Starting Cereal with 6 Month Old

You are doing the right thing. Just keep introducing it to him and eventually he WILL take it. It's a pain, I know, but it will work. Good Luck!

some kids love food.. others take time..

there is no reason that he needs to eat anything but breastmilk for the first year.

baby food is just practice for eating food later... all of his nutrition comes from the breastmilk.

I would wait.. a couple of weeks.. take a good long break from food.. so he forgets that he doesnt like it..

he might just not care for rice cereal... try oatmeal instead..

or banana baby food

It really doesnt matter what food you start with..

He will eat food someday..

Neither of my kids really got interested in solids until 7-8 months. I thought my son would be more into foods because he's a big boy (21 lbs at 9 months of age) and was exclusively breastfed, but he really only became interested in solids a month ago at 8 months. I was discouraged, too, but then all of a sudden, two months after I started trying foods, he was REALLY interested in food! Good luck.

Christine,

My daughter never ate cereal. I was never able to figure out if she didn't like the taste or texture of it but she hated it with a passion. She was also slow to start eating baby food.

My son on the other hand loved cereal. He especially liked the banana flavored rice cereal and would eat it anytime I didn't have something else available for him.

I wouldn't worry too much but try a couple different flavors to find the one he will find yummy. Good luck and hang in there. :)

Does he seem to be interested in your food when you're eating?

I could tell my son was ready for solids when he would try to pull my fork full of food out of my hand!

Just wondering if he's showing signs that he's ready for more then breastmilk?

If he does not like the rice try the oatmeal. Try just a bite and if he easts it good. Next time try a little more. I know my daughter loved the oatmeal, the rice was okay, and hated the barley. I made it really runny with some purred bannanas. Try giving him a spoon of his own to play with and make eating lots of fun. We would sing and mmm mmmm mm when she would eat. She would laugh then eat a bite. I know my daughter hated the jar food so I pureed the fruit myself either in the food processor or the blender. Also he just may not be ready for solids, he may be physically ready, but not mentally ready. Also try and make it a family affair, try feeding him when the family ahs dinner at a sit down meal at the table, if he does not want to eat then let him sit there in his chair and enjoy the company.

All 3 of my kids hated rice cereal...I don't even know why I tried with the 3rd. Some babies just arn't interested in solids for a long time. My 3rd was almost 9 months before she would really eat any solid foods. She just turned 1 and eats everything that the rest of the family eats! Your baby can be healthy and happy on breastmilk alone for the first full year.
It is good that you are discussing these things with your ped but I would caution you that some peds do not know very much about breastfeeding. I actually switched peds because I couldn't handle her ignorance any longer and she was not open to learning about bf.
Blessings, K.

Christine,

My son was the same way, it took many tries before he ate cereal. The advice I was given was to only put water, breast milk or formula in it, do not sweeten it with any thing, don't offer it when baby is hungry or full, i.e. try to feed cereal part way through his normal meal, I fed my son cereal after he nursed on one side, then after he ate some cereal (or after I attempted to feed it to him), I nursed him on the other side. Also, remember it is important to keep the consistency very thin, close to the consistency of water and gradually thicken it as your son will tolerate, I found that making the cereal a soupy substance, though messy, was the only way to get him to accept it. BTW, my son is 12 months now and will not eat anything but the 2nd stage baby food, he must have an issue with different textures!!

Good Luck!

I agree with some of the other posters about letting the child dictate when he or she is ready for solid foods (unless you need him to start for another reason other than nutrition. Your breastmilk can sustain him for now..

As for me, I have a 6 month old who absolutely hated rice cereal and oatmeal cereal. Then someone suggested that it might be the consistency of the cereal she dislikes. I tried feeding her tiny, mashable chunks of avocado and sweet potatos and she LOVES it!

Rice cereal seems to be a favorite with doctors, but it isn't necessary and tastes yukky and has a yukky consistency! I'd say either he's not ready for solids yet or he'd do better with a little banana, sweet potato or a little plain/white potato or something else that is food you eat and isn't prone to trigger allergies. Go on the La Leche League website for ideas - www.llli.org then click on Resources then check the answer section for introducing solids. Good for you for breastfeeding - best thing in the world for your baby! I never gave my youngest baby food at all and most of my grandkids never had it. They don't need it and it's expensive and has Heaven knows what in it - what's the point?

No worries! As far as his nutrition goes, he really only needs your breastmilk until he is a year old. When mine were little, Le Leche League advised not giving food until baby is grabbing your fork out of your hand. None of my three had ANY food until they were a year old. Again, no worries. Nurse your baby as long as possible, snuggle and savor it. He will be off on his own all too soon!

By 6 months my daughter was on 2nd foods and loving cereal. I think I started her on cereal at 3 months (per dr.). I started with rice cereal and used breast milk to mix with it. I followed the instructions on the box for little babies, I think 3 tablespoons of cereal and 3-4 tablespoons of milk (if I remember correctly). I did this for several weeks. It was very watery at first. As she started eating the cereal better I started making it a little thicker (much easier for the both of us). So keep trying. The good thing is the cereal is pretty cheap and lasts a decent amount of time. Keep trying and it will work out eventually. I'm a bit discouraged now because my daughter won't eat anything chunky (10 months old now). But she also doesn't have any teeth yet so I hope once she gets teeth she'll starting eating the chunky foods. Good Luck!

Rice cereal isn't a needed staple... just keep nursing and don't worry about it.

Mabye he is sensitive to rice?

My son is almost 2 and I didn't feed rice cereal at all. I gave him some sweet potatoes, avocado as his first foods and only what he was up to eating.

He has NO food allergies, eats well and is complete excellent health.

I pretty much exclusively breastfed till he was a year and just gave him the solids to experiment.

You might want to check out lll.org La Leche League for more tips.. also check with Dr. Sears.

My twins both hated rice cereal. They loved oatmeal though. Talk to your pediatrician about this first.

A friend at work had the same issue and she tried oatmeal and her son loves it.

S.
43 (ugh) WOHM w/ 5 year old boy/girl twins

Hi, my suggestion is to stop wait a week or two and start again. He just may not want it or is ready for it. Babys dont have to have food besides breast milk for the first year so there is no hurry. Babies eat when they are ready or hungry. Make sure you are feeding him between bottles too. Dont stress too much I never thougt my daughter would eat and then all of a sudden she loved it. They do things in their own time. :) good luck. J.