How to get baby to eat cereal if they don't take a bottle.

Melanie - posted on 01/29/2009

I know "the rules" say not to give your baby solids until 6 months BUT you know your baby best!! My daughter was so hungry and due to colic issues, etc had to eat often...to give my nipples a break, I started feeding her cereal. She wouldn't take a bottle either (and they say that isn't safe) so I simply propped her up with her nursing pillow and gave her very watery pablum...she loved it and did very well. She then was interested in food by 4 months and was taking it once a day, twice a day by 5 months and now at 6 months she takes it 3 times a day with fruit or veggies mixed in! Good luck!! ...and do what you think is best :)

Linda - posted on 01/29/2009

I forgot to say i had never heard that until i joined this site.

Linda - posted on 01/29/2009

Thanks Courtney, You know I didn't  know, or had never heard about trying to get someone else to give a breastfed child a bottle.  That makes perfect since though!  I think the advice on here is great and it is all welcome.

Thanks Again, Linda

Courtney - posted on 01/29/2009

Linda, Thanks I was just wondering. I have known a few mom's that have given the cereal to help the baby sleep through the night. I would certainly would do what has worked for you with your other child. As for getting the baby to drink from a bottle the only thing I can suggest to have someone other than you give the baby the bottle. You should be in another room as well. Because breastfed babies can smell your milk even if you are not hold him or her. It sometimes makes it harder for a baby to take a bottle if they know you are near.

I honestly can not imagine waiting until my babies were over a year to start baby/table food either. My 6th month old is eating baby food/ table food already, and still nurses 5 to 6 times a day. Good Luck to you! I hope you find something that works to help the baby take a bottle. Making the cereal thin enough to drink the bottle can also be thin enough to get him use to a spoon too! I know that when I was a baby ( from what my mom says) she started all of her kids on cereal when we were about 2 months or so too. try giving him the cereal from a spoon when you are ready to try from a bottle just make the same as you would for in the bottle. He might suprise you.

Jen - posted on 01/29/2009

It is best to wait until 6 months to start giving solid foods, even cereal. Their little digestive tracts are not fully formed, and they only need BM until 1 year old. So, skip the cereal until 5-6 months, problem solved. :)

Crystal - posted on 01/29/2009

My daughter barely ate any solids until she was 11 months old. She refused and only wanted to nurse. She had no problems switching to finger foods and such.

Linda - posted on 01/29/2009

Denise,  If you figure anything out please let me know!  Good luck to you

Linda - posted on 01/29/2009

Courtney,  Thanks for your reply.  I do not want to start cereal yet.  But, I will be thinking about it before long.  I started giving my other son cereal when he was about 2 and half months old and we never had a problem.  However, he was not a breastfed baby.  I made it thin enough that he could drink it thru a bottle and everything went fine. 

I guess if my baby want take a bottle though then I will wait until he is big enough to eat out of a spoon.  But, I know he will be eating solids (well baby food and mashed potatoes atleast) as soon as he ready.  I just can't imagine waiting until he is a year old. 

Thanks,

Linda

Emily - posted on 01/29/2009

Don't introduce solids until at least 6 months. This is the recommendation of both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization.

You should never put cereal in a bottle for the choking hazards mentioned above, just wait until he can take it from a spoon.

Personally, I don't give my kids baby cereals at all... it's actually not the best for their digestive systems to start with. Instead we just start with table food between 6 and 8 months. We start with veggies (sweet potatoes, cooked carrots, avocado, peas), then fruits (banana, applesauce, peaches), then yogurt, some dairy like cheese, meats (shredded chicken, ground beef), and finally grains.

Courtney - posted on 01/29/2009

As for what Crystal said about the infants not needing solids till they are a year old is true. However the point she made about the kids nowing how to eat when it is time is not always true a friend of my nursed her daughter completely for a year and they had and are still having a very hard time getting her to eat and drink and she is 3 years old. Unless your doctor has told you to start feeding your baby cereal you should not do that. And giving it in a bottle is not necessary. you can make the cereal thin enough that they can use a spoon. they will drink it off. Keep trying the bottle if you need to return to work and will need to give the baby a bottle during the day ( work day). I did not start to feed my baby ( 4th baby ) until she was 6 months old. You should not try to give any foods till your baby starts to show interest. they need to be watching you eat, able to sit with support, and be reaching for food before you start anything solid. This is a developmental issue of readiness not age readiness. some babies are earlier food eaters then others.

Just curious Linda why do you want to give the baby cereal already? Nutrionally it is not necessary at all. Introducing just cereal makes the babies diet unbalanced. Above all follow your doctors advice.

Lindsey - posted on 01/28/2009

I've heard to not start cereal until 4 months- any earlier can increase the babies chance of having allergies. I began feeding my LO rice cereal by spoon at four months and he is now capable of eating his stage 1 foods which we will start in a week. 

Crystal - posted on 01/28/2009

Ok, I have two things to say about this. One, you shouldn't give your baby cereal in a bottle to begin with. It's not only a choking hazard but it can cause all kinds of problems from having to suck so hard to get it out of the bottle. Second, you shouldn't start babies on any solid foods until 6 months ideally. All 3 of my kids were over 12 months of age before they ate any solids regularly. They don't need solids when they are infants, breastmilk ideally and formula after that is all they need, at all in the first year of life. You can give them no solids at all and they will be just fine. Giving solids is just an experimentation, and even if you gave them no solids, they would still know how to eat "real" foods when the time came.

Dianna - posted on 01/28/2009

Babies should be 6 months before introducing any soilds. By that time they can sit up in a high chair and be spoon fed or finger fed. I know most people start with cereal, but not all, it is ok to never eat cereal.

Denise - posted on 01/28/2009

I don't know either. My ten week old refuses the bottle too-we have tried every nipple, nipple speed, bottle type, etc.  I go back to work in March and am starting to get worried.  I don't think babies go on cereal until about 4 months so we have time.  Good luck