Any suggestions on how to get my 5 mo. old (breastfed baby) to take a bottle with a little rice cereal mix?

Question

My ped. says to start ng the rice cereal between 4-6 mo. but my little one wants no part of it! Any suggestions? How did you get your baby to drink/eat the cereal??

Answer 1

I wouldn't feed it them in the bottle, use a spoon. How I got my son to take cereal was by making the cereal with breast milk and then mixing in some fruit. Cereal is very bland and mixing with the fruit helped, heck now I even mix with vegetables (squash, carrots) occasionally.

Answer 2

I started with rice cereal and formula or water. 5 months seems pretty early to try to mix foods. Mine were almost 9 or 10 months old before I tried to do that. And I always worried about choking, because mixing a fruit with some cereal is still pretty pasty, thick or grainy - which often makes a baby gag. Maybe you can introduce the solids one at a time (cereal first...after a week or so, banana, etc) and keep the foods separate until your baby is able to sit up without help or is crawling around. Also, if you mix foods and your baby develops an allergy, it'll make it harder to figure out which ingredient is causing it. All in all, though, variety is good. Just don't try to introduce too many new things too soon, or else your baby will acquire a finicky palate from being turned off by strong flavors or textures.

Answer 3

If you haven't tried it with a spoon yet, I would suggest that first. All babies are different and your little one may not be ready for cereal yet. If your baby has been exclusively breastfed and never on the bottle, you are going to have a hard time getting them to eat an unfamiliar substance from a poor substitute for the breast. Maybe try introducing 1 new thing at a time (ie get baby drinking breast milk from the bottle first, then try introducing the cereal).

Someone has suggested starting with mashed banana, which a lot of mothers do. The only problem with this method is that if you start baby off on solids that taste sweet, they will instantly develop a taste for sweets and it can be hard to get them to eat vegetables or bland foods. I had this problem with my son, who's now 4. Once I realized what was going on, I banned sweets for 6 months and he now eats everything. And skip apple juice altogether, it has almost no nutritional value and kids are better off drinking water.

Answer 4

First off, waiting until 6 mos if possible is best. This is what both the AAP and LLL recommend.

Second off, cereal should only ever be given in a bottle if the child has reflux. If you are actually trying to start solids, please use a spoon. The point of starting solids is really more for fun and practice eating off a spoon and different textures. Putting it in a bottle defeats that purpose.

La Leche League actually recommends starting with a little fresh mashed banana instead of baby cereals! This is closer in taste and texture to mom's breastmilk and baby will be more likely to enjoy it. It's also healthier than those processed baby cereals.

LLL suggests this progression when introducing your baby (6 months or older) to solid foods:

Ripe banana, avocado, yam, or sweet potato (sweet like breastmilk)
Meats
Whole-grain breads and cereals (rather than baby cereals)
[wheat and corn are usually delayed until baby is 9-12 months old]
Fresh fruits
[citrus fruits are usually delayed until baby is 9-12 months old]
Vegetables
Dairy products after 9 months
[cow's milk is usually delayed until baby is 12-18 months old]

EDITED TO ADD:
DO NOT stop breastfeeding as some others may suggest! Breastmilk should continue to make up at least 75% of your child's diet for the ENTIRE first year. Breastmilk is healthier and more nutrient dense than baby cereals or other foods.

Answer 5

Don't put in in a bottle...it's food, it should be given by a spoon. Solids at this age are for learning how to eat, not necessarily for the nutrients, they still get most of that from breast milk or formula. If he doesn't take it by spoon either, wait a week and try again. It's a learning process, so he might not be ready. It is no longer recommended to give cereal in a bottle.

Answer 6

Your baby may not be ready for solids yet. Rice cereal is a highly processed grain and it counts as SOLIDS. Babies don't actually need rice cereal and it has little nutritional value. Does you baby show all these signs?

From http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html#developmental
Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

* Baby can sit up well without support.
* Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
* Baby is ready and willing to chew.
* Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
* Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

We often state that a sign of solids readiness is when baby exhibits a long-term increased demand to nurse (sometime around 6 months or later) that is unrelated to illness, teething pain, a change in routine or a growth spurt. However, it can be hard to judge whether baby’s increased nursing is related to readiness for solids. Many (if not most) 6-month-old babies are teething, growth spurting and experiencing many developmental changes that can lead to increased nursing – sometimes all at once! Make sure you look at all the signs of solids readiness as a whole, because increased nursing alone is not likely to be an accurate guide to baby’s readiness.

Why do you want to feed the baby cereal? Vegetables, at an appropriate age are a much better choice of first foods.

YOu SHOULD NOT put cereal in a bottle!

Answer 7

The best thing to do is mix the cereal with breast milk in a little bowl (make sure it is runny) and feed with the spoon. You are right to start with rice cereal first. Just be sure to use a spoon when feeding. This will help the baby get accustomed to eating with a spoon. He/she may spit it out at first but that is normal. Just keep trying and eventually he will eat it. Good Luck.

Answer 8

The best way for me was to insist with a variety of cereals (oatmeal is better for the baby's digestive system, it helps prevent constipation an has a sweet natural flavor) always letting the baby know it´s different from the milk, you shouldn't offer it in the bottle.

This way the baby will make a difference between meal time and bottle time.

If he (she) doesn´t want the spoon try putting some cereal on his fingers, usually they find that fun and end up eating.

Answer 9

You really should never give a baby cereal in a bottle. It can cause choking and tooth decay...(even though there little teeth may not be out yet). You should make a thin consistency and use a spoon...messy but that's how it should be done.

Answer 10

You just hafta keep trying with the spoon. Cereal at 5 mos is just as much about learning to spoon feed as it is about eating the cereal.
Breastfed babies are usually tongue-thrusters (when you give them a spoonful of food, they stick out their tongue & push it out before they swallow). That doesn't mean they don't like the food, it's just how they're used to swallowing to get breastmilk. Just keep trying, and eventually, baby will learn the different technique.