Eating solid foods

My twins have been attempting to eat rice cereal with a spoon for 2 weeks now and they just don't get it! It's really frustrating, I put it in their mouth and they immediately push it out with their tongues. I've tried smaller amounts, I've tried putting it into different parts of their mouths... Is it just because they don't like it? It's rice cereal, I've tried it with breast milk, with formula, with water, and at differant temps... Is this normal? How long does it last, does anyone have any tips?
I've been putting rice cereal into their bottles for quite some time, so I was thinking about trying oatmeal cereal.
Any help would be wonderful, thanks in advance!
Brigette

 

Hi. I'm not sure (FTM here) but I think if they are pushing it out with their tongue it means they are not ready yet. I remember reading somewhere that the tongue thing is a developmental thing.

We tried today (per Dr. appt today) and I don't think mine are quite ready yet.

 

My ped says they're ready to start trying... Does it hurt them if they aren't ready? BTW I just noticed my ticker is off-- they are 21 weeks and 3 days....
Thanks for the reply, I hope they are ready, they seem so hungry all the time

 

Just keep trying. My girls did the same thing in the beginning. Lauren got used to it right away, but Emma took a good month to start swallowing. It is the tongue thrust reflex that you're seeing, and it's normal for that age. Don't force it on them, let them take it when they are ready.

 

QUOTE(MichelleL @ Jun 11 2008, 05:40 PM) [snapback]822171[/snapback]
Just keep trying. My girls did the same thing in the beginning. Lauren got used to it right away, but Emma took a good month to start swallowing. It is the tongue thrust reflex that you're seeing, and it's normal for that age. Don't force it on them, let them take it when they are ready.


Thanks! We make sure that when it's time to eat that they are in good moods, we also stop when they start getting too fussy. I don't want them to hate eating!
I'm glad to hear she finally got the hang of it!

 

QUOTE(nateandbrig @ Jun 11 2008, 07:00 PM) [snapback]822187[/snapback]
we also stop when they start getting too fussy.

That is key! There were some nights Emma got nothing, because she was in no mood for it. Good luck, it does turn out to be fun once they do learn and you start with veggies, then the laughter starts!

 

This happened to us too. I stopped for a couple of weeks and then tried again and that seemed to help. The tongue thrust reflex will go away eventually. And I really didnt stress about them eating much in the beginning. Somedays I would give solids and others I wouldnt. Happy feeding.

 

I too think they just may need a little more time developmentally. You could take a break for a week or two and then try again. It took one of my boys 2-3 weeks before he really had the hang of it and we didn't start until 6 months.

 

We stopped too and tried again a week or so later. One got it quickly and the other didn't. I just kept letting him try and eventually he quit spitting it back at me. He's still a more cautious eater whereas DS1 will suck down anything you put on a spoon.

 

Thanks for all the advice! We tried oatmeal last night for the first time and DS ate it!!! I was so shocked, he must of liked it cause he ended up eating his and most of his sisters... No icky face or anything... He slept GREAT last night! DD still didn't get it, but since I'm feeding him, I'll still continue to try to feed her.

 

One suggestion I was given was to make it thin and put the tip of the spoon in their mouth so they suck it in like a nipple. THey have to learn what to do with their tongue. To suck a nipple they have to stick their tongue out so they try the same thing with solids and it just pushes it out. So I turned the spoon sideways so there was more area and let them suck it off. Hope that make sense. Once I did that they learned pretty fast.

 

My girls did the same too. I had to make it really runny until they got used to it. I found if it was too thick in the beginning they pushed it out and had a harder time. Other than that...just practice, practice, practice