My 5 month old wont eat her rice cereal?

Question

I have a 5 month old baby girl. We started her on rice cereal 5 days ago because she was not gaining enough weight. She wont eat it though, she just spits it out. I am breastfeeding her. What can I do?

Answer 1

"What can I do?"

Throw out the fortified wallpaper paste.

"Some exclusively breastfed babies dislike infant cereal when it is introduced at about six months of age. There is no need for concern and no need to persist if the baby doesn’t want the cereal. There is nothing magic or necessary about infant cereal. Offer your baby the foods that he is interested in."

http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=88

Infant "rice cereal" is really not all that nutritious. It's just starch.

Note, too:

"Sometimes, babies who are doing very well with exclusive breastfeeding alone for the first few months, start not to gain as well after two to four months. This may be normal, because breastfed babies do not grow along the same growth curves as formula fed babies, and it may appear that they grow too slowly, when in fact, it is the formula fed baby who is growing too quickly. Breastfeeding is the normal, natural, physiologic way of feeding infants and small babies. Using the formula feeding baby as the model of normal is irrational and leads us to make errors in advising mothers about feeding and growth."

http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=81

and

"Breastfed babies normally do not require solid foods before 6 months of age. Indeed, many do not require solid foods until 9 months or more of age, if we can judge by their weight gain and iron status. However, there are some babies who will have great difficulty learning to accept solid food if not started before 7-9 months of age. Because the six-month-old baby will also soon need to have an additional source of iron, it is generally recommended and convenient that solids be introduced around 6 months of age. Some babies show great interest in grabbing food off your plate by 5 months, and there is no reason not to allow them to start taking the food and playing with it and putting it in their mouths and eating it.

It has been the habit of physicians to suggest that babies be started first on cereals and then other foods be added. However, the 6 month old is far different from the 4 month old. Many 6-month-old babies do not seem to like cereal if it is introduced at this time. Do not push the baby to take it, but offer other foods, and perhaps try again when your baby is a little older if you really want him to take cereal. But if he refuses, do not worry he will be missing something. There is nothing magic about cereal and babies do fine without it. Anyhow, your baby may soon be eating bread. The easiest way for the baby to get additional iron is by eating meat.

There is no good reason why a baby needs to eat or be introduced to only one food per week, or why vegetables should be started before fruits. Anyone worried about the sweetness of fruit has not tasted breastmilk. The six-month-old can be given almost anything off his parents' plate that can be mashed with a fork."

http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=65

If you're sure supplementation is necessary -- see the same site for a 'protocol to increase breastmilk intake by the baby' -- go on, offer her a banana or something that's actually nice to eat and nutritious.

"Cereals started as an important part of a child's diet back when the infant formula companies couldn't get an absorbable form of iron into the formula. They then fortified rice cereal with iron and introduced the rice cereal early into the diet as a way to make sure the kids got the iron...

Now, all the infant formulas are fortified with iron and of course, breastmilk has an abundant and easily absorbable supply of iron in it, so we really don't need an extra source. If you take away the iron in the cereals, it's just starch."

http://www.drjen4kids.com/myths/mythrice.htm

Answer 2

try others like Pablum, maybe your baby doesn't like rice, babies have preference too. but remember your baby will act like she don't like anything you introduce at first because it is the first time you put it in its mouth

Give your baby some time to accept the texture of foods, and mix the cereal with your own milk at first, and make sure it is more milky than solid you have to go slow with an infant.

At first this is given to infants at the night feeding giving him/her more substance so they can start sleeping through the night without waking in a ravaging hunger, be prepared to feed her (have things ready, you know to mix together) when she does awake in the morning first thing after changing the diaper because her little body is growing fast and she does require nourishment, you can also try mixing strained fruits with the cereal later when she is more accepting of the texture. I think your baby should have been introduced before now to strained baby food, but they do things differently today when it comes to advising mothers, you should know your baby well enough now to know some of things she likes and doesn't. its a learning experience you will never forget and enjoy. I did.

Answer 3

I had the same problem with my oldest. I tried changing cereal types, but she didn't like it. So, I pumped milk and put it into the bottle with the breastmilk during atleast 3 times a day and she gradually began gainning weight. Be patient! Maybe talk to your doctor about trying adding some formula into the her diet. You can also try adding a few pinches of sugar to the cereal while trying to spoon feed (that worked for my 2nd child).

Answer 4

my daughter is only 3 months old, but she is beginning to show interest when we are eating our food, and my daughter started on cereal at 3mths, so I thought I would give it a try, but she just cries and spits it out, so I figured, I could probably wait and try again, but my worry is, if she is crying now and only likes her bottle, isn't going to be worse in another month? let alone 3 more months if I wait till she is 6mths old?, so I asked her pediatrician, and she said I was right, and to just keep trying, but to not try it when my baby is hungry, instead to give her some of her bottle first, and then after she drinks about half the bottle try the cereal. so we are going to try that tomorrow. hope that bit of advice helps, good luck :)

Answer 5

Don't give it to her.
Breastfeed more and for longer periods.

Many babies don't like Rice cereal. She may not be ready for cereals yet. Our daughter was not ready for food until she was 6.5 months of age and she was fine.

If you must, try Infant oatmeal. Mix it with a bit of juice and see if she'll take that. My sister did that with her kids and they took it. For ours, I am breastfeeding and just skipped the cereal and went right to veggies at 6 months of age. Our daughter was closer to 7 months when she started to take foods.

Cereals really are not necessary- they are fillers. Talk to your pediatrician.

Bottom line, it's your baby. Breastfed babies tend to gain weight slowly but consistently. Not the same as formula fed babies.

Good luck!

Answer 6

My little girl hated anyting plain like that, try her on the flavoured baby rice, or even the fruity breakfasts i give courtney cow and gate baby balance or you could try petit flouis my little one loved them and they are all save for over 4 months x
Hope this helps

Answer 7

If it's possible for you, you can express milk and bottle feed her, just add some rice cereal to her bottle and mix really well. I have done this and have friends who have done the same.

Answer 8

Keep trying....she isn't used to anything other than breast milk right now. If she really doesn't like it after a few days try oatmeal cereal.

Answer 9

Try putting mashed banana in cereal.

Answer 10

u know my son didnt like it eighter so i put it in his bottle with his formula (formula+cereal) and he never noticed the diffrence... gd luck just keep trying ur baby will eventually eat it just dont force the baby thats only going to get him sick