Hi....gave our soon to be 5 month old cereal yesterday. She new what to do with it as far as taking the spoon in her mouth but then it just sat on her tongue and she didn't swallow much of any of it. Does this mean she's not ready for it????

How will she learn to know what to do with it????

She'll learn. Babies and kids love to mimic. So I honestly I would wait until she's grabbing things off of your spoon and plate and putting them to her mouth. As long as she's getting formula or breastmilk this is just to learn texture and explore. Not for real bulk calories.

MissC is right. She can wait. My pediatrician has me put the cereal in her formula and hten give her that. we have to make a little whole bigger but it works. she's 9months and I dont let her feed herself at all since it is too messy. But now she sits there while i feed her jar food. But her cereal is either from a jar or in her formula.(not a lot of it)

Hi Manchak - It took my son about 2 weeks to get the hang of cereal. He didn't like it at first either - infact, he got mad when I would put it in his mouth. I had to mix it with fruit.

Now he is almost 6 months and eating fruits and veggies really well.

It will get better, just wait a few days and try again.

Does your baby watch you eat and seem fascinated by it? That's a sign that he/she is ready for table food.

One thing I did is to actually eat off her spoon myself. She gets a big kick out of it and it gives me an opportunity to test the temperature if I've used the microwave to heat it up. She loves to mimic me and usually opens wide after I do this little trick.

I remember the first few times we did the cereal -- same thing as you described. I kept wondering if she was swallowing any (because it sure didn't look like it!!), but then I realized that the amount in the bowl was decreasing, and the only other place it could've gone isn't inside of her, so she must be swallowing.

Part of the whole "learning to eat" process is not just to see if she likes/isn't allergic to certain foods... it's also to get her used to the different textures, smells, motions, etc. regarding eating. She's still getting 90+% of her nutrition from breastmilk/formula, so this is just "play". Better to get her used to it now when she's still pliable then when she's 9 or 10 months old and is starting to exert her own will. :)

Keep trying it every day. She'll get it.

just keep trying.Dont get discouraged.Try mixing in some fruits.That stuff is nasty.My 8 month old grandson was started at 4 months and he hated the rice.We got oatmeal and mixed fruit and he does better