Catalina is still not interested in the rice cereal.  She has had rice cereal daily (in the am) for about a week now.  Do I just continue trying?  Also she is interested in drinking out of a cup, she sometimes tries to drink out of mine when I am holding her next to my glass.  Should I get her a sippy cup?  If so should I put water or breast milk in the cup - Jaclyn

Dear Jaclyn,

Thank you for writing in to Tastybaby!  There is no need to worry- it is completely normal for infants to initially push away new foods. Keep in mind that every infant is unique and will start to eat at his or her own age and pace.  Although infants will usually start complementary foods around 4-6 months, a great way to gauge Catalina’s readiness is by looking for physical signs that she is ready to eat.  Two signs that she is ready for iron-fortified cereal are:
        1.    She follows the spoon with her eyes and opens her mouth to receive it she closes her lips over the spoon
        2.    She is able to move the food from the front of her mouth to the back to swallow it.  

If Catalina is showing signs that she is ready to eat cereal, but appears to be uninterested in this new food, rest assured that you are doing the right thing by reintroducing rice cereal daily.  It can take 8-15 exposures (and even up to 20) before she accepts a new food.  Although this may be frustrating, patience will pay off!  Also realize that your job is to introduce appropriate foods (like you are doing!), and let her decide when and how much.   Babies have incredible instinct when it comes to knowing what they need (especially when it comes to food) and showing signs in order to get it!    

In order to ease the introduction of solids into your baby’s diet, try experimenting with different consistencies of iron fortified rice cereal.  You can start by mixing 1 tsp cereal with 4-5 tsp of warm breast milk (gravy-like thin consistency).  The familiar taste and texture of breast milk will help her adapt to the new flavor and feel of rice cereal.  After a few days, start to slowly decrease the breast milk and increase the cereal to offer a gradually thicker cereal.  

If after an additional 10 tries of different consistencies of rice cereal, Catalina is still not intrigued, you may want to try another type of iron-fortified cereal, such as oat or wheat (the reason that rice cereal is usually introduced first is because rice is the least allergic and most easily digestible food to start with, but if allergies don’t run in your family, it’s alright to try something else.)  Make sure you focus on iron-fortified cereals before other food choices because after 4-6 months your baby’s iron stores need to be replenished with iron containing foods to prevent deficiency and to support cognitive and motor development.  After your daughter is able to eat around 4-6 tablespoons of cereal daily, you can begin to add colorful fruits and veggies one at a time to her diet… and your outfit!

As for your second concern, it is completely normal that Catalina is showing signs that she wants to drink from a cup!  Introducing her to a sippy cup is an excellent idea, as it prepares her for weaning from the breast or bottle at around one year old.  At first, it is safe to assume that she is probably not going to be drinking much from the cup but instead just practicing grasping it, moving it around her high chair, throwing it on the floor, etc. so you can start by putting a little bit of water in it.  Once she starts taking an interest in actually drinking out of it, offering breast milk in it allows her to get nutritional value with each sip (we don’t want her to fill her tummy with water and not have room for more nutrient-dense foods and breast milk).