My 8 month old baby refuses to drink her formula or eat her iron fortified cereal. Is it alright to add vanilla or cinnamon to her cereal to encourage her to eat?
by 
boobear123
ANSWERS: 14
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At 8 months vanilla should be ok (just not loads of it!), but I would hold off on cinnamon until maybe a year.
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If the baby has a few teeth, you might want to ask the doctor if it would be okay to feed the baby unsweetened fortified cereals like Cheerios. No matter how tasty it is, some babies dislike the mushy texture of baby cereals (mine all did) and prefer things that they can feed themselves with their developing motor skills. Mine also liked eating the same food as the rest of the family, even if their systems weren't really ready for it; this is especially true if the baby sits at the same table and eats at the same time as the rest of the family. Their strong attachment to other people can make them want to imitate them. But check with the doc first.
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I would never add sweetener to their food to encourage them to eat... My youngest is currently 7 1/2 mths old and she is starting to not want the mushy Baby food and cereal. I have been feeding her the gerber puffs and am about to start her on cheerios She loves the puffs they are kinda sweet but not to the extent vanilla would be. They also encourage her to feed herself! She is a very independant feeder and just doesn't like to be fed!
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Farley cookies are amazing...they are messy and I recommend you give it right before bath time (you'll see why when you try them) but they love them. They are made from infant cereal and they melt with babies saliva even if baby has teeth. just be careful when they get to the end of the cookies. My daughter likes to shove the whole cookie in her mouth when its small enough and could pose as a choking hazzard. but you should try these its fun to watch!!
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my niece when she would drink milk her formula they would add a little bit of syruo in it and she drank it happily
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Try adding fruit juice to the cereal first. It may have some of the sugars, but at least you have added vitamin C and other good things. It's best to wait as long as possible to get kids addicted to sugars and spices, though it's probably inevitable. Good luck.
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Is she eating anything? Is it possible she doesn't feel well?
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I would see if blended bananas could be added to the cereal. It is good for the baby, and not alot of sugar.
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My son would eat the cereal with a little baby apple sauce or bannas mixed in. He still loves apple sauce and bannas now, and he is 3 yrs.
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maybe try her on milk if ur doc oks it. I always added fruits to my babies ceral, he ate every bite & it gave him extra vitamins. Spices seem a lil strong to add to a babies food just yet. Good luck
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With my son, I would put a little of baby fruit in with the cereal and he would eat it up. With his formula, I would sometimes put it in his sippy cup just to make him think he was getting something special. I would also sometimes put a little fruit juice in with his formula to sweeten it but do so without using sugar or other sweeteners that he may have been to young for. You could also ask your doctor for advice as well. He knows what's best for your child as far as what she needs and what she can have at what age.
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I think you should ask your doctor for some advice. At 8 months the babie should be eating some. If the babie has no alergies to milk mix half formula with half 2% milk. try some baby food you might not be filling the child up and getting it full. Someone you know could be feeding the baby food and the child is not interested, it might be sick or teething.
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I have 2 very healthy children 8mo and 2yrs and both of them had vanilla and cinnamon in their cereal from just about day 1. My take on it is this, we are pretty much the only culture that starts our children on such radically bland diets. In other cultures, children eat spices etc. at very early ages. Neither of my kids ever had a problem with it. And as for getting them "addicted" to spices, it's excess sugar and salt and fat you should worry about, not spices. As far as I know, nobody has ever gotten fat or unhealthy from a well seasoned diet. I would say the only reason I see not to is if you have extreme allergies that run in your family such that you need to be overly cautious about introducing new foods etc. Otherwise, season away!! P.S. I found that pumpkin pie spice is well recieved too!!
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My daughter is 8 months old and also refuses to drink her formula. SO we started her on whole milk. As for the other nutrients in the formula she needs. I started buying the new Juicy Juice with DHA in it. That makes up for the nutrients she is loosing from the formula. Also she never ate baby food. Doesn't like it, she eats everything we eat with the exception of seafood, steak, and peanut butter. And she is doing just fine. Gaining weight like she should and is healthy as ever.
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