Seeking Moms with Experience with Starting Solid Foods with Infants

Try adding a little bit of juice, such as apple juice, to the cereal instead of mixing it with water. My kids hated it too until I did this. It flavored the cereal enough that I never had a problem after that!

I stirred in fruit baby food into my daughter's rice cereal. She liked banana or applesauce baby food mixed in it.

Was there a reason you started feeding him solids before 4 months? I think it is a little early - he could just be letting you know that his little body is not yet ready for them. Just a thought.

Your son is not to young! With both of my children (they have different doctors, we have moved) their doctor told me to start with the cereal at 4 months old. and my daughters doctor told me i could start it when she was 3 months old and if i wanted i could try actual baby food not the just cereal. ( my daughter is almost 5 months old) My son never liked the cereal unless it was in his bottle and my daughter likes it with Apple juice mixed in it instead of water

Mix a little fruit, such as applesauce, peaches or pears with the cereal, that will usually help.

Maybe he just isn't ready for it yet. The recommendation is to start between 4 and 6 months. Some kids benefit from waiting until 5-6 months. Just because other peoples children were ready at 4 months doesn't mean yours is. We started ours at was 6 months old and didn't have any problems.

Hi K.,
I'm a registered dietitian for babies and kids. Your son sounds a bit young to be starting solids. I know the 'old wives tales' tell everyone that starting cereal will help babies sleep better, be a more content baby, etc. A serving of cereal really only has about 20 calories (about the amount in an extra ounce of breast milk or formula... not much). My advice to you is let your baby be the guide. If he is spitting it out all the time, take a break for a few weeks and try again. Only your baby can decided when he is ready to eat solids. Breast milk and formula are very complete foods, and your son does not necessarily need solids for at least another few months. If he seems hungry and won't take the cereal, feed him more breast milk or formula. Best wishes!

Hi K.,

I tried giving my son cereal right around the 4 month mark too, and he didnt' really care for it. So, I just waited a few extra weeks and then he started to eat it. I also gave him a little bit of fruit (bananas) and he LOVED it! In fact, that is his favortie food of any now. Other tricks that I have done is mixing just a tiny bit of juice with it, or some type of fruit. So good luck!

Try the Rice Cereal with Banana. My son would NEVER eat the regular. We also started fruits around 4-5 months.

Try putting a teaspoon or so of baby food fruit mixed in with it for sweetener. Make sure the cereal is not too thick when beginning - they are used to "runny" milk or formula. Once they like it you can gradually thicken it. N.

I have 4 children and didn't start them on solids until 6 months. The way our ped explained it was they don't NEED solids until they are weaned (especially if breast fed). The period from 6-12 months is important not for nutrition, but for teaching them to use their mouth, enjoy the new textures and flavors and learning to eat. So don't stress, just try something new, wait the recommeded period of days, then add something else. Unsweetend applesauce, avacado, peas, sweet potatoes...check out the book super baby food. She has lots of good ideas. Also recipes to make your own cereal. Have you ever tried baby cereal? Maybe that's why he won't eat it! :) Also, don't think you have to buy jarred baby food, you can buy a regular jar of unsweetend applesauce with added vitamin c for the fraction of the cost of the equivlant of baby food. Also bake a sweet potato, peel and mash with a little liquid to thin if needed, freeze in portions..just some ideas. Good luck!

Hi K. -- Don't feel bad for trying solids when you did. A lot of comments seem to imply it's BAD and I disagree. I started both sons soon after they turned 4 month (while still nursing) b/c they were acting interested and hungry. Mabye give it a break for a week or two then try pears or sweet potatoes, or put prune juice in with the rice (keeps 'em regular!). I think it's more of a texture thing that he's not used to. My second son (now 6 months) got quickly frustrated with the runny stuff and seemed to like his oatmeal a little more "solid". Also, I give him a spoon to hold and he put that in his mouth and seems to appreciate the participation (I think he was bored just waiting for me to scoop in it). Since you know he's not allergic to rice, mix it up. My son seems to find the rice by itself boring too. Have fun!

They'll only take a few bites at first, and will most likely make an aweful face. It's usually the texture that screws up their expression. Mix the cereal with breast milk or formula, whatever your baby is drinking. My 1st had no trouble, my 2nd son did downright dislike the rice cereal, though. We tried the oatmeal, and the rice with bananas, and he did great. Now he'll eat the rice, since he's become accustomed to different flavors and textures. Good Luck!

I had 10 babies, I started them with cereal at about 3 or 4 months, I t ried the baby cereals and bottle baby foods, they didn't taste good to me, except the fruits, I cooked oat cereal and pressed it thourgh a fine sieve. I used raw milk, (we had dairy cows) even added a little honey or some soft fruit, if it tasted good to me the children liked it too, those foods prepared for babies, or any prepared food you buy have many good vitamins and mineral eith cooked away or distroyed by pre cooking, your childern will bemuch healthier with home cooked foods and they are always more tasty, if you cant stand the taste of the prepared baby food you buy, your baby doesn't like them either, they will eat them because they have to. Try feeding your baby natural food, prepared by your own hand.the more natural the better. I often used a spoon and scrapped apple to fine pulp and fed my babies. I have very few illness .

It took my son until he was 6 month old before he got the hang of eating with a spoon. Don't get discouraged. He will eventually catch on!

My pediatrician recommended waiting until 6 months to start rice cereal and other solids. At that age they are better able to control their tongue and head/neck and it makes for a better experience for everyone. I did mix it with breastmilk the first few times so that there was a familiar taste.

Hi K.! 4 months is pretty young to start cereal. Both my kids started solids at around 6 months.
If your son hates it I think that it's sign that he's not ready. Babies get all the nutrition they need from breastfeeding or formula in the first year.
For sure, your baby should not be eating solids until he is able to sit unsupported.
Congrats on your little one!

I agree with the mom below... it is NOT too early. The doctors had me start at 4 months with both of my kids, and even had them eating baby fruits and veggies before they were 6 months old (my youngest is 13 months old). My kids both hated cereal unless we added a little apple juice. They would NEVER eat it with formula or water.

Try mixing it with fruit, baby juice, or a baby veggie. The 1st foods are great for mixing with cereal and it adds more flavor to the cereal.

I wouldn't push it. I think they're saying to wait until babies are 6 months old now. My second born never really did take to baby food. She sucked up yogurt and applesauce through a straw (weird, I know) and then started eating table food ~ 8 months.

It's too early for him, wait another month.

I would try to add baby food such as fruit to help flavor the cereal and the baby should enjoy the cereal and babies tummy should be nice and full.

love,L.

He'll either like it, or he won't... You can play around with adding pureed fruit, and thinning or thickening the consistency, but he may never dig rice cereal.

We actually gave our son oatmeal and bananas as his first food. There's nothing written in stone that you have to do the rice cereal first, or even at all. Bananas, apricots, and avocados are good first foods, as they are easy to digest and have a very low rate of allergic reaction.

make sure it is really milky as opposed to really thick. my son loved it and he started at 4 months. i started really thin and then worked it up to more cereal less milk. If he doesnt like it even when it is really thin then give him a few days and try again, dont force him to eat it when he is ready he will start, just give him the chance to eat it, and beware my son is 8 months now and he eats 4 oz fruit and 4 0z veggies plus 3 tbls cereal at each meal 3 times a day and nurses on demand and he is starting to eat little tastes of what we eat. when he is 14 and eating everything in siight you will think back and say "awww i remember when he didnt want to eat anything solid" good luck!!!!

I see there is debate on when to start solids. Just wanted to let you know that my doc also said to start between 3-4 months, knowing that they still get their nutrition primarily from breastmilk/formula until 6 months of age then they need solids. Please help yourself by starting veggies first. Though fruits taste sweet, this will detour them from the blandness for veggies. Well, that's what my doc told me and it makes sense. Anyway, maybe you can ask your doc if it's okay to start oatmeal already. Maybe a different type of cereal will help. Just know that either way no serious damage will be done-we need to keep these things in perspective!

At 3/4mos old, he's much too young for solids. He only needs breastmilk (or formula) for the first 6mos. If he's not diggin' it now, then back off, wiat a few months, and try again. His not liking it is his way of telling you he, and his body, are not ready yet.

You should be able to mix it with a little baby food, something sweet tasting like peaches maybe!

Try mixing it with a fruit baby food, applesauce, or a bit of apple juice.

what you need to do is stop trying to feed solids.
first of all, the recommendation is between 4-6 months, for good reason. allergies are reduce, and babies tend to like cereal more when they are ready for it. its quite possible your son isnt ready. we tried giving solids when our son was 4.5 months old and he didnt take to it, so we waited a month, and he hit the ground running! :D
so just wait. he will eat you out of house and home soon enough! :D

Hi K.,

My first recommendation is check with your pediatrician. But in my case we start our daughter almost at the end of her 6 months she, she like the cereal with breastmilk and start with fruits in my personal opinion I started with organic apple sauce and fruit. I think 4 months is to early.

Wait a little while til he's 5-6 months. He may not be ready for it yet.

I wouldn't start your baby on solid food until at least 6 months then start with the rice cereal and maybe he won't like it you can try the stars at wal mart that dissolve in the mouth or you could try bananas and if he likes those mix them with the rice cereal

You could add baby fruit or veggies to the rice or even mix the rice with juice. He will enjoy it a lot more with some flavor.

have you tried mixing juice or applesauce with it instead of your milk or formula? that is how we had to do it. plus my kids never really liked the single grain but did like the mixed. but putting the juice or applesauce in them did help mask the flavor of the single grains. with our youngest boy we never could get him to eat the cereal and went right for the veggies.

He's still very young. If he's not into it yet, I'd wait another 3 or 4 weeks to try. Neither of my kids were very interested in solids until 6 months. And even after that it was touch and go.

Don't rush too fast into starting solids. However my daughter hated the rice cereal whether it was thin or thick. I started her at 6 months on cereals, etc, rice cereal was NOT her favorite. Try oatmeal or barley, then onto mixed grain. Those seem to taste better. You can always mix the cereals into the fruits or veggies to give more texture when ready. My daughter hated the thin watery purees, and enjoyed the thicker mixes right from the beginning. I started veggies before fruits and while my now one year old daughter loves almost anything i give her, she doesn't care for things that are too sweet. How long that will last i do not know. Good luck. Go with your instincts. Just take it slow and don't give too many new things at once. It takes a while sometimes for them to like a certain food, but usually they should come to like it pretty easily.

K.,
Most children start solid foods somewhere in the middle to end of the first year. If he isn't enjoying it, as the first experiences with solid are more experimental and social for babies, then put it away and try again later.

Your child will tell you when he is ready by watching for the signs: interest in food when you are eating, sitting well by himself etc

You need not be eager to get him on solids as he will be eating solids, processed foods and other both good and bad things for the rest of his life. Enjoy this time, especially if you are nursing. The closeness and all nutritional and non nutritional benefits that occur at the rare time in your lives.

When the time comes again to try cereal, try mixing it very watery with breast milk or formula.

A really great Web site is Ask Dr Sears, it has never failed me! Also, if you are nursing, there is a wonderful site about the benefits of nursing vs formula that spells it out well: www.lightlink.com/hilinda/Diane/breastorbottle.html

Enjoy this fleeing time in both your lives. It is over in a blink!

J.

He might just not be ready for it. Most kids aren't ready till about six months. There is a reason its not recommended till then, babies aren't physically, emotionally or psychologically ready that early. some babies can be but if you push it too early then you can give him digestive issues. I would take notes of what, when and how much and how his tummy reacted to what you've given him so far as well and call the pediatrician. even if you cant get in to the docs, the nurses in the office will take calls and give advice.

I do NOT think you started to early. You tried, it didn't work, so wait a few days or week, then try again. I started both mine at 4 months, and had to do the same. Seemed like by the 2nd or 3rd try, they liked it better. They didn't eat a ton, after all, it was more about teaching them how to eat solids rather then needed nutrition. But slowly, they ate more and more.

Also, I noticed they liked the Rice Cereal with Bananas better. Maybe try not to make it super runny either...that just makes it harder for both of you! I never mixed it the way the box said to. Just figure out something that works for you. Everything else is just advice, INCLUDING pediatricians! GOOD LUCK MOMMA!!!

He may never enjoy it. I would wait a little longer, maybe another month, and try again. He may be too young and he may not be ready. I started my son at 6 months (he's almost 8 months) and he still doesn't like rice cereal OR the oatmeal no matter what I mix with it to make it taste better. Maybe try feeding him with your finger, new food and new spoon may be too much for him too. Good luck!

I have 15 month old twins and when we first started rice cereal our doctor told us to add just a tiny bit of apple juice so it had some flavor. My girls loved it from that point on. I quess anything is worth a try.

Wait a couple of weeks then try again. Make sure you are mixing the cereal with whatever he drinks (breastmilk of formula) and only try a couple of teaspoons full each day, increasing as he seams ready and hungry for more.
Both my boys started rice cereal at 4 months and I don't think that it's too young for all children, but you really have to take cues from your child as an individual. If he really doesn't seem interested then he may not be ready. If you don't think that he's getting enough to eat with breastmilk or formula than you should mention this to your pediatrition.
Good luck!

I agree with those who say wait and try again later, but FYI neither of my kids ever liked rice cereal. The only baby cereal they would eat was oatmeal with bananas. Good luck.