Baby Wont Take Cereal from a Bottle

It might be the cereal. My daughter HATED regular rice cereal. But if I fed her rice cereal with fruit or mixed with some babyfood fruit she liked it. She also liked oatmeal or barley much better and they are also more filling. My mother said I and my siblings were the same way. So I would try spoon feeding him before bed like you did but with something different. Good luck!

Is he eating regular meals during the day? By the time mine were 8 months, they had 3 meals of baby food. My son ate fruit and cereal for breakfast, one jar each of fruit and vegetable for lunch and dinner. My daughter ate about half that. Plus mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks (graham crackers, gold fish, cheerios, fruit pieces, carrot dices, cheese, etc. with formula or water to drink). Bottles were just before meals, plus bed time.

If he goes back to sleep on his own at night, it might not be a sleep problem. Maybe it's time you turn off the baby monitor if you have one on him. Children have natural wake patterns through out the night. For mine it's around 11pm or so and again around 3am. Our daughter was never loud enough to wake us up when this happened, so went back to sleep on her own very quietly. (I only know it was happening from when I stayed up late scrapbooking with friends). However, our son was LOUD. He might holler just once or twice, but it would wake up both of us and the dog too. So we turned the monitor off and slept peacefully.

If you really think his problem is hunger though, I'd focus on his day-time meals more so than the evening bottle.

As a Pedi RN I can tell you we do not recommend putting formula in a bottle especially at this age. There should be no real reason for him to have to be fed in the middle of the night.
Have you tried adding more solids to his dinner? Many babies at this age are taking 28-32 oz of formula a day (usually in 4 servings) plus eating 3 "meals" of baby food.
As suggested, you may want to look into a book about sleeping issues. Ferber has a good one.

Best of luck
D.

All babies are different and while I think everyone's advice is good advice but you have to do what is right for you. Do you think he could be teething? My son was sleeping through the night and then it came to a stop once he started teething. It also could be that he doesn't like rice cereal. My son HATED rice cereal but loved oatmeal and barley cereals. The rice cereal could be making his gassy too. I don't agree with the advice that giving your baby cereal in his bottle is bad because gastroenterologists recommend it to babies with reflux so it can't be a taboo that you do it. If he won't eat any kind of cereal try other jarred foods to get him his full belly.

Do what makes you happy and if that is putting cereal in his bottle then I say go for it.

The fact that your son is waking at night may not have anything to do with his tummy at all. Many babies start night waking at this age.
As for the food issue, I agree. Make sure he is getting regular "meals" now. In another month or two, he will be able to eat cheerios (one at a time). He's going to be developing his sense of independence!
Before bed I would bathe him, give him a bottle and read or rock him. Make sure you are not stressed or anxious. Babies feed off of that. A calm relaxed state will hopefully help him sleep better. If he wakes at night, lay him down and pat or rub his back. If he needs a diaper change, do it. Don't say a word though, and keep the room dark. After a few nights it should work.
Does he take a paci, or have a favorite blanket? You might reassure him with that during the day, and at night he'll turn to it for comfort, too.
Good luck, I know it's hard! And you're doing it alone. Kudos to you :)

Rather than trying to get your child to take cereal from a bottle (which I've always been told is not a good idea), I would address the real issue which is that your child is not sleeping through the night. Since he is formula fed, at this age he does not need to eat in the middle of the night. I would get the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It worked wonders for me and my girlfriend and we now tell everyone we know about it. Good luck and I hope you get a great night's sleep soon!

Hi S.,
What nipple are you using? If it is to slow, he will not get anything and too fast will bury him. I tried the Tri-Cut and my 7 month old had a fit. Here is my successful recipe: 8 ounce bottle with about 1 1/4 inches (in the bottom of the bottle) of rice cereal and 3 scoops of formula with a Fast flow nipple.

I appreciate what the other moms said about NO cereal in a bottle but every child is different. I have a 2 year old that I fed at night with a cereal/formula combination from 6 months – 10 Months and he never had issues weaning and is VERY healthy and happy! He, like your son DID seem to wake more often when he didn't get the cereal (Contrary to what the Dr. says about the need for a full belly) so I feel your pain :-)

Good Luck!
E.

try the super generic sippy cups at wal-mart. that was my children's preferred way of eating cereal & stage 1 babyfood!!!

when they are older these cups are perfect for smoothies, too!!

Cereal belongs in a bowl. With that said the issue is sleep, make sure you are following the other mother's reccomendations about food durring the day. If your baby seems to need food to go back down keep a small bit of water handy for baby one or two oz. I totally agree with all the other suggestions and good luck mommy if you can get it to happen 3 nghts in a row you are golden. Whatever you decide to try do it for 7 days beore tossing it out for a new one babies dont like change.

I WOULD JUST KEEP TRYING THE CEREAL ON THE SPOON. MY PEDIATRICIAN TOLD ME NOT TO GIVE CEREAL IN A BOTTLE BECAUSE IT'S A CHOKING HAZARD(EVERYONE I KNOW DOES IT THOUGH!) I WOULD TRY GIVING HIS FORMULA EARLIER IN THE EVENING AND WAIT A LITTLE LONGER SO HE'S REALLY HUNGRY-MAYBE HE'LL EAT THE CEREAL THEN. IF NOT THEN SEE IF HE'LL TAKE ANOTHER BOTTLE. HE MAY BE GOING THROUGH A GROWTH SPURT AND NEEDS MORE FORMULA. MY FIRST DAUGHTER WOKE UP ALOT DURING THE NIGHT AS WELL SO I KNOW WHAT A PAIN IT IS NOT TO GET ANY SLEEP! IT'S GOOD HE GOES BACK TO SLEEP ON HIS OWN THOUGH. IF HE'S DOING THAT HE'LL EVENTUALLY STOP WAKING UP. ALSO YOU MAY WANT TO FIND OUT HOW HIS NAPS ARE GOING. IF THEY ARE THE SAME TIME EVERYDAY AND ARE LONG ENOUGH THEN HE SHOULD SLEEP BETTER. THE MORE SLEEP BABY'S GET THE LONGER AND BETTER THEY SLEEP. IF THEY DON'T GET ENOUGH NAP TIME THEN THEY HAVE A HARDER TIME GOING TO SLEEP AT NIGHT AND TEND TO WAKE UP ALOT. HOPE THIS HELPS AND GOOD LUCK!!!

S., I agree with Judy H 100%! The book is great! Sounds like he is really just learning how to go back to sleep right now on his own, without mommy's help. Eventually, the waking with crying should lessen and then eventually stop.

Also, if your son's waking is affecting you, maybe it is time to turn the volume down on the monitor just a little bit? I've found that if my 18 month old's monitor is very low, and if he wakes and is really crying and needs me, I'll hear it after a minute or two. However, if he is making some noise and crying out inbetween roll-overs, then he does not wake me at all with the volume down low. This probably will not solve your problem, but thought it was worth mentioning.

My daughter is also 8 months old. She refuses any kind of cereal, or baby food. She will move her head away, not open her mouth, and if I do manage to get her to eat some - she gags.

AT this age, our babies are beginning to understand they don't have to do so some things we want them too. They also develop there own sense of what they like and what they dislike. I would suggest trying different foods instead of cereal. However, if your baby is going back to sleep on his own when he wakes up, you are doing a very good job.. If he starts to fuss, just stay in bed... if he really needs you, you'll know it.

He's old enough to start eating solids, try giving him a saltine cracker or biter biscuits. Give him shredded cheese or shredded apple and bannana cut up in small pieces. He's probably wanting more food to learn with and try.

He's probably ready to move on. Also, cereal in a bottle isn't healthy for babies anyways, especially to fall asleep with. It actually can cause stomach upset and tooth decay. Try mixing his cereal in with other food, like peas or carrots or something.

Babies at his age tend to wake more during the night because they are ecxited about learning new things.

I have an 8 month old, she loves her cereal, eats it before bed and she still wakes up multiple times a night. Like yours mine goes back to sleep after crying for a few minutes, but like you I am then awake! I guess what I am trying to say is that it may not matter if you are able to get solids in him, he may still not sleep great.
You could try another food other than cereal, like a veggie. You could try oatmeal cereal (mine loves it). You could try feeding a little earlier, not when he is starving. This might help because when mine is really really hungry all she wants is the bottle, but if she is still somewhat satified, she will eat her solids better.
Good luck and we can support each other!