Does My Baby Just Hate Cereal?

Both my girls hated it too. and i dont blame them have you tried it? yuck! lol go ahead and start her on veggies do one for about 4 days then try another. hope this helps!

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Both my girls hated it too. and i dont blame them have you tried it? yuck! lol go ahead and start her on veggies do one for about 4 days then try another. hope this helps!

D.,

My kids hated plain cereal....I went against ALL advice from books, doctors, etc...and I started putting a tiny bit of banana or apple sauce in the cereal just to give it some flavor....ya know what? All three of my boys became great eaters. I did not have the "issue" of if they have fruit first you won't get them to try vegetables. So go for it. I mean - do you like plain old oatmeal without any flavor in it? I don't.

Good Luck!
T.

Is she spitting it out, or is half of it just "mushing" out. They don't have a lot of control over the mechanics of eating at this point.

Same token: while MOST babies aren't developmentally ready to eat under a year... SOME are. (If you notice any stomach problems - constipation, diahrreah, vomiting, gas... cease and desist for a few months, these are all signs of a digestive system that isn't ready for solids). In any event... while you have to be careful about allergies, why not try letting her taste what YOU are eating? Sauces and processed foods tend to be problematic, since there are so many ingredients in them... but everything else is doable. So are THEY, but if you have a reaction, you really then need to test for everything in the processed food or sauce.

It may sound gross, but prechewing (as long as you aren't contagious) is actually beneficial... since the enzymes in your saliva will help both break down the food, and to trigger the formation of her own enzymes. So if she's fixated on what you're eating and it's soft/mushy (soup, hummus, jelly what have you) feel free to dip a finger and let her taste it. If it's steak... a piece of fat is better than the meat... but if it's meat or veggies or carbs, you can just chew it to paste, take off a pea sized bit on your finger and let her taste that.

R

The way her tongue works for sucking is backwards from how a tongue works for eating. She may just have not gotten the hang of it yet. Four months is on the early side for food. Some breast fed babes don't start solids until a year old. So don't worry if she doesn't get the hang of it yet.

Find out what are good first foods and try a few of them. Also, I'd let her have more than just a tsp and see if she can learn how to do it. Unless she's protesting having it go in her mouth, I'd assume that she's okay with the taste and texture.

good luck! this is the first of many skills that your little one will need to practice over and over before she gets the hang of it.

At four months, she may have not been developmentally ready for cereal, thus why she was spitting it out. At six months, if she still is spitting it out, it is possible she does not like the taste or consistency. I would buy some Stage 1 babyfood (or make your own very well pureed). There are different recommendations on what to start first - fruits or veggies. Talk with your ped. I add the cereal to the food - my son does not eat it alone - he did that for maybe 2 weeks then I added baby food.

You will know when she likes something because she will keep leaning forward, opening her mouth, yelling, screeching, etc when you are not giving her more of it!!!

My baby hated it too. I didn't start food or anything though until 6months. The only way I have gotten him to eat cereal (oatmeal or rice) is mixing it with fruit. He doesn't even like it with breastmilk. I recommend mixing it with something more appealing. It is also not necessary to start with cereal - she doesn't have to become good with the cereal to try other things. Avocado, for example, is a great first food. (A great website for babyfoods is wholesomebabyfoods.com.)

Also, some babies take longer to be interested in food. It's a skill she is learning, and she may get more motivated with more interesting foods. Or, she may just take a little bit longer. I know some moms talk about how much their baby is eating, and it is easy to wonder if your baby is getting enough, but remember - the major source of nutrition for the entire first year should be breast milk and/or formula. Food right now is mainly for practice & exploration (different tastes/textures). Good luck, and don't stress too much - she will eat one day!

Get a new ped! 4 months is way too early. Do your research

Baby cereal has zero nutrition, so I wouldn't bother with it. And instead of purchasing more processed foods for her, make your own! Its cheaper, healthier, and tastes way better, giving your child a healthy start to eating. www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great place to start.

She might not be spitting it out, could be it's just hard to keep in her mouth, but baby cereal is not very good tasting at all - none of my 3 kids really liked it, my first never liked pureed baby food. If you're going to try solids start with stuff that's very soft and chewy so she can gum it up like banana. I buy frozen mixed veggies and cook that up for my kids. 4 months old is okay to start solids, especially if she seems interested. Just keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't choke and you'll be fine. Don't expect her to eat much for solids yet, supposedly they're supposed to be getting the majority of their nutrition from breastmilk or formula still, but give it a try!

my baby does not like it with baby formula or breastmilk he like it with water or apple juice and when he strart with the cereal he like the rice first and then he move to mixed or you could try add some bananas i make about half banana in the blender with little water and mix the cereal with that you should try that,or mixed with little sweet potatoe.

My babies never liked the cereal. I think it's mostly just to teach the babies about texture. So I tried cereal for a couple weeks, and then moved straight onto fruits and veggies. Then, for the next couple months, or however long they were on baby food, I would sprinkle the rice/oatmeal/mixed cereal onto whatever they were eating. That way, they still get the iron and other nutrients in the cereal, but they didn't taste it. You can always start with just smooth baby applesauce mixed with the cereal and see how she likes it.

You could try banannas or avacado. Both are OK for 1st foods. You could mix it in with the cereal. Mash it up or but in food processor and make it runny.

Is this your first baby? Because it may look like she's spitting it out, but really they are learning how to eat and half of it does come out. She'll get better at it. Also, try mixing it with whatever you nurse her with...breast milk or formula.

Maybe she's not ready for cereal yet. She's only 4 mos old...wait a few months. She doesn't "need" it so why rush it? Good luck!

If she doesn't seem to like baby cereal, it's ok to move on. Some babies love it others don't. My daughter was like your daughter and loved to watch us eat from a very early age. I assumed that she would love solids. She hated cereal and would actually cover her mouth with her hands when we tried to feed it to her. We took a break then tried again and same thing. So we moved on to veggies and fruits. She hated those too. The only thing she would eat was pureed bananas. So by the time she was 9 months old I was getting tired of struggling with her to get her to eat a few bites and decided to try some small soft finger foods. We started with bananas. She loved them and feeding herself. Now at 11 months she will eat almost anything we feed her and is always trying to steal food off our plates. She is actually a much less picky eater than my son who loved baby food.

I think it would be ok for you to move on. The main reason they say to start with cereal is that it is easier for babies to digest but it is not a hard and fast rule and a baby doesn't have to master or learn to like cereal before moving on to something else. Just be careful to introduce new foods one at a time to watch for allergies. At 6 months, she may not be able to pick up bits of food and feed herself but you can try with something really soft.

It will get easier and try not to worry, babies get most of their nutrition from formula or breastmilk in the first year. Solids are just supplemental at this point and to help them learn about eating. When my siblings and I were babies my mom tried cereal with my oldest sister and it didn't go well so she talked to the pediatrician and with his blessing decided to wait to start us on solids until we could feed ourselves when we were 9-10 months old. We all grew up just fine and were healthy.

You are doing a good job and your baby will be fine.

My baby (now 24 months) never ate cereal. I tried it by itself and mixed in with everything I could think of and she never took to it. My perspective is that, just like adults there are some things that we just do not like no matter how much we try to develop a taste for it. She will certainly survive without cereal. Now that she is 6 months you should begin giving her some veggie baby food and after she masters that try some of the fruits. Don't do the fruits first bc they are sweet and she wont eat the veggies after having the fruits first. Good luck!

I guess babies don't really NEED anything but breast milk and/or formula until they're 6 months old (although when my 33 yr old was born [and the 3 younger ones] they said start cereal and juices @ 6 WEEKS!)

Trust your instincts about mothering. Get around other mothers (even older ones) that you trust, and let them encourage and mentor you. (You don't want to pick one that criticizes you, tho -- only POSITIVE role models!)

Have you tried different kinds of cereal (rice, oats, barley)? And tried mixing it with water OR breast milk/formula? And to different consistencies? Some babies don't like 'textures' in their mouth and they just have to learn different ones. You might try mixing just a little bit of baby pears or prunes in the cereal & see is she likes that better (they're pretty non-allergic).

Once she starts eating 'food' (not just milk), only introduce ONE new food every 7 days or less often. That way you can tell if something new gives her a reaction (rash, diarrhea, diaper rash, etc).

God bless & happy mothering!

Hey - My third child is 7 months and I started her on cereal at 4 months too. My pedi had told me at her check up that it was ok, but not necessary to start her on solids, but the next week I could tell she wasn't getting full on just formula (& she was drinking 6 8 oz bottles). Anyways, she always watches us eat so I gave her the cereal and she loved it, starting with the first bite! We started her on fuits & veggies around 5 months & I always mix a jar with her cereal. She's a very good eater except I can't get her to eat peaches and peas. However, I've noticed this week that she's not into it anymore. I send one of the jars of cereal and fruit to the daycare for her breakfast and she eats it up, but for dinner I make the cereal and add a fruit or veggie. A couple of nights ago she started to fuss and stick out her tongue halfway through the meal. I switched to just plain baby food & she gobbled it up so I think it's the cereal, but I'm still going to try to get as much in her as I can. I actually think that she would really prefer to eat what we eat because she loves to watch everything we eat. At 6 months, I started pinching off tiny bites of a banana and she loves it! She gets so excited when she sees me peel one now. I don't think it will be much longer before she's eating all kinds of table food. I would definitely try giving her more cereal and add a fruit or veggie with it. I'm sure she will love the new flavors!

Are you sure she is really not liking it? Does she make faces and refuse to open her mouth? If the only issue is her spitting half of it out, it's probably not that she doesn't like it. It's completely normal for babies to "lose" some of it as they learn to push it to the back of their mouth and swallow. That said, I think it's too early at 4 months and even at 6 months to start solids. That's the absolute earliest that doctors say their stomachs can be developed enough to handle food but a lot of babies still can't even at 8 mths. There's no rush! Breastmilk or formula should be there main source of nutrition before a year old so don't fret over the solids. If it's not working then put it off for a few months and try again then. My second baby didn't eat ANY solids til she was almost a year! She just flat refused them and didn't want to eat. So I nursed her exclusively and she was not underweight by any means for the lack of solids. After she turned a year she went straight to mushed up table food and skipped jar food completely. So it's not necessary.

Hi D.,
Babies, especially when they're beginning to experience 'solid' foods like cereal, need to get used to both taste and texture. Some are more texture sensitive than others. It's normal for them to kinda roll the food around their tongue, learn how to keep it in their mouth (which is why it sometimes falls out), swallow it, etc. Feeding time can be a slow process at first. It also takes several times for little ones to acquire a taste for something. Their tastebuds are changing constantly, so don't give up on offering things that are age appropriate. Your kid may surprise you more than once! There are several kinds of cereal.. barley, oat, rice, which have different tastes and textures. In case your daughter doesn't like the cereal you're using right now, it wouldn't hurt to try others. At six months, you could begin to mix smooth baby food into the cereal for added taste, too. Or, if your daughter likes the formula, breastmilk, or apple juice, use that to mix up the cereal instead of water. Many pediatricians advise beginning with veggies for baby food instead of fruit, so the baby doesn't acquire a taste for sweets first. Also, if your baby just loves the bottle or breast, and fills up on that first, it may be harder to get her to take the cereal. If you give the (appropriate amount of ) cereal first, and then follow with the milk, she'll be more likely to take the cereal because she'll be hungrier. My kids also slept better after a certain age when they had cereal with the bottle or breast before bed. Hope that helps some. JC

Don't worry, you didn't ruin your child by feeding her cereal at 4 mos. A lot of doctors are saying 6 mos now I believe, but 2 years ago my doctor gave me the go-ahead at 4 mos too. I ended up feeding mine cereal just before 5 mos old. Since then I have read a lot about their stomach and intestines not being fully formed, so I plan to ask my doc next time before I feed at 4 mos. But mine was starving one day all of a sudden and did very well on solids. When mine was that little, the whole point of waiting was because they thought introducing food too early caused allergies, but they have since retracted that advice as incorrect. Things change constantly, and there are very few "rules".

You've gotten good advice about how she is learning to eat and not actually rejecting it. I have found all that to be true. One sign of readiness for eating is whether or not they can actually refuse to eat, and at six mos she should be doing that if she really doesn't like it. What McMama said was exactly what I experienced with my son.

Since she has been on the cereal for a while, I would go ahead and start mixing it with something else. I did cereal for several weeks and then did veggies. Did your ped give you any guidelines on what to try next? Mine suggested cereal, then yellow veggies, then green veggies, then fruits. There are a few things that are better to wait on based on the acidity and easiness to digest, like tomatoes, strawberries and yogurt. I'll post my favorite baby food websites at the end and they have great info about that kind of stuff. Starting with yellow veggies worked very well for us. After veggies and fruits, my son didn't like cereal by itself much anymore.

Make sure you follow the 4-day wait rule for allergies and other reactions. I did one meal a day for a month or so, then upped it to two. With 2 meals a day, I would use one meal to feed a couple ounces of something he'd already been introduced to, and the other meal to introduce something new. I just followed his cues as to when he seemed to need more feedings per day. Make sure you are offering breastmilk or formula before each solid food feeding, that is where she should get her real nutrition. Then about 20 mins after "milk" do the solid. If you are nursing this is especially important to not diminish your milk supply.

Even if you don't want to make your own babyfood (which is waaay easier than it sounds) the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron has great guidelines for when to feed things and how much. I didn't follow all her advice for making food, I did watered down version and didnt make my own yogurt or anything. But it was a great resource and very helpful for figuring out what to do next and how to prepare food. The websites I like are homemade baby food websites too, but like I said, they have good info on ages to introduce things and what tastes yummy mixed with what.

I hope all that helped, and I am sure you are doing fine. Don't stress out over feeding (easier said than done, but now I wonder what I was so worried about, looking back it was pretty easy :) Just enjoy this fun new experience, razzberries and all!

http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/index.html

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

www.weelicious.com

When my son would not eat cereal at first I mixed a little bit of baby food apples or plums with it and he ate it. Little by little I would use less and less and then he ate it. Also, what are you mixing the cereal with? I nursed so I used my breast milk to mix with it and it was sweeter than with just formula or water. Try adding a bit of sweetness but not too much and see how she does. Congrats on your new baby girl!

You are going to have to try other things to know if she does not like the taste, does not like the texture, or is having feeding issues with other things. Have you tried other flavors (like bananna with cereal?) I would start with maybe peas, and see how she does. Try pears a few days later if she tolerates well, then add something new every few days, and you will know soon what these items have in common (if she rejects certain tastes, certain textures, or all solids)

M.