starting cereal - need advice....

[kiki61872]

HELP.

Well we got the go ahead from the doc to start her on rice cereal. We tried this weekend. Didn’t go as good as I was hoping for. I thought she would gobble it right up since she loves food so much. Its been a disaster. I’ve been trying her at nite so I think I’m going to stop this week and try again this weekend but maybe try it for breakfast since she’s usually pretty happy in the morning. Maybe it will go over better – right now she hates it. I don’t know if it’s the spoon she hates or if its like a tease to her- I mix it with her formula so maybe she antsy for the bottle. I’ve tried to give it to her before her bottle, after, with it, by itself – nothing is making her happy. I really wanted to get it for dinner – right now she eats around dinner and then I wake her up before we go to bed (around 9:30) for a little bottle which holds her thru the nite. I was originally thinking if she got cearal at dinner then I could get rid of that later bottle. But since she’s not eating – that theory is out the window! The pedi says not to put it in her bottle – that she needs to eat with a spoon. Which I guess makes sense. Got any tips for us? Is her reaction normal?

[Sidsou]

My DS was the same way when we first tried cereal. It's something really different for them. I found giving him just a little on my finger seemed to ease the transition a little and then I gave him his bottle. You just have to be patient and let them get used to it. I slowly transitioned to a spoon (after a few days) once he seemed ok with taking it from my finger.

I fed DS initially late morning with the cereal. I actually remember some other moms mentioning that giving cereal at night/evening actually made their baby not sleep as well, which is totally against what you normally hear, but I guess since it was something different for the baby, maybe it was strange to their stomachs the first few times (?). I've also heard that it can be easier to give a little bit of a bottle first and then do the cereal, but I found the opposite to be true with my DS (he did better when he was really hungry). I guess my point is, experiment a little to find out what works best for your DD. Good luck!

[SiValleySteph]

You didn't say how old your daughter was. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just wait a couple of days and try again.

My son never really took to cereal at all and didn't really take to solids until 8 months. He is now 15 months, eats all kinds of things and is doing great! (He was doing great then, too, just didn't eat solids!) I didn't stress over the solids. I would try a couple of days and then wait a week or so and try again. I didn't see the point in doing something that was no fun for either of us and really wasn't adding much anyways. I knew he would eat solids in his own time.

[skittltoes]

We used a feeder bottle for the first few days because he would NOT take the spoon. He'd eat a little, then we'd top him off with a bottle. At the next feeding, he's get a little more cereal than the previous day and more bottle, etc. etc.

[kiki61872]

DD is 4 1/2 mos.

i really didnt want to do the bottle thing - since i'm thinking the whole point of starting cereal is to prepare her for baby foods. i want her to get used to the spoon.
some people keep telling me to add to her bottle so she 'gets used to the taste of the cereal' - but isnt that really not the point? isnt cereal to prepare for later foods?

[HGMorgann]

There really is no need for cereal starting so young. Cereal has very little caloric value. It does have some nutritional value, but none that your DD needs right now as she is fine just on formula or breastmilk.

My DD never had cereal of any sorts and we started her on real food later. She is a hearty eater. If you think to the "pre-Gerber" times, all those babies ended up eating "real food" so their is no need to prepare babies for real foods.

I would put away the cereal for now and wait until 6 months and shows signs of readiness - no tongue thrust, sitting unassisted, interest in food, ect.

[Marisa]

kiki - since your baby is so young, it really does sound like she's just developmentally not ready yet. That's perfectly fine -- she may be ready in another week or two, another month, or another two months. Delaying the cereal right now is actually going along with the most recent AAP guidelines (nothing but breastmilk or formula for 6 months) and it's providing her with everything she needs (fats and proteins found in the right balance in formula) during a period of incredibly rapid brain development.

Cereal should never be used to 'replace' a milk feeding before she's closer to a year old. Even mixed with formula, it has a lot of empty calories. It should really just be for 'practice', to get her used to the spoon, if you decide to continue. I personally wouldn't add any cereal to a bottle without a dr's recommendation either -- too easy for baby to choke.

And if she's rejecting the spoon at this point, then that's a pretty clear sign that she's just not up for it yet. Give it a week or two and try again. :)

[magdesilver]

I agree with the pp. I'd wait a few more weeks (like 6 :) ) and try again. If your baby is not ready to eat cereal off a spoon, she's not ready for solids yet! There's nothing wrong with waiting; actually that is the AAP's new recommendation, but some peds haven't really gotten up to date with them yet :( . There are a TON of advantages to waiting, and not really any to starting solids early.

[BTB]

When a baby's ready for solids, they'll take to it pretty easily. Don't stress yourself or your baby out, formula is all she needs until 6 months, and is the most important part of her diet until she's 12 months - so when she does start wanting cereal, you'll want to also give her a bottle at that feeding. (don't let the solids replace the formula intake - solids should be 'extra' until late in the first year.)

There's no advantage to giving solids at night - for every mom that says it helped her baby sleep, another says it made no difference and yet another says the baby slept worse after getting solids. When examined scientifically, there's no truth to the old wives' tale that solids help babies sleep. So, if your DD's happiest in the AM, give her a solids breakfast - when she's ready. :)

[maggieb]

DD#1 never took to cereal. She hated it and can't say that I blame her...it's gross. She finally started eating table foods at around 9 months. She never ate jarred baby food either or the purees that I so lovingly made for her.;) I stressed out about it a lot. Funny thing, when I stopped stressing out about it is when she started eating solids.

I haven't worried about it at all with DD#2. In fact, she's almost 6 months and hasn't had a taste of anything but breastmilk. I am in no hurry at all. She'll eat in her own time.

Just like everyone else said, if she's not ready for the spoon, then she's not ready for solids.

[kiki61872]

thanks girls.
i'll try her again in a few weeks. i dont want to get stressed about it - and i dont like seeing her upset either. it shouldnt be a struggle.

[skittltoes]

We did the bottle just until he got used to the taste... then we moved to the spoon. He does fine now... just lets us know when we're going to slow. *lol*