baby cereal question

i started Olivia on oatmeal cereal yesterday. she made a face when i gave it to her and when i kept trying she started to scream and make a gagging sound. i made it very watery. today i tried again and she started making the gagging noise before the spoon made it to her mouth. what were you experiences with cereal the first time. tia

Re: baby cereal question

Similar in that she didn't just start eating normally. It took some time for her to get used to the different taste and texture. Just keep feeding her small amounts and it should get easier for her.

Re: baby cereal question

my girlfriend said to add apples to the oatmeal but was told by my pediatrician to introduce one thing at a time because of food allergies. she has never had fruit or veggies and wanted to start cereal for a month before fruits and veggies.

als ogiving her the cereal before the bottle should i give her some of the bottle then cereal or is there a way to do this?

Re: baby cereal question

Is there a reason you started with oatmeal?
We were told to start with rice.

Katie doesn't really like the oatmeal. She will eat the rice but likes barley best.

Re: baby cereal question

I am also starting cereal with Sara this weekend. She already has rice cereal in her formula because of her reflux so we are starting with oatmeal. If I remember correctly from my son, I gave alittle bottlle then cereal then the rest of the bottle. If Olivia is already 5 months you really can try some fruit in the cereal after haveing the oatmeal for 4 days. Give her oatmeal for 4 days if no reaction you can mix alittle apple in with it

Message edited 6/20/2006 11:05:11 PM.

Re: baby cereal question

If your baby is gagging, spitting it out and screaming I would put the rice cereal away and try again in another week. I started giving DD rice cereal when she was 4 mos old without the OK of my ped cuz she seemed like she was ready (made these chewing motions in her mouth as if she had gum or something). The 1st time she had it was a little messy as they need to get used to it but she definitely loved it. Some babies are more ready than others.

ETA: you should give rice cereal first for a couple of days and then move onto rice oatmeal for a couple of days. Once you have established no allergies to this you can start giving stage 1 fruits and veggies. IMO i would not mix the fruits right away with the cereals as your baby needs to get used to that first

Message edited 6/21/2006 4:13:44 PM.

Re: baby cereal question

I found with Sydney that she wouldnt have the patience for the spoon if she was super hungry but if I gave her a bottle and then waited maybe an hour or so then it would go much smoother. My ped said the point of the cereal is just to get them used to eating with a spoon otherwise it doesnt have that many nutrients in it like the other foods do. It took about a week and now Sydney is a pro with the spoon and loves her oatmeal.

Re: baby cereal question

i cant give her rice because of pooping problem she goes evry 4 days unless i give her prune juice the pediatrician said to give her oatmeal and rice last. i think olivia is dramatic because before i even put the spoon to her mouth she pretends to gag but when i put food on her lip she is fine.im going to try her on apples tomorrow and then mix it with the cereal