My Daughter Hates Rice Cereal

She may not be ready to eat yet. I tried to start my son on cereal when he was 4 months and he reacted the same way. After a few weeks of consistent trying (not forcing) he just one day started eating willingly. Now I can't get him full! Also, he seemed to prefer the cereal if I made it with water instead of formula in the beginning. Now he could care less as long as his belly is getting full!
Good luck and be patient!!

My son never liked any type of baby cereal. We skipped to squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots at about 6 months old. We tried cereal about once a week from the time he was 5 months. He just didn’t like it. I had to make myself wait a week between trying again at least3-4 days. I think I just wanted him to eat food…he did but only when he was ready. We were both much less frustrated when I waited before I tried to feed him food on a spoon again.

at this age, the only reason to feed them other than breastmilk or formula is so that they learn how to do it. It sounds like she isn't ready, so I would just hold off and wait a week or two and try again.

I can't say that I blame her. Have you tasted that stuff? It's got a horrible metallic thing going on because of the added minerals in it and I swear you could hang wallpaper with it. If he wants her on it to see about possible food allergy put a tiny bit in her bottle. I know a lot of people disagree, but I don't mean so much it becomes a choking hazard, Like 1 t. per 6 - 8 oz. of formula. That's the only way I could get any of my 5 kids to take it other than mixing it w/ fruit. I didn't even offer it w/ my 5th one. We just waited until 6 mo. and went to veggies.

Have you tried flavoing it with some fruit juice, or something? I would of course ask your Dr if this is okay and what you can use.
Also at 4 months babies havent gotten the whole "eating" thing down. That is alot of coordination and it takes a little while for little ones to master that part of growing up. Have patience and breathe. Dont get frustrated. Just know that more then likely it is her age (4 months) and not that she dislikes the food that she is spitting the majority out. give her as much as you can and dont stress about the rest. oh and most little ones, get the corrdination for eating (even slightly solid food) at about 6 months of age. Hope this helps.

Try mixing it with apple sauce, mashed banana or pureed peach instead of milk. That always worked for my little ones. Another thing you may want to try is giving her mashed potato instead. It is a starchy vegetable and quite bland if that's what you're shooting for.

I started to try with rice cereal when my daughter was 6 months old. It took about 2 months before she ate it. I think at first she just did not understand what to do with it. I would give her a little more time and then try again. It gets frustrating, but just be patient. She will catch on to eating! I think it is ok to try the oatmeal cereal a few days later, I would wait to try the mixed grain ones. You just don't want to introduce more than one thing for a few days to make sure there are no allergy issues.

Good luck!

My oldest daughter loved cereal and I did not have a problem but my second daughter didn't like it at all. My daughter is 6mo now and I had a really hard time with cereal. I gave her oatmeal and she seemed to like it better than the rice. After she got used to the oatmeal she would eat the rice with no problem. I also used a bottle a lot of the time to give her cereal. Avent makes a nipple just for cereal feedings.

It sounds like maybe your daughter hasn't yet lost the tongue-thrust reflex - the description of "she just sits there with it on her tongue and...eventually she will spit it out". If this is the case, she isn't ready for solids yet and you should try again in another week or two. If it is the flavor she doesn't like, you can switch to oatmeal or barley.

At any rate just continue to be patient with the feedings - I remember that, in the beginning, it used to take FOREVER for our boy to finish a tablespoon of rice cereal. Now he shoves anything and everything that we put on his tray into his mouth!

She may not be ready for cereal yet. Some kids aren't ready until 6 mos. If she still has her thrust reflex, she's not ready. Give the cereal a break for a few days and try again. There really is two schools of thought on giving kids cereal at 4 mos. Some dr's are adamant that starting at 4 mos is ok, and others are adamant that waiting until 6 mos is better for baby's system. It sounds like she's telling you that maybe she's not quite ready for the cereal yet. It's not necessary at this age and why fight a battle you don't have to?

Okay I am of the old school philosophy so be ready. I am a foster mother for five years, had a daughter with many birth defects, and a mother of three. I am not an expert by any means but I can tell you what works for me. Not one of the many babies I have started on cereal liked it at first. I always mixed the cereal with their formula or even some of the baby applejuice. Just enough to improve the taste and texture.

There have been some of the babies that I have had that were drug addicted and their palettes were just not developed enough to handle the texture for a long time. (not in your case I know) I placed just one formula scoop size of cereal into their bottle (especially at night) It is not all the time because you want them to learn the process of eating from a spoon but the first bottle in the morning or the last bottle in the evening help them get used to it. It is not so much the taste really (could be though) but the texture. Remember to choose one bottle for these feedings so you can open the nipple hole a little more. It could help. It worked for all of mine.

sounds like your daughter is telling you she isn't ready yet. many dr's recommend waiting till around 6 months to start solids anyway. i started my daughter on fruits and veggies around 6 months. i skipped rice cereal (not much nutritional value) and have given her oatmeal which she really likes. follow your instincts-ped doesn't always know best. good luck!

My son hated rice cereal too. I gave him oatmeal. He loved it.

You do not need to feed your daughter rice cereal. None of my kids ever ate it. In fact, 4 months is really young to start solid foods. I would wait a couple more months and either go straight to veggies or try the cereal again. Just introduce veggies one at a time in case of allergies. Babies really aren't ready for solids until they can sit up on their own, have a tooth, and are reaching for your food.

I used a "feeder-bottle" to introduce rice cereal to my three children. It was a special bottle with a larger nipple opening and a bottom that could be pushed up to help get it all out (like a push-pop). I nursed my children, but they did get pumped breastmilk occasionally in bottles. This made the method of feeding more comfortable, and because the cereal was mixed with breastmilk it was more familiar in flavor as well. With my oldest the pediatrician had me start the rice cereal at only 2 1/2 months because he was growing so fast and they felt he needed the extra calories. Keep trying and good luck!

I agree, that stuff looks & taste like paste. I put it in my daughter's bottle for about a week. Since you only introduce one food at a time this early, I knew that after that week, I was safe with rice. Then, we started on jar foods. Those are very thin, and I would use a little of the rice to thicken them. It may also be that she's just getting used to using the spoon, which can take some time.

My youngest daughter wouldn't eat the powdered rice cereal regardless of what I mixed it with, but she ate the jarred rice cereal with no problem at all. You might give that a try.

Good luck!

If I'm not mistaken, there is rice, oatmeal and one other type of cereal for babies. You could try the oatmeal 3-5 days after you tried the rice. That's long enough to know if she reacts to it or not. Oatmeal has a slightly different taste, maybe she will like it better.

Mix a little bit of baby food with the cereal and she may like it a little better. My doctor never suggested anything about feedings and such and I asked him why when I heard of other's telling other mothers and he said, "I watched my wife raise our 3 kids and usually it was not what I, as a pediatrician, would have suggested, but they are all healthy. Mother's always know best!" I'll never forget that!