A Couple of Questions About My Premiee

A. I am a mom of two premies. One at 24 weeks gestation. He was 1lb 9 oz when he was born. Now almost 8. And my youngest at 32 weeks. Trust me I know what you are feeling and you are ok with concerning yourself on every little thing. my eldest did start teething vfery early. But besides teething it could be that he might have upset stomache. maybe gastrointestinal problems. Not sure how much he weighs but I think you can give him a little bit of cereal to help him. Barley cereal from Gerber is great And helps them gain weight. Try also freezing his favorite rag and then giving him it to bite on. Just incase he is teething. I found that teething rings generally they never like. If after that he's still acting that way. Ask his pedeatrician to check his GI track. GL and if you ever need to talk let me know. I'll send you my number. Bless you and yours and best wishes hun.

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i had a preemie A., and i worked with preemies born as early as 21 weeks (!). listen to your doctors. they know what they are talking about regarding the cereal. preemies need time to catch up. remember. he might be 5 months to you but to him and his body, he is only three months old. it's frustrating, but it will get better. just think. he's five months old already!

since it sounds like that wonderful little man is keeping mom awake at night, let's try to figure out why: change in demeanor, change in sleep habit, drooling, and chewing on the bottle instead of sucking ... MAMAS, WELCOME TO TEETHING! :)

think about how we feel when our wisdom teeth come in. ouch! try frozen baby bagels. they fit in baby hands, are great chew toys, and are inexpensive compared to other baby toys out there. :)

****the next time you are at the doctor's office, hold your child and stop the doctor before he/she leaves the room and say, "dr ___, i want to make sure we're on the same page. now that we're done with little man's exam, please repeat what you have told me so that i can write it down. AND, i have written a few questions here that i need to ask you ... " always remember that regardless of your insurance, HE/SHE WORKS FOR YOU!!!

watch for ear infections at this time, A.. for some reason, my son always seemed to have more during teething times.

i hope i've answered all your questions. good luck!

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Actually since he was a preemie he shouldn't be fed cereal unless the doctor said so. The preemies that i have worked with were born at 28 weeks so they may have been smaller and more needy. But because their adjusted age is only 3 months he probably shoudln't get cereal. It sometimes takes preemies systems a little longer than full term babies and it can cause issues. And not all full term babies are ready for cereal at 4 months either. If you don't care for your doctor then I suggest find a new one. I don't know where you reside but there are some good peditricians in Gahanna. Anyway, hope it helped

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Hope this helps u out, in my opinion u can def give your son cereal now. I'm sure thats why he is fussy, he feels hungry cause his little tummy isnt getting enough from the milk. I gave my son cereal at 2 months, even though they say to wait till 4, and I know ppl who have given their babies cereal at 1 month and that was ok. If he acts like he's not getting enough, he def needs that... maybe just try a little at first to see how his digestive system reacts to it. You might wanna try adding some to his bottle, and cuttingv a little slit in the nipple so it can flow through. My younger sis had a baby as well that was 2 months preemie and in the hospital for 5 weeks after birth. Thin k she gave him cereal at about 4 months.... so I definately think your is ready. Hope this helps ya out!!!
oh yeah.... as soon as I gave my son cereal in his bottle is when he started sleeping through the night... it also makes them their bellies stay fuller longer... good luck! Hope it works out for you!!!

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yes, you cn give him cereal, you can give him some jar foogd as well
P. S

I started my son on cereal when he was 4 months old. I did that a few days (until I knew he wasn't going to have a food allergy to it) and then started him on some stage one fruits and veggies (introducing one at a time). He did great with this. Everything I read said 4-6 months is the right time to start them on cereal and stage one foods...especially if they are showing signs of being hungry.

As for the teething thing...sounds like he might be starting. It is not unheard of for babies to get teeth even as early as 4 months old.

Hope this helps! Good luck

Hi A.,

My daughter was 10 weeks early. I don't see why you can't give your little man cereal. If he is hungry, feed him. It is also very possible that your son is teething. Babies can start as early as 3 months.

I learned in my childbirthing class, and heeded the advice, that do not start feeding a child cereal until your pediatrician recommends it. All cereal does (prior to when it should be fed) it make fat babies. And fat babies grow up to become fat adults. (these are the exact words of the doctor and nurse who led the class)

The drooling, chewing, and fussiness would lead me to believe that he is teething as opposed to 'hungry'.

Hi A., congrats on your little bundle of joy! My son was 8 weeks premature, as well. It would be fine to start him on cereal. Start with rice cereal though. My son still does the same thing...he eats quite frequently. He is 9 months old (7 months, adjusted), and this is how a typical day goes for us. Get up and nurse for 30 minutes. 2-3 hours later, cereal and nurse another 30 minutes. 2-3 hours later, fruit (sometimes with cereal) and nurses 15-30 minutes. 2-3 hours later, nurses 30 minutes. 2-3 hours later, veggie and nurses. The rest of the evening/night, he gets another bowl of cereal and nurses usually 2 more times, and sometimes takes a bottle of breast milk during the night. So even for being 9 months old, he still eats every 2-3 hours. Which makes my days revolve around his feeding schedule. It's rough, but necessary.
He could be teething, but Ben has been doing the same thing since he was about 5-6 months, too. And still not a single tooth has popped through. He's all gums, he just chews on everything and drools constantly, lol.
And about the comment that cereal makes babies fat is making me LAUGH MY BUTT OFF. My son has been on cereal since he was 3 months old because he has reflux, it helps keep some of the milk down. And he is FAR from fat, LOL! Some people...lol, lordy.

Hi Congrats on the precious one. I just had a lil boy 4 wks early, so he's a premie too. Anyway, it is very possible that he's teething. I also have an 18 month old son who acted the same way when he started teething. Your son is 5 months old, if he's eating well, no problems swallowing or want not, I'd say yeah to the cereal thing. I started Alex on it when he was 5 months, he always slept really well, but he slept longer when he had the cereal. Another reason he could be acting hungry all the time is bc he has a belly ache. Alex had trouble pooping when he was lil and he would whine and cry and want to eat all the time bc his belly hurt. And naturally he thought he was hungry bc a baby doesn't know anything about why its hurting they just want you to fix it. I hope I helped ya out, and good luck w/your lil one.

Hi A.,
My daughter is now 5 months and a week. She was not born a preemie, however she was only 5.4 when she was born. She later dropped under 5 pounds after birth, but then really started gaining well once my milk came in. She now weighs 12.1 pounds. My doctor had me start her on cereal at 3 months, because I thought too that she was constantly hungry. Right now we are even eating fruits and some vegetables with our cereal. At first it was very difficult for my daughter to swallow the cereal, but I think that was mainly because she was so young. My doctor recommended that I start with 1 tbsp of Rice cereal and mix it with either formula, breast milk, or water until it is a soupy consistency. My daughter is still not a big baby by any means, but she loves to eat. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
J. A.
Warren, OH

i have never had the experience of a premiee, other than a friend of mine had one. But i know with alll 3 of my children, they needed cereal anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3 months old. i have a 4 month old and he is already teething, yes its possible, they wont get teeth for a while but all of mine teethed really early. My oldest was like 3 months and the doctor said he was teething and he never got a tooth until 11 months old. it was rough. i use about 2 table spoons of cereal in his bottles. sometimes it constipates him but i use kayro syrup ( which they say will not hurt him) and it works. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Sure go ahead and give him rice cereal, it won't hurt him. I gave my 1st child cereal at a month old, and my second I give it to her at an week old, because she was little and I thought she needed more. I would only start out giving just a little at a time and work your way up. He might just need a little to hold him over, too your next feeding. Also he could very well be teething. When you are sitting and holding him, rub his little gums with your finger, like you are massaging them. Have a great day.

It does sound like he's teething. Have you tried teething gel or the theething tablets that dissovle right in their mouthes? As for still being hungery you really have to talk to the doctors and make them listen to you and really listen to their opinion. For some children it is safe to eat cereal at this age and for others it is not. There are other mile stones they much accomplish first before you can feed them cereal, both both things you can and can't see. Talk, really talk, to your doctor about your concerns. If you feel the ped. is not listening to you then maybe find a different doctor. I love my ped. doc that I take my son too. She always has time for us, and even moves us to her schedule when we come in and my son is sick if we are with someone else because of his health problems. She is truely wonderful. I wish you the best of luck!

Congratulations on your baby! I had twin premiees 6 weeks early but very healthy. I really feel that you should find another dr if he is not listening. Your pediatrician should answer any questions you have at any time. They should not make you feel bad for asking. I am not an advocate of changing feeding until oked by a doctor. Every child is different and should be treated differently. My pediatrician is very conservative and does not believe in medicating children unless absolutely necessary. My twins are now 6 and even now I rarely use over the counter medicines unless I talk to the doctors. For example, my daughter has turned out to have asthma. It is sometimes difficult for me to determine if she is starting to develop her asthma or it is just a cold. Once she had pneumonia and it was similar to her asthma. Giving her over the counter cough syrup would have caused her to not get rid of the stuff in her lungs. Also, please be careful with putting cereal in their bottles at a young age. It can cause choking. I don't know where you live, but if you are looking for a new pediatrician in your area, you want want to put in a new request. Good luck!

The first thing I am going to ask is how much does he weigh. It could be that he is going through his growth spirt and trying to cetch up. My son was 6 weeks early and it was almost over night that he developed the hungry all the time thing. He was on a stricked feeding schedule it started every two hours and the at two months every three and that at six months every four about then is when he caught up to his weight that he should be at. I started giving the baby cereal between 6 and 7 months. It is possible that he is teething. You could message his gums they make this wonderful thing that you put on your finger and gently message his gums if he gets really bad like you think he is in a lot of pain you can give him infant tylenol(check with your doc first because I can't remember how much they told me to give my son and premmes are different amounts) I also did the teething rings they like to chew on them and they help numb the pain just have two or three that way when one is thawed out you can replace it with a fresh frozen one. It might not be that he is hungry but that chewing on the nipple feels good on his gums. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions on premmies

If you feel like your doctors are not really listening, find new ones. I am sure most Dr.'s will tell you he is to little for solid food, but I am a firm beliver that you know best, so trust your feelings, they are probably right on.

A.,

Glad your little guy is home and healthy. Mine have both been full term, but I have friends with preemies, and I know it's stressful.

It definitely sounds as if he's teething. That's rather early, but they're all different. You might ask the doctor if a bit of Tylenol would be acceptable. I also found teething tablets from "Little Remedies." They're herbal based (chamomille and the like) and help with the pain and help calm the little ones down enough to sleep.

Personally, I would be reluctant to start him on cereal so soon, especially as a preemie. If he's gaining weight, then he is getting sufficient nutrition. I take it your bottle feeding, and it's fine to just offer all he can eat. Sleeping through the night at this point with a teething preemie might be a bit much to hope for.

Three months is a usual growth spurt (i.e. *hungry!*) time, and with a preemie, that's often translated as from the time they would have been born.

Teeth and growing are tough on the little ones and their parents, but you'll all get through it.

Sounds like he might be ready for cereal. Usually the drs say between 4 to 6 months. If he is taking an interest in your food and hungry he is probably ready. Rice is usually the one to start with, it will however make him have a more solid BM. Just to warn you.
Teething, sounds like he is trying to get those teeth to come through. My son got his bottom ones in at 5 1/2 months and today the top ones have popped throught, he is 8 1/2 months. Try putting the teething ring in the freezer for about 30 minutes, Tylenol at night just to get him though this. Once they are though he will go back to his old habbits.