Can I continue giving RICE PUDDING(which is- from 4 months) in the morning to my 8 months old daughter?

Question

Hi
my daughter is 8 months old.I started giving her rice pudding when she was 6months.I mean when i started weaning.I tried lots of foods like fruit pots,fruits,custard,biscuits,...canned foods...etc etc.But she didnt like any of them.She only likes RICE PUDDING.So,stil i am continuing that.But she got older now.In the jar rice pudding-it is written that it is the food of stage one and will start from 4 months.But according to the jar,my baby is in stage 2 or 3 now.These stages contains lots of foods like custard,cereals...etc etc.But my baby doesnt like them at all.I tried most of them.Can I continue with rice pudding stil?Or what can i give her in the morning instead of rice pudding?She doesnt like yougarts or fruit pots at all.

Answer 1

She will need to start eating something else sometime soon, as babies lose the vitamin and iron stores they are born with after about six to eight months.

Having said that though, as long as she is getting enough breast or formula milk in addition to her rice pudding she'll be ok for a while as these have all the vitamins and nutrients in them.

My baby was very fussy when I started weaning her, and she still prefers sweet things now, so I know what it's like.

Some tips that might help:

If you want her to start eating other foods, stick with sweet things like fruit to start with - apples and bananas are good - most babies like these. Start off by mixing a tiny amount into her rice pud - so small she won't even notice - then add a tiny bit more every few days so that she gets used to the taste.

Once you've cracked that, you can try giving her the fruit on its own - she'll probably quite like it by then.

Often with babies, they pull faces and act like they don't like something just because it's different and not what they were expecting. Sometimes it's just a "not-quite-sure-what-this-is" face. Keep trying with her - I read in one of my parenting magazines that it can take a human being up to 10 tries to decide if they like a food or not, so you need to keep going. Obviously don't force feed her if she gets upset, but do offer it again the next day.

I find it really helps to taste the food in front of her and make out that you REALLY like it. Go over the top with the enthusiasm!Lots of smiles and "yummy" noises will help convince her that it really is as wonderful as you make it out to be, even if she's not sure at first.

The other thing I found was that my daughter liked to touch new foods before she ate them. Several things I tried were rejected at first because she wasn't sure what it was I was feeding her, and it really helped to let her put her fingers in the food so she could lick it off herself. Once she'd done this she was happy to be fed it! A bit messy, but well worth it!

Once you've mastered fruit, you can move onto sweeter tasting vegetables, like carrots, and try unsalted mashed potato (real, not instant cos it's got too much salt in it), with some of her milk mixed in.

It'll work even better if you start by mashing all her food up to the same consistency as rice pudding too.

You can also buy baby breakfast cereals in packets that you just mix with milk or water. They usually have fruit and baby rice in them and you can make them as thick or as watery as your baby likes it. My daughter's favourites at the moment are Sunshine Orange and Apple & Blueberry Cereal by Cow & Gate. I tried tham and they're actually quite nice for baby food!

I found my baby likes pretty much anything I give her these days, especially things with tomato, cheese or fruit in them - result!

Good luck, and don't give up, you'll get there in the end!

Answer 2

I would definitely try to wean her off of the rice pudding. I would try to feed her the cereals again. Babies take time to like different things. It can take up to 4-6 times of trying the same food day after day for a baby to decide if she likes it.
Try the cereal that has added fruit to it. I add a fruit to my daughter's rice cereal in the morning and she loves it!
My daughter is the same age. Does your daughter have teeth? If she does, have you tried some zwieback toast just for her to munch on? Or the rice puffs that are shaped like stars? They come in a variety of flavors and melt in their mouth. I would try those and try to start her on some baby food dinners. My daughter eats a stage 3 jar of food for dinner and then has a dessert. But that's the only time she has a dessert.
It'll be ok - it just takes time - some babies take longer to develop taste to what they like. Good luck

Answer 3

I had the same thing happen with my son. He likes things with cinnamon, so I started feeding him the "granola" in jars. Eventually, I began feeding him cinnamon waffles cut up in little pieces. It won't hurt her to eat the pudding if that's what she wants as long as she is progressing into the more advanced stages with other foods. My son ate stage one peas until he started on finger foods. Just be glad she's eating. You might try mixing other things in with the rice pudding and see if she takes the bait. There will be days when nothing makes her happy, at least rice pudding works for now. :)

Answer 4

are you telling us the only solid food she's on at 8 months is rice pudding????????????????? by the time my 2 were 8 months they were mostly having what we were having, cereal or ready brek or porridge for breakfast, liga and a yoghurt at 11, lunch could have been mashed banana and bread or beans or scrambled egg, depends and potatoes or pasta for dinner.(not all liquidised in the blender either just ordinary), i only gave jars and boxed stuff if we were getting chinese or something. get rid of the rice pudding before it's too late or she wont eat a thing when shes bigger. baby food companies love all these stages and meal planners because they are making a fortune on them. there is no reason why she cant eat proper food, even without teeth shes not going to choke on baked beans. kids need to know the taste and texture of real food from as early on as possible.

Answer 5

You need to wean her off the pudding! Starting on a dessert isn't the best idea. Try a cereal with fruit in it. She needs fruits and veggies. They make rice cereal with all different fruits. To start off, mix some of the pudding with dry rice cereal, and then mix in a fruit with the cereal and the pudding, putting less pudding and more fruit each time. Good luck!

Answer 6

i know how you feel. my three year old son would like the banana custard in baby dessert range. One day the shop did not have any, i just started to make my own and he still loves it. i would try to make your own rice pudding dessert it is really easy and can be bagged up and frozen. jordan was on home cooked meals by time he was 8mths old as he would reject the jars and packet meals. Have you tryed taking her off the packet and jar meals. make your own food just mix it up and blend to a bit lumpy and try feeding her that. just remember if you make to much it can be frozen. i would advise breakfast wise ready break, weetabix, or something else like that but not shredded wheet. lunches anything from the packets or jars or something home made. i would suggest you make things like, spagetti bolognaise, fish pie, sheards pie, cottage pie or anything which your can make at night and freeze in small portions. speak to your health visitor and see what she advises. you could also go to your local libary as they should have a book that might help you with meals your child should eat.

Answer 7

i would try to wean her off the rice pudding,it is not substantial enough,try fresh fruit and veg,she might not like new food that is offered to her,but perserverence works,all my children eat almost anything thats put in front of them.my 11mth old son eats weetabix,sugar puffs(in warm milk,so they go really soft),bananas,beans on toast(toast is torn into little bits),and on a sunday he has mashed potato,peas,carrots,broccoli,carrots and sprouts with gravy all mashed up in a bowl,and he loves it,he has been having a sunday roast since he was 6mths old(with no added salt).personally i would try your daughter with different foods,and dont offer her rice pudding if she refuses to eat anything else. she'll eat when she's hungry,you'll be surprised.she'll eat food that you never thought she'd like. believe me,been there,done that.and got 4 t-shirts.its not cruel,you need to show her now that their is a variety of food out there that is healthy,its no good when she's 5 yrs old and you tell her to eat her vegatables,because she wont eat them because she's never tried.its best to introduce new food now before she gets a mind of her own.good luck,its difficult,i know but you'll be helping your child to a healthy start in life if you take my advice.

Answer 8

The age thing is to make sure you don't give it to a baby who is too young for that particular level.

She isn't too young for that level so you keep on giving it to her for as long as she enjoys it... even if you end up putting jars of it into her packed lunch for school.

It will do her no harm and is actually a lot healthier than some desserts.

Er, I'm assuming you mean rice is the only DESSERT she will eat!

(If it is the only THING she will eat you definitely need to get guidance from your GP or baby clinic!)

Answer 9

It is OK to continue with it, the only problem is if it is the only food she will take.

All three of my children preferred the first porridge to the ones for later stages so that is the one I gave them. They ate the other foods in the older baby range and I know that we all like familiar things so as it was only one thing in their diet I carried on. It did get expensive though as I was making three bowls of baby porridge when my eldest started school!
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Answer 10

You should be giving her fresh foods because rice pudding cannot be good for her as her only food -- diabetes is a big concern.

The stages mean not to introduce before that stage. Theoretically, you could eat that rice pudding, too.

Consult your pediatrician about a balanced, low sugar diet for your baby.