refusing rice cereal

Johanna - posted on 05/24/2009

maybe she is not ready for it...? you can forgo it for a while and try again in a couple of weeks. be careful adding juice...definitely try to get her acquainted with veggies before fruit. :) good luck!

Izabela - posted on 05/24/2009

As long as she's tried it on 4 day increments she isn't allergic which means you don't have to stick with it. Some pedis only use it for a week to transition to solids. Pick another fruit/veggie. If she isn't ready wait a while and try again. After you've got her eating some fruits/veggies you can introduce oatmeal/barley. I'm not a huge fan of juice for babies/kids/adults. But you have to do whatever works for you. Carrots and sweet potatos were my babies favorites but they're constipating so you may want to introduce peaches/pears/prunes as a 2nd or 3rd food to prevent constipation.

Tamara - posted on 05/24/2009

Sounds like she's just plain not read for solids. I'd wait a while yet and try again in a couple of months and than skip the cereal altogether. (it tastes and smells like arse. I sure wouldn't eat it and I'm a grownup. :) )

Dani - posted on 05/24/2009

The thrust reflex with the spoon means she isn't ready for cereal or any other solids, and giving her the cereal from a bottle is ill advised because it's a choking hazard. When she is ready, she'll nibble and suck on the spoon until she can get it right. Is she grabbing for your food yet? Eyeing everything you eat? Fussing at the sight of food and trying to get to it? When she's ready, she'll let YOU know, not the other way around. Trying to force her to eat something her body isn't ready for will only give her digestion problems.

Nicole - posted on 05/23/2009

Hi Tasha, I am a physical therapist and I work with children from birth to 17yrs of age. The occupational therapist that I work with and I usually suggest adding some of the babies formula to the cereal. If that does not work try a little stage 1 applesauce or banana. Try not to put the formula in the bottle because it is hard sometimes to get them to eat from the spoon. I am glad to hear that you are trying to get her use to using the spoon. She may spit it out do to learning how to use other oral motor muscles other than sucking.

Latrisha - posted on 05/23/2009

I started my daughter on oatmeal cereal at 2 weeks old my daughter doctor said if she can eat it then that is fine she would never eat rice then at 2 months I started putting baby food in it too in her bottle she loves it. There is also a baby food bottle for when she is able to take it thicker.

Kate CP - posted on 05/23/2009

It's because rice cereal tastes awful. Give her fruits and veggies instead.

Salena - posted on 05/22/2009

you will find they usually have the smae reaction to baby food (which is totally over raided) make your own. Baby food is nasty and I never wanted to see my tiny ones gag so I cooked my own vegies and used my mini food processor to make them food for the week. They never turned their heads on it once. :-)

Salena - posted on 05/22/2009

A little juice mixed with cereal and breastmilk/formula works everytime. Just a little juice though too much can hurt her little belly. One thing that I swear by is the feeder sets at walmart they look like a bottle with a plunger. You can use the nipple, sippy top or a spoon that attaches. They are awesome for first time feedings!

Lydia - posted on 05/22/2009

My girl didnt like it either so I bought some jars of baby food - fruits and veges - to see if she would eat any of those and she couldnt get enough.

Lindsey - posted on 05/22/2009

dont blame her its disgusting try her on rusks or flavoured rice cereal!

Kami - posted on 05/22/2009

My son won't eat it if I mix it with water. If I mix it with formula or breastmilk he can't get enough.

Allison - posted on 05/22/2009

If you are breastfeeding, have you tried mixing cereal with breast milk? My daughter had the same response to cereal. Also try mixing a tiny bit of honey to the mixture. Not a lot just a hint.

Amy - posted on 05/22/2009

She is probably not ready for it yet. Try in another month.

Kay - posted on 05/22/2009

raffertys organic put out a product called banana pear and mango..mix a thumbnail size in with raffertys baby cereal 4mths and she should eat it.. my daughter refuses farex so we tried her on reffertys instead.. its available at woolworths and coles..

Marisa - posted on 05/22/2009

I do. I'm the mother of three boys, so I have quite a bit of experience. If your daughter is spitting out food offered by spoon she probably isn't ready for solids. Baby's have a natural tongue reflex that won't allow them to be spoon fed ( till they're ready), but they outgrow it. So give her some time and maybe try again in a month or 2. Trust me, she is still a little young to start feeding her to many solids anyway. It's way more important that she gets that breastmilk or formula for the first year anyway, that is they're main source of nutrition. I hope my advice helps. Keep up the good work, mommy.

Sarah - posted on 05/22/2009

this whole thing about allergies and stuff is nonsense. I've also read that if you don't introduce other tastes at between 4-5 months that you can run into all sorts of problems with kids refusing certain foods and so on.... at the end of the day, the only thing that should determine whether your child should be eating things is how you and your baby feel. if she is looking at you eating and showing an interest in what goes in your mouth, she's ready - it just takes time for them to learn how - just like latching onto the boob - is takes time to master for a lot of babies.

Sarah - posted on 05/21/2009

hey, my baby absultely hates the rice cereal too!! I even mixed it with apple and pear to see if she'd take it and it didn't work - she literally gags on it! I wouldn't worry about it - use the rule of try it 5 times and if it doesn't work, try something else. We've gone straight to the other things like mushed pumpkin/sweet potato and fruits and she is loving them. good luck!

Jaclyn - posted on 05/21/2009

I learned with my first child that it just takes practice. Lots of messy practice. The motion that the tongue does when sucking on a bottle is different then the motiong needed for swallowing food. Good Luck!

Beth - posted on 05/21/2009

She doesn't need it yet. don't push it.

Mel - posted on 05/21/2009

also dont worry it doesnt heighten allergies to give too soon, the new research has showed this is untrue, whether you give solids at 2 months or 6 months if bub is going to have a reaction then they will either way good luck

Mel - posted on 05/21/2009

yes i agree try fruits and vegies, she doesnt have to have rice cereal first at all, mine has vegies first at around 3 months. she screamed at rice cereal because it tastes disgusting.

Helen - posted on 05/21/2009

I didn't start feeding my second son solids, until he was almost 1! I just go by what he's ready and not ready for. I googled about this and what I found was amazing. There are pediatricians that believe if you start solids a bit too early, their internal organs may be too immature to digest it. So what happens is that you may heighten their chance of allergies. You can do your own research and draw your own conclusions.

Heather - posted on 05/21/2009

My son never took the rice cereal no matter what I mixed it with. Then I tried the Barley cereal which he did a little better with but it was oatmeal that he finally took to. Never ate the rice cereal and he did just fine with solid foods.They are all single grain cereals. I tried it at 4 months too. I think he finally started really eating the cereal more at about 5 months or even closer to 6 months. Don't get frustrated she will eat it when she is ready. Just keep trying.

Dena - posted on 05/21/2009

I had to put fruit in it for either of my boys to touch it. My older son preferred the single grain oatmeal over the rice. My doc said to just add a new food no sooner then every 3 days in the beginning....just in case of an allergy. Have you tried the rice cereal? It really isn't very good. Good luck!

Joy - posted on 05/21/2009

Babies have to learn how to eat, just like how they have to learn everything else. In the begining, gagging is normal because they are experiencing a different texture going down their throat. Gagging at that age has nothing to do with the taste because they don't know any better. Breast milk and formula are also pretty gross to us adults but babies don't know the difference between what tastes "good" and what tastes "bad". A child that age could eat poop and not know that it tastes disgusting.

As for her spitting it out, that sounds to me like she may not be ready yet. I would try again in a week or two. If she is shoving it out with her tongue, it's a protective reflex that babies have to prevent them from choking. If it's just messy, then that's just how it goes lol With my son, I waited until he had gotten used to the texture of the plain rice cereal before I started adding flavoring (with fruits or veggieis). Hope this helps and good luck! What a pretty girl you have!

Danielle - posted on 05/21/2009

I work in a pediatricians office. You can use any of the baby jar food. Rice cereal tastes like cardboard and most kids won't take it. When you make the cereal (they way the box says) don't water it down. That is not going to help her use her tongue. Take whatever jar food you have and put 1/4 of the jar in it for taste. She should be ok with that. She will spit half of it out until she is able to control her tongue. Good luck

Sarah - posted on 05/21/2009

I think I remember reading somewhere that it can take a child trying a new food up to 12 times before they learn to like it. We had a similar problem with my son, he had no interest in rice cereal or oatmeal at first. I think we offered it, not forcing, just offering a taste for about 2 weeks before we gave it up. He just wanted nothing to do with it. So, we went ahead and tried peaches (liked it), pears (loved it) and then applesauce (loved it). After that, we tried the cereal again but with a fruit either mixed in or at least next to it and he did fine.

So my sense is one of two things...first, your daughter may not be ready yet. 4 months is still pretty early, especially as foods up through the first year are about learning and practice, not nutrition. If spitting it back out, then you may do well to step back and wait a few weeks or a month before offering again. Or, secondly, she just may not be into cereal. As several pp's have mentioned, rice cereal is not particularly tasty and some kids (mine included) are really particular about textures. You could try a little bit of something else, probably a mild flavored fruit like applesauce or pear.

Overall though, you really don't want to push it. If she's not ready or doesn't like it and you push, you are risking her developing a negative association with food. So keep offering if you want to, but just be mindful of her reactions. If it starts to even look like it's becoming a traumatic experience, then you probably want to back off entirely. It is not absolutely crucial that she be started on foods just yet (in fact, some authorities suggest not even offering foods until 6 months), so this is not something to be stressing either one of you.

Brooke - posted on 05/21/2009

Yeah, when I first tried it with him, he wasn't too interested...so I waited a month or so, and now he's all about it!

Cathralynn - posted on 05/21/2009

Quoting Brooke:

Yeah, my son didn't like it at all, until I mixed it with formula AND baby food. I mix it with any baby food (bananas, carrots, greenbeans, applesauce, etc) Now he loves it =)

That's funny, once my daughter liked cereal, I mixed it with other baby foods to get her to eat them!  Worked for awhile. Until she refused spoon feeding oeriod

Shelly - posted on 05/21/2009

my daughter who is now 9 never liked any baby cereal. i tried to add apple sauce and stuff but still never liked it she prefered the applesauce all by its self. my youngest is now 7 months he ate it a little but he is now not wanting any baby food just big people food. he loves his fruity cheerios and will not eat the plain ones. all babies are different if she doesnt want it dont worry try a a veggie instead.

Brooke - posted on 05/21/2009

Yeah, my son didn't like it at all, until I mixed it with formula AND baby food. I mix it with any baby food (bananas, carrots, greenbeans, applesauce, etc) Now he loves it =)

Cathralynn - posted on 05/21/2009

I agree with the she might not be ready yet theory. My doctor said not to start until six months because my daughters growth and sleep patterns were fine. If you start too early you may run into food allergies. The baby needs to be able to sit up and show an interest. They have a natural tendency to thrust with their tongues and this doesn't work with spoon feeding. I would not sweeten it with juice, that adds unnecessary sugar and flavor. I also would not recommend putting it in a bottle, they can choke on it. My daughter did not catch on to spoon feeding until like seven mos and went straight to finger foods by eight. She never wanted to be spoon fed, she wanted to do it herself! Don't rush it, it will all work out

Cheryl - posted on 05/21/2009

Have you tasted the stuff?

She actually doesn't need it til 6 months and she's doing her best to tell you that. She is too little. Never add cereal to a bottle its a choking hazard. Its a fallacy that she has to master rice cereal, when she is 6 months old try the squash or some other first food. As long as its liquid she will eat it.

Samantha - posted on 05/21/2009

She may just not be ready yet. I know all babies are ready for solids at different ages. She can survive on formula or breast milk alone until she is 6 months old. My son had teeth at 3 months, was grabbing at my food at three months, could sit unsupported at 3 months. They say when babies are doing those things, sitting unsupported, teething, and show interest in your food ,they are ready to start solids. I still didn't give him rice cereal until he was 4 months, and he was more than ready for it then. It only took about 2 weeks of me giving cereal to him ( gradually making it thicker and heartier) until he was eating stage 1 foods. Since then he has taken off, he has finished every last thing I have ever given him, and cried for more! He's 7 months and eating 8 month jars, ( he chews and has 5 teeth). So I wouldn't worry about it too much, like I said she may just not be ready yet. But keep trying and when she is ready she will take it. You have about 2 months to prep her with the idea of eating it from a spoon. Also Nuby and Sassy baby have these infant cereal feeders that are supposed to make the transition from formula and breast milk to cereal a bit easier for the child. Its like a bottle but with a vacuum in it and a larger hole, so you can put it in them and let her get a taste for it and gradually make it thicker then try it with spoon again once she is used to it. Also once she is used to the thicker blend of cereal it may be easier for her to eat with a spoon.

Justine - posted on 05/21/2009

i had the same problem with my little guy. he hated the rice. so i tried the apple and pear cereal instead and that went down a treat. he is 5 months now and is slowly getting there. so dont be worried. just keep trying and she will get there eventually in her own time!

Samantha - posted on 05/21/2009

She may just not be ready yet. I know all babies are ready for solids at different ages. She can survive on formula or breast milk alone until she is 6 months old. My son had teeth at 3 months, was grabbing at my food at three months, could sit unsupported at 3 months. They say when babies are doing those things, sitting unsupported, teething, and show interest in your food ,they are ready to start solids. I still didn't give him rice cereal until he was 4 months, and he was more than ready for it then. It only took about 2 weeks of me giving cereal to him ( gradually making it thicker and heartier) until he was eating stage 1 foods. Since then he has taken off, he has finished every last thing I have ever given him, and cried for more! He's 7 months and eating 8 month jars, ( he chews and has 5 teeth). So I wouldn't worry about it too much, like I said she may just not be ready yet. But keep trying and when she is ready she will take it. You have about 2 months to prep her with the idea of eating it from a spoon. Also Nuby and Sassy baby have these infant cereal feeders that are supposed to make the transition from formula and breast milk to cereal a bit easier for the child. Its like a bottle but with a vacuum in it and a larger hole, so you can put it in them and let her get a taste for it and gradually make it thicker then try it with spoon again once she is used to it. Also once she is used to the thicker blend of cereal it may be easier for her to eat with a spoon.

Moana - posted on 05/21/2009

or have you tried different brands of cereal? my daughter only liked one brand, she would not eat any others!

Jenifer - posted on 05/21/2009

Well, it does taste pretty gross.... I second the suggestion to try fruits instead. I don't think babies need rice cereal - there are lots of options out there for first food. The other possibility could be that she doesn't want anything to do with the spoon itself. If that's the case, wait a week and try introducing it again.

Jessica - posted on 05/21/2009

put a litte baby applesauce or pear with it... or thin it with apple juice! No baby can resist the sweet taste of fruits!