Five Month Old

I hate to tell you this, but you need to stick to formula for now, and let her get a bit older. More recent studies suggest waiting until at least 6 months in order to allow their digestive systems to catch up. My 6 month old is just now sort of eating, but she still drinks the same amount of milk. It is intended to supplement their formula until they are much older. Have you ever checked to see if you qualify for WIC?? The income requirements are not as low as one might think, so look into it for sure!! Good luck, before you know it she will be eating chesseburgers, and you will be longing for the days of the bottle:) ~A.~

Maybe... it's too early for her? She may not be ready for food. It's okay if she is 5 months old. It's very frustrating to deal with baby like that... But we don't want her to "hate" meal time. She won't even try a spoonful if she comes to that. So... take your time and wait for a bit. Maybe you let her sit next to you when you eat and tell her how yummy the food is... Then when she is ready, she may show some interest in eating!
Formula is expensive, but it is good for baby. Baby does not live for our convenience. It's another individual, you know?
Register with Good Starts or Similac, Enfamil online, then they will send you coupon!
If she hates meal time, then she won't eat anything healthy in a future... If you hang on and be patient, then you will raise a healthy eater which you can share your meal with... not going to get another kids meal!

Are you using powder formula, or read-to-feed/concentrate? Powder is the least expensive form, not to mention the fact that it will not spoil since you only need to mix enough for one bottle at a time, and just take the powder and a bottled water with you on your errands! (A REAL life-saver in Texas summers!) Your pediatrician might also be able to help you, because they are always getting samples of formula from the mfr's...You just need to call the office and ask.

Also, you can always go to the websites of the companies, and sign up for coupons that they send to you in the mail. That's a real Life-saver! The web address should be near the bottom of the label on the can.

And...I'm in agreement with the other mommies....your daughter is just not ready to eat solid foods, yet, and as long as she is seeming to get and stay full on her formula, you're going to have to let HER tell YOU "when" formula is not enough. And as stated, introduce foods one at a time, a few days apart, so you can check for allergic reactions. If you have a family history of food allergies, I would avoid those foods altogether until she is old enough to be tested to see if she has that same allergy.

Congratulations on Your Baby Girl! :)

~J.~
Healthy Families Happy Moms

My son wouldn't either. Have you tried making your own baby food, I know it takes more time but you can blend up what you need, put it in ice cube trays and freeze it. As far as cereal is concerned my son hated rice. But he would eat oatmeal.

He is now 21 years old 6 foot 4 inches! So I guess this worked!!!

Have you tried making some food yourself. Bananas are really easy to mash up. Other veges you can boil and then pop in the blender. Since she won't eat applesauce, this might not help but, try mixing a little applesauce in with the cereal to see if the mixture satisfies her. I've also heard that you should try a new food 10 times before giving up on it.

I started my daughter at 5 months and I tried everyday to get her to eat something that was "solid" and she honestly never ate any solids to speak of until she was 9 months old. At 9 months I removed 2 of her nursing sessions a day and that in turn made her more hungry but even then we only did baby food for a very short period of time. I just don't think she liked it because as soon as I started her on real food she ate like a champ. I can imagine that buying formula is hard on the pocket-book but you might ask your pediatrician if he/she thinks it's ok to remove one or two bottle feedings and see if that helps. You also might try mashing real foods instead of jarred foor. I would never taste it myself but I hear it does not have much flavor. Don't get discouraged and be patient. It's all new and I so often forget that my baby is adjusting to everything and it is all new.

Your baby still needs formula until she is a year old. Other foods are supposed to be introduced very slowly starting between four and six months. At this age, you are really just getting her used to the taste and textures more than providing the nutrition. As she gets older she will take more solids and less formula but she should still be getting formula until she turns one. A good way to start with cereal is to mix it with her formula in a bowl and try spoon feeding her. It may take a while before she adjust to it, give her time. Only introduce one food at a time and wait several days in between starting a new food so you can make sure she does not have a reaction. I suggest reading online about food introduction. Babycenter has a lot of information. Good Luck!