My 6-month old refuses to eat cereal or baby food!

Ok I've got to break down and do a post on this b/c my pedi is being NO help with this issue what-so-ever. This has been an ongoing battle with Olivia since just before she was 5 months old, so every morning/night for the past 7-8 weeks it has been like pulling teeth (even though she hasn't got any yet, lol) to get her to try any solids at all. I started with the rice cereal at night..she screamed through every feeding and spit every bite back out onto the spoon. So, then I thought she just didn't like cereal so I tried a veggie..sweet potatoes...same thing. Tried the cereal & sweet potatoes for a few more days, then tried carrots..she did a tad better with the carrots, got through about 1/3 of a jar before the kicking and screaming started. I recently started letting her try fruits. She hates everything and still gags on everything, and her tongue-thrust reflex hasn't disappeared yet. She refuses to move food to the back of her throat and swallow. After a few bites, she gets really mad and starts melting down.

I never had this problem with the boys. By 7 months they were eating all the fuits, cereals, veggies, meats, etc out there 3 times a day and loved it, so I am at a loss as to what to try next. Miss Olivia just wants formula and wants nothing to do with anything having to do with a spoon. And I wouldn't be so distraught and flustered over this issue, but she is starting to wake at 3-4 am hungry and she hasn't done that since she was 3-4 weeks old. She had been sleeping 10 hours a night since that time, so she's starting to not stay satisfied on just formula.

I'm about ready to resort to just putting the stuff in her bottle, which I know is a no-no. Is anyone else going through this or have any suggestions?

 

sorry i don't have any advice for you, but my DD is doing the same thing, minus the screaming/crying part. she just refuses to open her mouth, turns her head, pushes the spoon away, etc. when i do get something in there she will usually swallow it unless it has any texture at all and then she gags. so i'm just going to keep on trying different things, she has to start liking it at some point, right??

so, i'm no help, but you are not alone.. maybe somebody else will be able to tell us what to do.

 

QUOTE
and her tongue-thrust reflex hasn't disappeared yet.


Jamie, that tells me she just isn't ready for solids yet, which is totally fine. Can you add another bottle(or few more oz's) in somewhere?

 

M is/was the same way. I say is/was because she was really bad at first, but now she's slowly coming around. I switched from rice cereal - which she outright refuses - to oatmeal and that has seemed to help. But she pretty much either spits everything out or gags everytime she tries something new and even after she's had it a couple of times. We've been at this for about 2 months now an it is SLOWLY getting better. She also gets very frustrated and cries (she's the crier between the two). But that too is getting better since switching to oatmeal. I also make hers a little more runny than her sisters. Now her sister on the other hand opens wide and will chow down her entire bowl in no time! She loves everything I give her and I rarely have to clean up after her. I know it is SO frustrating!!! But it will get better in time. Luckily right now they are getting their nutrition from their bottle feedings. Keep at it and I'm sure in time it'll get better.

 

It does sound like she isn't ready for solids. My DD is a fussy eater too and everytime I give her a bite, I show her how to chew really exaggeratedly while saying mmmhhh. She watches me really carefully and has started eating a lot better. I think they get frustrated sometimes if they can't figure it out. GL!

 

This sounds like my Mark. The pedi said they were ready for solids at 4.5 months. I started slowly every other day, and then moved up to once a day at 5.5 months. Anyways, Mark couldn't figure it out until 6.5 months. I just kept trying--just a few bites and various things. Persistence paid off.

 

I didn't even attempt solids until almost 8 months... and they took it with great gusto then! they were totally ready. Seems that solids are just for practice the first bit anyway... and their nutrition is formula or breastmilk... so maybe its ok to just wait and try again in a few weeks or month?

 

QUOTE(2_sweet_peas @ Mar 30 2009, 05:06 PM) [snapback]1250968[/snapback]
Ok I've got to break down and do a post on this b/c my pedi is being NO help with this issue what-so-ever. This has been an ongoing battle with Olivia since just before she was 5 months old, so every morning/night for the past 7-8 weeks it has been like pulling teeth (even though she hasn't got any yet, lol) to get her to try any solids at all. I started with the rice cereal at night..she screamed through every feeding and spit every bite back out onto the spoon. So, then I thought she just didn't like cereal so I tried a veggie..sweet potatoes...same thing. Tried the cereal & sweet potatoes for a few more days, then tried carrots..she did a tad better with the carrots, got through about 1/3 of a jar before the kicking and screaming started. I recently started letting her try fruits. She hates everything and still gags on everything, and her tongue-thrust reflex hasn't disappeared yet. She refuses to move food to the back of her throat and swallow. After a few bites, she gets really mad and starts melting down.

I never had this problem with the boys. By 7 months they were eating all the fuits, cereals, veggies, meats, etc out there 3 times a day and loved it, so I am at a loss as to what to try next. Miss Olivia just wants formula and wants nothing to do with anything having to do with a spoon. And I wouldn't be so distraught and flustered over this issue, but she is starting to wake at 3-4 am hungry and she hasn't done that since she was 3-4 weeks old. She had been sleeping 10 hours a night since that time, so she's starting to not stay satisfied on just formula.

I'm about ready to resort to just putting the stuff in her bottle, which I know is a no-no. Is anyone else going through this or have any suggestions?


Honestly, don't worry about it. Just keep trying things. It's fine if she's still mostly drinking. Mine were 7-8 months before they really started doing well with baby food and we started at 4 months with cereal! It's frustrating, but not hurting her. Even though mine got a late start, they were early with finger food proficiency and are fabulous self-feeders now, even starting to do well with utensils. And we still managed to drop all bottles just after a year. I remember how stressed out I got about the solids, but really at 6 months, it is just not a big deal at all.

 

Solids are just practice & getting them used to textures at this point. My dd took to solids very well at 6 months. Better than her brother, but then went on a solids strike. She didn't eat any solids from month 7-10. I would try once a week just to see and when she was ready, she ate just fine. At this point, don't sweat it... offer it to her at a patient pace. Don't stress out about it. She does NOT need the cereal. :hug: