Feeding a 5 1/2 Month Old.

J. none of my children like to eat cereal. In fact my middle child screamed for 2 hrs the first time he tried. I always put either fruit or veggies mixed with the cereal and they ate it great. My doctor always had me start with the fruits first he said they children like them better and it is easier for them to except and once you have introduced all the main fruits applesauce, pears, and peaches than you move to the orange veggies. Hope that helps M..

J. S.
What's the rush to get your baby to eat solid foods? The human body is a wonderful machine that more often than not sends healthful messages. If your daughter's body is not hungry and she is in the 95th percentile for weight and 75th for height already why push it? Have her levels dropped recently, in other words did she used to be in higher percentile groups? Soon enough your child will be putting everything into her mouth. You don't want to create stress about food issues with your beautiful little girl, and know that children sense parental stress even when they don't hear or understand the words. Best of luck. God Bless!
K.

Two of my nieces (one is now 9 and the other a year old) refused to eat baby food. They only wanted regular food. Unfortunately there are not too many choices of regular food at 5 1/2 months. For both of them, my sisters just had to keep breast feeding as much as needed until they had enough teeth to chew and also understood how to gum things. They started with mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, cheerios, steamed carrots and peas, and cooked pears. You could also try the Gerber Puffs. They really dissolve almost immediately. Those were one of the first things I gave my baby (now 1) to teach him how to chew. And I'm pretty sure he was around six months when I started (and he only had 2 teeth).

feed cereal first, when she is hungry, then top it off with mild or formula. Instead of trying to add vegetables, try fruit, which most babies like better. When you go to vegetables, try carrots or sweet potatoes first, they are a tad sweeter than the greeen vegetables, and so better accepted, but they are just as nutritious.

Don't force her to eat, babies know when they are full, and stop.
good luck, L.

My guess is that she is too full. I usually fed my kids about an hour before they normally would nurse. They weren't super hungry yet, but they weren't full either. I'd give them just enough to let them try it and then they'd have milk as their main meal. Try feeding her before her bottle and see if that helps.

Neither of my kids liked rice cereal, so maybe try a different cereal or veggies and see if that makes a difference.

I feed my six month old a 6 oz. bottle when she wakes (way too early!) at 5:45am. Then when the rest of us eat breakfast around 8:30-9am I feed her cereal, one scoop of formula and a tap or two of cinnamon mixed. She is used to the taste of the formula and loves it. Then i feed her only 4oz's in a bottle about an hour later or just after breakfast.
best wishes

Hi J..

First, any sort of solids before 12 months is just practice. Baby's primary calories need to come from formula or breastmilk until they are 1 year old.

Next, it could be there is some sort of discomfort with eating. Whether she bit her lip, or bit the spoon, or maybe the cereal is just causing some sort of internal discomfort. Is she pooping normally?

Also, you CAN introduce table foods when they are about 6 months old. Of course you have to be careful with what you offer. You can go giving her a raw carrot and expect her not to choke. SOFT cooked veggies, rice cake, bread crusts... stuff like that are ok. Google 'baby led weaning' and you will get some info.

Purees are just as much as choking hazard as anything else. Many babies try to 'drink' the puree off the spoon and then it gets forced to the back of their throat but of course is much thicker then the milk they are used to.

Babies develop the 'chewing' skill about the same time they develop the reach out and 'rake' thing back to them skill. (which typically happens around 6 months). Just and FYI, the other reason to wait until at least 6 months for solids is because there is increasing evidence to suggest their digestive tracks just can't handle the solids and introducing them sooner can lead to problems late in life like IBS.

Anyway, solids aren't necessary at this point. I would back off until she gives you more signals she is ready... like trying to take your food etc... And I would think about offering something other then purees.

By offering table food you are introducing the REAL tastes and textures of the food. My daughter is 10 months old (almost) and has had: parnsip, broccolli, zuchinni, pear, apple, wheat bread, shredded cheese, banana, carrot, white asparagus, plain yoghurt, and egg yolk (even french toast sticks made with egg yolk). As long as you sit there with them while they eat, and things are soft cooked things are fine. Their gums are very strong and can 'chew' soft cooked things.

Good luck.

I started my daughter on cereal at 5 months and she hated it. After a couple weeks of trying (I would offer it every other day) I finally gave up. She was still doing well with her bottles and I knew I was going to introduce baby food at 6 months. I started with veggies (she loved the orange ones) and then introduced fruits. I don't think it matters in what order you introduce them. We got into a pattern where she would eat baby food for breakfast and then have a bottle a 1/2 hour befor nap. Same thing with lunch and dinner (sometimes she would have a small bottle before dinner too). She napped twice a day. I think it helped to space the baby food and bottle feedings out because then she wasn't too full.

Some baby food brands make cereal/fruit combos in jars. I bought some of those and my daughter loved them for breakfast. You could also try different kinds of cereal too. A friend of mine started her son on barley cereal instead of rice because he had a sensitive tummy. Hope this helps!

Hi I disagree with the suggestion to feed solid finger foods. If it is even a little too big your baby can choke! So please only mushy foods until baby gets used to swallowing bigger amounts then gradually get thicker and lumpier.

Now to your question... Babies main nutrition comes from breast milk or formula for the first year. They simply can't eat enough variety or the quantity to fill up their nutritional needs. So if your baby refuses to eat the cereal that's ok. Please don't stress. Give it a few days and try again. If she still won't eat give up on it for a few weeks and then reintroduce the cereal. It is not worth the fight since it is just practice for baby at this age.

If you have any more worries I recommend talking to your pediatrician at her 6 month check. They have much more experience with feeding issues.

Oh and just to let you know none of my kids accepted any solids until they were around 7 months old. The 4 to 6 month doctor recommendation is just that, a recommendation. Every baby goes at his/her own pace.

God Bless
K. SAHM of 3

I would not try to feed the baby cereal right after a bottle. I would wait at least an hour. She probably is too full after a bottle.

The baby does not need any solid foods.. formula is enough. Food for the first year is just practice for eating.

Take a week off ... Try again in a week.. if she refuses solids then wait and try again in a week. There is no rush.

I wouldn't worry too much. She may just need a break, or need something new. try making it a little thicker and letting her do the spooning or eat it with her hands- yes messy, but she is learning about food and textures. If you force her, meal time will become a constant battle, let her lead the way a little. Check out askdrsears.com they have other suggestions on feeding little ones, lots of docs are now saying to skip the cereal and go straight to fruits and veggies (mashed banana, soft avacado, apple sauce -they make a great no sugar added one- so you don't have to buy the expensive baby food ones!)

Percentiles are a statistician's fantasy. Most doctors don't even understand what they mean. First, the charts are made up of mid-west white orphans from the 30s (the last time there was a big enough 'non volunteer' population to follow)...so they're related to your child how?

Second, ALL IT MEANS is that your daughter is taller than 95 of 100 randomly selected caucasion orphans, while she is only heavier than 75 of them. There is not 'magic' best number. If your family genetics make tall, slender people, who is going to be surprised that your daughter is a lot taller than the mythical 'average' but not a lot heavier?

And lastly, pablum is 'filler' - it has virtually no nutritional benefit and is given to children to stop them wanting to fill up on expensive food that actually has nutrition. Kind of like giving them candy instead of an apple... it's cheaper and it keeps them quiet, so where's the problem? Gee... let's see.

I would suggest just leaving it, because you *can* force her to adopt an eating disorder, but you can't force her to adopt a healthy appetite and the ability to stop eating when she's not hunrgy anymore.

I am not for or against feeding a baby early just so you know :) In fact my fourth son wanted food desparetly at 4 months so I obliged - but just so you know there are many babys that are only breast fed until 12 months.... in other words dont worry... your baby will eat when she is ready. She certainly doesnt sound like she is lacking anything from her milk diet!! You may want to try some finger foods.... even without teeth finger foods are no worry near to 6 months... little pieces of soft fruit or small pieces of bread are a great place to start. Fruit can be rolled in wheat germ to help grasp :)

Is it just the cereal or does she refuse all food on a spoon?
There could be a few things happening...
Check your spoons... Are they metal, plastic, or do they have a protective coating? Maybe she chomped down and found the hardness of it to be a bad feeling...
Maybe mixing some bananas/ baby fruit in with the cereal will help give it a bit of a sweeter taste. Some babys develop a like of more tastes faster than other babys do.
I would say give it a few days then try again...
Thats what parenting is all about... Trial and error to find what works for YOUR child at THIS moment in time...
Good luck

HI J., may be teething and the spoon touching the gums may be bothering her.

My daughter would never eat babyfood! I gave her little tiny tiny pieces of people food when she was 7 months. Bannannas, tiny 1/2 slivers of cooked carrot, advocado...etc. Anthing that was kind of mushy to begin with but in small pieces.

It sounds like shes full. Try giving her the cereal before the bottle in the morning. Also maybe she doesnt like the texture shes old enough now for stage 1 solids try giving her carrots or a fruit like applesauce, she may like that better than the cereal.Good Luck

At our 3 mth well child visit the doc said to go ahead and try cereal. I tried introducing foods at 4 mths to my 2nd because I had read that when your child shows interest in foods by watching you eat, that its time to try.

At our 6 mth well child visit, I told my Ped this he almost croaked. He says that we as a society used to get sick from being dirty. Now we are a very clean society so not to introduce foods until 6 mths. He says that's how we are now developing allergies, thru the foods we eat. Not to introduce eggs, PB or strawberries until 2 yrs of age.

I would wait until each well child visit and discuss with your Ped what's the next step.

For my 2nd child, at 6 mths we introduced oatmeal and she ate the oatmeal and then took some of the bottle. Use the formula/breastmilk to make the dish. Now at 10 mths she eats and will take a drink to wash down the food but that's it. So weaning off the bottle is going to be easy for us (I think/hope).