learn to how to eat solids, and putting it in a bottle will confuse him. And, show him how to eat it. It sounds silly, but I would pretend to eat the cereal with both my girls and make an exaggerated swallow so they could see how it is done. I don't know if it actually helped or not, but they both did really well with solids!
Good luck!
S.
Hi A.,
Make sure that you are using the correct nipple if attempting to feed through a bottle. I just started my 5 month old on cereal mixed with breast milk and the first time used the slow flow, nothing was coming through and he threw a FIT! I am mixing about ½ inch (at the bottom of the bottle) with 4 oz of BM and using the tri-cut nipple, all is well now!
Good luck!
E.
Just keep trying, sometimes babies won't accept a new food until the 4th or 5th sometimes 10th time. It is new to your baby but he will learn how to eat it. I gave it to my daughter for a week and it was constipating her so I had to switch to oatmeal.
4 months is a little young for most babies to start eating solids of any kind. The Pediatric Association now suggests delyaing until 6 months before introducing solids so it is quite plausible and normal that your baby is not ready. I wouldn't sweat it. He doesn't need to eat solids just yet. Solids at this age are just an experiment -- they should be recieving their nutrition from breastmilk or formula.
I would take some time off from it and when he seems more interested in food, then you might try introducing it again. If he again refuses or doesn't seem interested, wait another week and then try again. Believe me, he will eat but when he's ready.
Good luck!
perhaps it is just too early. many pediatricians recommend waiting until a baby is 6 months old before introducing solid foods - it may reduce the chances of food allergies. plus, at just 5 months they don't really have the oral 'skills' to manage foods other than milk or formula. if your baby's weight is normal and he is satisfied with the amount of milk/formula you can provide, i would wait another month.
For my boys I would make it with a little texture so they would have to work their tongue to get it to the back of their mouths. It will probably take a couple of trys to get him to take it. My twins weren't ready for cereal at 4 months. If gets really upset, I'd recommend waiting 2 weeks then trying again. Many babies aren't 'ready' for solids until 6 months. Once my boys got the basic idea down with rice cereal we switched to oatmeal cereal. They liked oatmeal much better!
I had a similar problem with my child...she is now 13 months and eats EVERYTHING. I suggest a few things:
1. Thicken up the cereal a little so he knows it's not just screwed up formula. We found that our daughter was expecting formula b/c it looks simiar and feels similar. Once she realized it wasn't formula, she was more accepting.
2. This is probably his first time eating from a spoon, so let him play with it and "figure" it out. As he sees it you are bringing a foriegn object to his mouth and it may be that that is keeping him from eating. My daughter didn't get the spoon at first, so we let her play with is - she chewed on it, banged it, looked at it, etc.
3. If he is sitting up yet, put some on a highchair tray and let him play with it with his hands. He will probably bring it to his mouth and may get more familiar with it that way.
4. I had to force myself to chill out and not "pressure" her to eat it. I wanted her to eat it so bad so we could try other things, that I think Iactually delayed her because of my own stress.
5. Let your husband or somebody else give him the cereal. He may be so used to gettinga bottle from you, he won't accept anything else.
Despite all these things, my daughter did learn to eat from a spoon and now eats all kinds of great food. Good luck!
Putting it in the bottle may be confusing to him, I agree w/ melissa about mixing it in w/other foods to start. I have read in many preg/baby books, that it takes as much as 15 different feedings for a baby to like something... before then, they are usually just freaked out about the different taste/texture. I started my baby on rice cereal at 4 mo but I only really fed it for practice. You can also try the oatmeal... it's just like the rice cereal, but a little sweeter taste. If he skips this altogether and goes to baby food, add the rice to it so he still gets the iron (plus, it's easier to spoon feed this way!) Good luck.
It is a touch early for rice, so just wait another week, then try again. If he still doesn't like it, wait another week and try again.
It took my dd a while before she liked rice cereal. I think when they are closer to 6 months, they are a little more open to trying new foods.
Don't sweat it, it will happen. :)
Enjoy!
