My Daughter Is Almost 7 Months Old and Will Not Let Me Spoon Feed Her.

Don't force her. Try baby yogart and fruit. Gerber has great snacks. Also try oatmeal with apples or bannas. Good luck

My daughter never liked any of the cereals either. I gave up on trying to force her to eat it all the time and started her on the stage 1 foods. She loved all the fruits and veggies. Once I got her to eat the stage 1 foods I would add a little cereal to each one so she couldn't taste it and it worked great. Start with applesauce or sweet potatoes. I had the best luck with those first. Good luck!!

i have 2 yr old twin girls and a 5 month old son, none of them wanted to eat cereal, they all hated it! what i did, even though they say not too and everyone still does it, was in a 5oz bottle of formula i would add 2 teaspoons of cereal just to the night bottle, a dr said ok bc my twins were so tiny, but my son was huge and just hungry all the time, esp during the night, so i started the same thing, works like a charm!!
AJ, my son, will eat applesauce, pears, some veggies, but no cereal.
1 tip i remember from when i was asking that did seem to get them to eat a little bit more of the cereal was making the cereal with fruit and then add some formula to the cereal, keeping it thick just adding a more familiar taste.

good luck!!

D.- Don't stress or worry that your baby isn't eating solids. Solids are ENTIRELY for fun, learning and exposure to new textures and tastes right now. Until they are age 1 or older there is very little nutritional benefit of solids due to their very immature gut and they do not process or absorb much of what they do swallow. I would skip the cereal totally if she is telling you that she doesn't like it. Cereal used to be recommended (and still is recommended by very old-fashioned Dr's) but more recent/better research shows that avacado, sweet potato and banana are better 1st foods. Also - try blending and pureeing fresh foods yourself, many kids don't like the jarred baby foods...and if you puree your own fresh foods then they aren't getting all that sugar, colors, additives and preservatives in the jars/packages you buy at the store. She also may not like the mushy texture of smushed food, so try tiny tiny pieces of safe foods for her to do her self....this may make her more interested and enjoy food more.

Don't stress....many babies don't show interest in eating solids until 1 yr old or later.... she is likely sensing your tension and frustration, which can make her even more anxious over what is supposed to be a fun learning process for her at this age. She may be going through a growth spurt as well, which is making her wake up hungry... OR, some babies just process/metabolise food faster as they grow and she may need food overnight.... She's only 7 months old, so it is entirely normal for her to still need for during the long overnight stretch and if she's actually consuming it, then she needs it. Eating solid food is NOT a better option at this age since it is NOT nutritionally beneficial. The only reason babies sleep longer when cereal is forced in their bottles is because it puts an enormous strain on their digestive system and takes their little bodies sooo long to process and digest, making their bodies work hard and putting undue stress on their young, immature gut. That is a very old-fashioned, out of date suggestion that most newer Dr's will not recommend.... Even though it is tiring, this too shall pass and will be a faded memory of your caretaking of her while she was a little baby....enjoy her now, soon she will be a grown girl getting her own snacks at night and you will long to be needed overnight by her like you are now :-(

Have you tried blending "normal" food? My son never took to cereal, but he loves homemade soup.

You might want to just skip the cereal and just got to baby food. My daughter really did not like the cereal but loved the baby food. I not sure if you have tried the Oatmeal or the Rice flavors that might help too. Good luck.

My daughter gave my grandson theirs with their bottle. Mix with formula until liquidy but somewhat thick. USE a Y nipple or if your bottles don't come with one use some scissors or knife and cut a larger hole in the nipple. We had to do this for acid reflux on both babies but now that the baby is older he stills likes his cereal bottle in the morning.

Hi D.,

My daughter didn't eat solids until 8.5 months old, and then it was 1-3 bites at a sitting at most. We learned not to push it, even though it seemed unusual at the time (It was not unusual after all! She just preferred breastmilk). With time she ate more and more solids, but it was literally a bite at a time. Now she is an occasionally hearty eater at 20 months.

She also did not eat baby foods. I have read that many babies never do... instead they go for mouthable soft foods.

my daughter is almost 9 1/2 months old and will have days where she eats nothing but formula. Eating does not interest her much. Often when I try to spoon feed her she shakes her head and pushes it away...no matter what it is. If at the end of the day she hasn't eaten food, I put a container of stage 1 fruit in her bottle. I cut large holes in the nipples, she's used to it. I just keep trying, but I don't force her. I've tried feeding her everything. i'm just going to be patient. She'll eat eventually.

I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter never liked rice cereal or baby food. I started my daughter on table food once I realized she didn't like the food I had been offering. She also didn't want to be spoon fed by me. I let her feed herself the table food and did great!

Try not to get too frustrated! Some babies don't do well w/ the cereals, but that doesn't mean you can't try other things...purees of fruits/veggies, actual rice, even poached chicken/turkey that is then chopped extremely fine and then put into the veggie purees. There are different philoshophies on which foods are right for babies first "real" foods, but there is are 2 great websites www.wholesomebabyfood.com and www.wholetoddlerfood.com that make some more helpful suggestions on what you can try. My best friend whose 9 month old daughter (who is 3 weeks younger than mine) has had a completedly different experience with food than we have had. We both are continuing to breastfeed (hopefully to 1 year-and I still wake at least once in the middle of the night to nurse!) but my daughter has been doing infant cereals and purees since 5 monthes(1 time a day), stage 2 foods since 7 monthes(1 time a day), and now is doing stage 3 foods(at dinner time) and "real" foods like banana, poached chicken, steamed unseasoned veggies (like cauliflower, carrot, squash, broccoli, potato, etc)and even some add'l fruits like strawberries and pineapple(in one of those mesh teething feeders) she still breastfeeds 6-8 times a day plus is allowed to try any of these foods as we are eating them at mealtimes.....on the other hand my bestfriend's daughter does not act interested in most foods....she does do some of the fruits like us in the mesh feeder, and my friend gives her some plain well-cooked brown rice, a few grains at a time, and she also does well with the poached chicken, and that's about all she's interested in at this time!! She does continue to offer her the veggie purees(but she really just tastes/plays) and she continues to offer her other foods appropriate for her age, but EVERY baby is different!! You will just have to find what works for you/yours! Good Luck and please don't hesitate to ask for more help!! L.

Try smashed up avocado. If she doesn't like to be spoon fed, you can put small pieces on her try. If they're too slippery for her to pick up, it might help to sprinkle a bit of the dry cereal flakes on them so they're easier to pick up! This is a good first food for babies - mild and buttery tasting, and full of healthy fat. Good luck!

I would forget cereal for now and feed fruit or veggies instead.

Hi~ I have twin 6 month baby boys and they didn't like the cereal either- but they LOVE all the stage one baby foods. They eat a variety of veggies and fruits and oh is it fun :) Try some with your daughter, she may love it!

D.,

What kind of cereal are you feeding. My daughter didn't like the rice cereal, but loved the oatmeal & barley. If you have tried 10 times & she doesn't like it, switch to something else. Her tastes may change as she gets older.

Trying the cereal in the jars with fruit is a option as well.

My daughter who is 17 mo. loves banana pudding, flavor, jarred fruit. Give her a fresh banana & forget it!! She throws it.

I'll just let you know what i did with my daughter if you want do the same. My daughter is 15 months growing great and i never fed her any boxed cereal or formula what's so ever. Mine was a picky eater but the thing is she likes what me and my husband like. We purchased a small blender at Albertsons and what ever we ate id stick some in there for her. She loved it. Especially Chinese food. Of course make sure it's not spicy or anything but besides that she should eat it. My daughters fav. food is when I boil plain past, once it's boiled and really cooked Id drain the water and add it in the blender so it becomes "baby food" after that buy some "alfrado" sauce (at publix) it's a pretty good size jar and just add it as sauce on the past and if you want just cook some chicken, blend it good and add it in. She should love it and it's super easy. That's what i feed my daughter she loves it and she sleeps all night. Who wants boxed food anyway, cook the real thing. I hope she loves it let me know if you try it out. Best Of Luck !

My daughter and grandkids never rejected the ceeal, however there were times at night when they would wake up wanting a bottle when they shouldn't so have you tried mixing a little cereal in with the bottle and making the nipple holes bigger? This will get some cereal down her and fill her up more than plain milk. This was a Dr.'s recommendation years ago.

Have you tried putting cereal in her bottle? I know the doctors say don't but I did it with both of my kids and they were able to sleep through the night. Start out small just a little bit. Make sure you use a fast nipple maybe even cut a little extra room in the nipple just so it won't leak too much. My mom was the one who told me to try it and it was very common when she was a young mom.

try whole milk yogurt (like organic "yo baby") there are flavors with cereal already in it but my son liked the yogurt with some organic whole grain oatmeal mixed in (not enough to really change the texture). he ate the rice cereal for about a month, but didnt really like it or the mixed grains, but that oatmeal was a winner. The whole milk in important...they usually sell "yo baby" next to the other stoneybrook farms organic yogurts. Just be sure to get whole milk and not sugar/fat free which can lead to runnier stool. they have blander flavors like banana and vanilla...my son loved the pear and rasberry....because its served cold u have to be ready to sit upright for like 45 minutes after to let it digest (and no rough play as my husband could relate to a face full of yogurt).. When I first switched my son off breast milk I put some of the rice cereal flakes in the bottle (not enough to clog the nipple) just enough to be disguised with the flavor he was used to and of course the sleep assisting content into something he was willing to drink (and for whatever reason my son knew the difference when I tried to use non-organic stuff...didnt like it). I think they all have a distaste for the rice stuff even when its nice and warm---understandable if u've tried it..heres hoping any of that helps.

J. (loving mother of 1 just turned 2 yr old beautiful boy)

I added cinnamon and apple juice to my son's cereal and he has gobbled it down every day since. When I switched to Earth's Best Whole Grain Oatmeal, he stopped being constipated, too. Good luck!

please remember that we all have different likes and dislikes and just maby her taste buds dont care for it, my youngest son had the same problem, he was a pickey eater, so my grandmother reminded me that they are just little big people. so we started puting any thing we ate into the blender and makeing our own baby food according to the age of the child. i never believed in baby food once they started getting older.my son is now 41 eats allmost anything and everything. his taste buds knew what they liked and did not like from the time he was about 3 months old. i even had to buy a mild goat as that is the only kind of milk he would drink. after 18 years in the army he still says sorry mom my taste buds dont care for that or they really like that. have you ever tried to eat the baby cereal.....yuck..... good luck GMAJ

I had the same problem with my daughter at this age, until one day I left my fettucini alfredo sitting on the coffee table. I ran into the kitchen, and when I came back, she had crawled over to it, and started eating it...that's when I knew why she wasn't having anything to do with baby food/cereal. It scares a lot of people to start children on adult food that early, but I think it's the childs decision, not ours. My daughter is as healthy as can be, and not overweight either. She's 3 years old now, and is taller than most 4-5 year olds. I think that's why the baby food wasn't cutting it, she was going through a major growth spurt and needed more energy, and basically more food!!!

My daughter did not start eating solids until she was almost 7 months old, and the food that finally got her going was regular mashed potatoes. I decided on a whim to give her a bite of the potatoes I made for dinner and she loved them. I buy instant potatoes (just watch the sodium content) and will mix them with the jars of (squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.)...and she loves it! From that we added regular slow cook Cream of Wheat, (because I hate the taste of instant), made with a little sugar, and I add the jars of fruit to it (apples, pears, combo fruits, etc.). She also eats pieces of real banana. She still has yet to develop a taste for the rice cereal (but it doesn't really matter at this point), and she doesn't like foods that have no texture. It really is a matter of experimenting, but do it slowly so you can watch for reactions. Hang in there, and good luck!

Some babies just don't like baby foods. Try using a blender and making your own foods for her. Also giving her fruit before veggies is a very bad thing to do. Veggies should always come first. Some babies never do eat cereal and go straight to other foods. Be careful with carrots and sweet potatoes because these can cause allergic reactions in some children. Good Luck!

My daughter did this and the only thing that worked was mixing in the sweet potato or sweet potato and corn baby foods. Don't forget to try veggie flavors too. Good luck!

Hi D.,
You might want to try the cereal that is in the jars. My little one would never eat the cereal that was the powder kind. I know that Gerber makes Rice, Rice with apples and oatmeal.
Good luck.
C.

She may be sensitive or allergic to gluten. You don't say whether she eats the fruits or veggies by themselves. don't frustrate yourself - just go for what she does eat and watch for any reactions.

My son didn't eat solids until almost 15 months and then only begrudgingly. He has awful reflux as a baby and the doctor assumed that was the cause. He figured even a baby can figure out that if you eat and it will all come streaming back out your nose... that it is just easier to puke up formula.

As he got older we learned he had oral apraxia and sensory issues, those were probably the real cause or at least contributed to the problem. Once he did start eating, he was still picky - he'd only eat WHITE foods for weeks on end, then only CRUNCHY foods, then only MUSHY foods. Just when I'd figure out what was acceptable, he'd switch textures/colors. Even at 7 he is the world's pickiest eater - never does a fruit or veggie willingly cross his lips!

Good luck