Hi everyone,

My ds is 5 months old. He's been eating cereal for a couple months now but never has really seemed to like the taste of it. I have tried experimenting with the thickness, using water and milk, I've even tried sprinkling a bit of sugar on top so it's not quite as bland, and he still doesn't seem to like it very much. So I thought it might just be the cereal, but the other day I gave him veggies for the first time (he's only had them twice), and I got the same reaction! He just has a look on his face that says "this doesn't taste very pleasant...". Any ideas of why? I'm hoping that he will "learn" to like the tastes of a variety of things, but right now he doesn't seem to like the taste of anything... I'm not sure what to do about this. :confused:

Whiskers :)

Have you tried adding fruit to the cereal? We add either applesauce, plums, or peaches and DS really likes it. Some babies actually like veggies added to it. Sounds gross to me though. :) As for the veggies, what did you give him? You really have to just keep trying. If he spits it out, wait a few days and try it again. If within a week or so he just really won't eat it, don't give him that one for another month and just try a new one. Sweet potatoes and green beans are good ones to start with. Most babies like those. Remember just because they make a funny face when you give them food (especially new ones) doesn't mean they don't like it, it's just different. The texture is weird and the flavor is different. If he's not spitting his food out, I wouldn't worry about him not liking it. My son wouldn't eat banana's for the longest time. And banana's are good.

If you consider that all he's had up until now is either breastmilk or formula (not sure which you use) then you have to think about how different these flavors and textures are from what he's used to. It might not be the flavor at all. It could be the mere texture. Have you thinned it out to where it is almost like a soup and seen if he'll take it that way? Maybe you could gradually introduce him to the new texture rather than all at once. It's probably just getting used to something new. Most babies make faces like, "What the HECK?" when they first get food.

Thanks for the replies! Yes, when we started with the cereal, it was extremely thin, and he ate it that way for awhile, then it gradually got thicker, and we still get the same response. Although, this morning he didn't seem to hate it as much as he normally does, so maybe we're making progress! He doesn't so much spit it out of his mouth as it just gets pushed out with his tongue by accident, I think. And no, we haven't tried it with fruit yet because I'm waiting until after he gets used to the veggies to give him fruit (I've heard that's the best because then they don't get used to the sweet stuff!). But I do have some fruits on hand, and I will try that in a couple of weeks. Also, so far he's only had carrots (twice, and he'll have them once more today--it says on the jar they can only be refridgerated for up to 3 days, and I don't even think half the little jar is gone yet--seems like a waste! but if that's what's recommended...). So, next I will try sweet potatoes and see how that goes.... Again, thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it!

Whiskers :wave:

i'm not sure about that whole veggies before fruit theory. i started both my kids on fruits first, and neither of them had any problems with veggies later on either (my little one will choose broccoli over a cookie every time!). but that's another thread....

as far as the pushing the food out with the tongue, and the whole "what are you feeding me???" facial expression... sounds a lot like how mine reacted when i first started feeding them solids. when babies push food out of their mouths with their tongues, they aren't doing it on purpose, that's just how they're used to eating (if you look at how they latch on to a bottle or breast, their tongue is sticking out a bit), so they have to learn how to keep their tongue in when they eat food. so with mine, i used the spoon and kind of blocked their tongues so they couldn't push the food out. i know it sounds weird, but try it, it works.

and definitely keep offering foods even if he doesn't seem to love them. i make a salad for both my girls at every dinner time. they both started out hating salad and i believe there were many nights when the salad was dumped onto the floor. but gradually they started picking at it, starting with the carrot sticks, then tomoatoes.... and now my almost 4 year old loves salad and will eat all of it when it's given to her. my almost 2 year old is still working on tomatoes and carrots....

anyway, don't give up! eventually he'll love it!

(ps - sweet potatoes are so WAY better tasting than carrots!) :)

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to update you all on our eating situation: My son now LOVES his veggies, and he's been eating them for just over a week! He didn't seem to keen on the carrots (which was the first veggie I introduced so it was probably the fact it was a new food), but then after that I gave him sweet potatoes and today green beans, and he loves them! I am so happy about this :D . He still doesn't seem crazy about the cereal, but I think I will try mixing some fruit in with it and see how that goes. So thanks so much for the posts--they made me feel a lot better!

Whiskers :D