I am having trouble feeding my 6 month old daughter?

Question

My daughter is 6 months old and I tried mixing rice cereal in a bowl to spoon feed her. She ate it once, but when I tried to feed it to her again, she didn't want to eat it. I know she needs to learn to eat new foods now. Could it be that she just doesn't like the rice cereal? should I try to feed her something els? Is there any reason why I am supposed to let her get used to the rice cereal first?

By the way, I have been giving her a tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with her bottle about once a day since she was 4 months. But now that I am trying to spoon feed her she doesn't want to do it. Help!

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Rice cereal is the easiest to digest, so that's why you should start with it.  Did you make it with water, formula, breast milk?  My daughter didn't want rice cereal when I made it with water, she liked it best mixed with formula.  Also, when she did eat it for you, did she have a good tongue reflex?  You really can't start an infant on solids before they develop a tongue reflex that aids in swallowing.  Watch a small infant (a few weeks old), they always stick their tongues out.  If she's still doing that, than eating solids will be more difficult for her.  Just keep trying with the cereal, maybe not every day, til she warms up to the idea.

Answer 3

What's the rush?  Watch your baby, not the calendar.  Your baby isn't ready yet, but she will be soon.  Save yourself the mess and frustration of starting solids before your baby is really ready.

Of course she doesn't like rice cereal.  It's just not natural.

Offer her whatever you're eating.  She'll either eat it successfully or not.  No problem.  She's got a whole lifetime ahead of her to learn about new foods.

Answer 4

There are two possibilities here:

1. She isn't yet physically/developmentally ready for solids. While most babies are ready by 6 months, a few don't lose the tongue thrust until later, or just aren't interested.  She doesnt' really need solids yet, so don't worry about it.  You could try again in a couple of weeks, or wait until she shows that she IS interested. (At which point you may well be able to start with table foods and skip babyfood completely.)

2. She doesn't like rice cereal.  It tastes, at best like the milk it's mixed with, and at worst, like the cardbox box it's packed in. (If you've been putting cereal in her bottle, there isn't enough there to affect the taste -- otherwise it would't fit through the nipple)   So you could try a differet food -- fruits or veggies or meats.  If she doesn't like those either, I would definitely assume she isn't ready, and wait a couple of weeks/months to try again.

No, she doesn't *need* rice cereal first,  or at all.  It is a 'traditional' first food, but its only real advantage is cheapness and convenience.  Those probably don't outwiegh the disadvantages (constipation, lack of taste/texture, lack of useful nutrients.)  So unless she really likes it, I wouldn't bother.

(I would also stop putting cereal in her bottle.  Solids are fed with a spoon, and she doesn't benefit in anyway from getting a few grains of starch in her bottles.)

Answer 5

try some whole grain oatmeal, it tastes much better than that nasty rice cereal.  You could also try some yummy fruit and veggies.  Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, apples, pears and bananas were all favorites in my house.

Answer 6

You don't have to do the cereal, you can try fruits and veegies at this point.  Or you can mixed applesauce with her cereal and see is she likes it.  Some babies don't really like all that much solid food until after a year.   Just experiment with her likes and dislikes, and always make sure that she has milk first.