Infant Cereal - Perry,MI

Hi T.!

You are going to get people that will tell you that putting cereal in her bottle is the "ultimate mommy no-no" and that "she is too young for cereal" or "her stomach isn't ready". Or "she will choke, she cant digest it, it wont help her sleep, they cant take anything unless its as thin as milk." I hate to say it but this comment has driven me crazy for years. All of the above are ABSOLUTELY untrue! This is just what their mothers and grandmothers taught them so it must be true. Every person has a different opinion and even pediatricians are torn on what to recommend. Ultimately its the mothers choice, but this will in NO WAY harm the baby. So when others tell you that it is really not true. I am a nurse and I have NEVER EVER seen ill effects from a infant having had cereal in theor bottle. That is all untrue. It is scientifically proven that a baby stomach can handle the majority of the food we it if it is pureed. Both my daughters got cereal the first was at exactly 1 month and I could not believe that I waited that long. The second one had cereal at 13 days. She's been sleeping through the night ever since. Trust me at 13 days there would have been NO sleeping through the night. It kind of assists with scheduling their sleep times.

I wish they came with instruction manuals! It could be a a number of things. Her formula or breast milk may not agree and make her gassy? She may have acid reflux? She really could still be hungry and the crying is having her take in air and then the milk comes up.

Now comes the process of elimination. I would try the cereal in the milk bottle first. Start her with Rice - nothing else. Cut the nipple slit just a little so the cereal can come through - the "x" pattern would be too much. Dont make it thick, kind of thin maybe 1tsp or 3/4 of a tsp for her. See if she takes that and doesn't cry. You say you are giving her 3 or 4 ounces or is that all she will take? If she will take more try this. 1.5 tbsp in 7 ounces of milk. Let her eat as much as she will. When she's full she will stop. Burp her and more than likely she will pass out and go right to sleep. I promise cereal makes them sleep right through the night and she probably wont cry anymore. Please let me know how it works out good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

It's possible that your daughter is lactose intolerant. Try a soy formula and see what happens. Definitely call your pedi as well.

I would say she is still to young for cereal, if you are feeding her more and she is vomiting, then she's not hungery. Have you tried gas? My twins were very gasy after each feeding we would give them gas drops or bring their knees up to their bellies and push lightly on their belly. You will be surprised how much gas you get out of them!

hi,
I have 3 boys and I put inf cereal in all of their b from the begining. rice only because is fine and light! you don't want to make it too tick cause then it will be too heave on the baby's stomach

Hi T.,

My daughter also went through the same thing. I can tell you that one thing that made a HUGE difference is the type of bottle. We finally switched her to Playtex VentAire bottles and they made all the difference. At first I wasn't sure if it was the bottle or if she had outgrown her spitting up huge amounts. One night I forgot to pack her Platex bottle and had to use one of her others (Avent) and she drank about 3-4 ounces and ended up projectile vomiting ALL of it. I swear by these bottles for her.

My son was the same way and he is almost two now. He was on rice cereal at two and a half months old because he could never get full and he did spit up a little bit. Ask your doctor what they think.

T.,

She might be eating too fast and isn't feeling full fast enough or not enough sucking time to be satisfied. There are nipples with different flows, maybe your's is for an older baby? Also, is she sleeping too long between feedings so that she's ravenous when she wakes up? And yes, a month is too young for cereal.

L.

If she is throwing up after eating. you may want to get her checked for acid reflux, it's very commone these days. And yes she is young for baby cereal, and DO NOt, even advice fromyour family put baby cereal in teh bottle, it's not reccomended, even on teh cereal box these days they tell you not to, I htink a lot of our parents did, butit can be a sereious choking hazzard. I would get her checked out, cause it' snot nomral to throw up a bottle/ spit up an entire bottle.

I would not put cereal in the bottle. My daughter had to be kept upright after each feeding either holding her or in her car seat. She had reflux and she still slept through the night. I just agree with others that if you are going to give cereal it should be from a spoon. I just worry about choking especially if you were to cut the nipple.
I know it is hard the first few months, just hang in there, you are doing a great job!!

T.,
You should never put cereal in an infants bottle. It causes allergies and is highly unrecommended. I would try going to 6 or 8 oz and burping her after every couple of ounces, if that doesn't work, I recommend talking to you pediatrician for more advice. An infant shouldn't have cereal until 4 months of age and always fed by a spoon.
Sincerely,
C. (mother of 5)

I agree with both the other responses. When she is old enough for cereal, she should be eating it from a spoon, NEVER put it in her bottle. #1 it makes it impossible for her to know how full she is until she is overfull and #2 it is a choking hazzard. If she continues to have problems with the formula, you may have to try a different one. We went through a ton with my son and his reflux but finally found Good Start which worked for him..
Good luck and if it continues then definately talk to your dr.
C.

everyone tells you not to do this, but i did and it worked beautifully. my grandfather is a DO, and he had a whole "feeding plan" that worked for his kids, his grandkids, and now his great grandkids. i did not set out to follow this plan, but my daughter never got full, and i had to try something. a lot of people say this causes obesity, but i can safely tell you that in 3 generations, there are no overweight or obese kids in the family, never have been. i started about one month for my daughter, and by 6 months old, she was only having one bottle a day, nursing once, and having cereal, fruits, and veggies, the rest of the time.

okay, my advice or things that worked for me are different then everyone else has responded.

both my kids had acid reflux.(ashley 2 1/2 and jack is 9 months) ashley had ceral in her bottles from 6 weeks old(told to me by my doctor 2-4 teaspoons per ounce,with a ceral cut nipple) until she was 8m0nths. she never had a problem with it and helped ALOT with the vomitting! my son was put on it at 2 weeks. he on the other hand had some issues with it and with formula. we were put on the simalac alimentum(allergy formula).this helped! and then they had me re try the ceral when he was 8 weeks.this helped him and not to eat alot.(as he was up to 6 onces every 3-4 hours)he hasnt had any for a bout 3 months.

If i were you give your doctor a call and just ask. thats what they are there for. Good luck. feel free to email me if you have any other questions!

My children who are now 21 and 25 had cereal beginning at two week old and slept through the night every single night. Start with a very little bit and then add it as needed.
They did very well are were wonderful sleepers.

T.,

I would definitely try a new bottle/nipple first. When my now 10 month old girl was around 7 weeks, she started doing the same thing. I gave her breastmilk in a bottle. One day I listened to her as she drank, and it sounded like she was gulping in too much air when she drank. So I switched to the Ventaire bottle (worked with my son who was a major spitter-upper), but I had to use a different nipple. I ended up using a NUK orthodontic rubber nipple that had air vents on the sides of the nipple. My baby became a much happier baby, no more crying fits after eating. I suggest just going and buying every nipple on the market to see what works best, it's worth it.

Hi:) My son, now 15 months, was on baby cereal around 1 or 2 months because he, too, was always hungry. He was on baby food around 3 months and on table food around 9 months or so. I know the main thing about feeding babies food too early is that they may turn out too big. My son is JUST to a normal weight. He eats us out of house and home and has not even come close to being overweight. Just remember to make the cereal REALLY runny so that your little girl does not choke!:)

J.

Hi T.,
You might want to get her checked for acid reflux. I had the same problem with my daughter and I tried putting a little bit of cereal in with the formula and she still spit it up. We had to change her formula to Carnation First Start, it is in a purple can at the stores I can't remember exact name my daughter is 3 now so it has been a while since i have had to get any, this formula is the next thing to breastmilk and it is very comforting to the tummy. I would talk to her dr before doing anything acid reflux is a very tricky problem, due to the fact she can't tell you if anything is burning her. My sister-in-law has had to make her little boy sit up straight for about 15 to 20 min or else we vomits his food she's been doing this since he was about a month old as well. Hope this helps.
J.

My oldest son did the same thing. The doctors told me it was too soon to put my son on cereal but nothing else worked. I gave him very little cereal at one month old. I made sure that the consistency was extremely watery...I mixed it with his formula... but it worked wonders. He is now 12 and thriving. Just do what is right for you and your baby...good luck.

My little girl did that from day one. She would scream after eating like she wanted more. Giving her more just made her throw it ALL back up. She did have some reflux issues but the main problem was the nipple was to big. We could not use stage one because she and her brother were so small and weak they could not get anything out of stage one. So after she finished the bottle her sucking reflex was not satisfied so I put a pacifier in her mouth..that worked for a little while:)
I would try a different nipple or bottle and see how it goes.
And I would wait on cereal till she is at least 4 months old. This really helped with my little girl. It just weighs the food down so it does not come back up so easy. She is a much happier baby now:)
Take care and good luck:)

T. .. I had the same problem so we went to the docs and sure enough they said add cereal to her bottle. They called it GERD. Look it up. I put one teaspoon of cereal for every ounce of formula in her bottle. My daughter is now 7 months old and we started with cereal in her bottle at two months of age. Since she now is spoon feeding on all gerber, I only put cereal in her "before bedtime" bottle. So she wont choke if she spits up while laying on her back. Doc said the cereal weighs down the formula to keep it down. Less vomiting. At first the Rice cereal did not agree with her. We had to put her on Barley. It did not add weight to my daughter. If you do add cereal in her bottle they make nipples so that the thicker formula can pass. Avent brand that I know of.

It is not to early.I gave my last two kids cereal at that age.But all you need is like a teaspoon in a four ounce bottle..It really does help.But I did not give it every feeding.Maybe once in the morning and at night.Also make sure you use rice cereal...

Talk to her Dr and see if there is a reason for the excess spit up. Some babies just spit up a lot and you can't change that. Some babies deal with other issues that cause them to spit up a lot. My son spit up a ton the first 9 months of his life...he also had acid reflux for a bit. Gas is also very very common in the early months. Maybe you need to try a different formula?? Unless your Dr says it's okay, I wouldn't give her cereal in her bottle. At a month, babies digestive systems are not ready for that yet. Hope you figure it out. Good luck!

Don't feed her infant cereal yet - her body can't process it - she's too young. It's an old-wives-tale that introducing cereal in her bottle will help her sleep...it will actually hurt her. Hang in there. Those first 3 months are so hard. You're doing great - it'll get better. :-)

Cereal in a bottle is bad idea. It does cause the child to gain too much weight. It has never been proven to truly help a child sleep through the night(my own son started sleeping through the night at one month, and he never had cereal in a bottle.). It can cause an allergic reaction. AND, here's the big one, it's a choking hazard. A baby that young just can't handle a liquid that's any thicker that milk. If your baby is still fussing after a feeding, it's for some other reason. You could try a pacifier. She might reject it at first. But, it's a much safer option than cereal. She also might be crying because of some reaction to the formula. You might check with the doctor about that. But, another thing you could try after a feeding, to calm her, is to take her out for a bit. Go for a walk, or car ride. The activity might distract her while she learns to recognize the feeling of a full belly. It's likely that she's only fussing because feeding is comfortong, and she just isn't old enough to have learned that feeding stops being fun when you get full.

Hi T.,

Until my son reached about 4 mos. old, he vomited most of his formula whenever he was fed. My husband and I used to say, "A day is not a good day unless you wear baby vomit." Sometimes their little tummies cannot handle the type of formula they are on and/or their tummies are still developing and they have gas. If I were you, I would contact my pediatrician and see what the doctor advises. My daughter also vomited her formula as an infant and the doctor advised to switch her from Similac (milk-based) to Prosobee (soy-based) becaused Soy is gentler and easier on their little tummies. Once I put my daughter on the soy-based formula, the became less frequent. I fed my infants the Gerber rice cereal because it's the most digestable--my kids were around two months old when I started the rice cereal. But, before I put in the cereal, I contacted my pediatrician, just to be sure it was ok. Infants can be so fragile, so it's best to ask the doctor's opinion. I hope this helps, good luck.

Hi T.,

You need to be very careful with your baby spitting up formula. 1 month is so very tiny to even consider giving her baby cereal. A lot of formulas are hard on babies delicate tummies. She may have gas or an upset tummy and that is why she is crying. If you are giving her 3-4 ounces every 2-4 hours that should be plenty at this tender age. Sometimes babies cry and are not really hungry, but some Moms mistake their crying for hunger when they could in fact be having gas or just an upset tummy from the formula. I would try a different formula.. They don't even recommend feeing baby cereal until 6 months of age for a breastfeed baby so please don't give her any cereal yet. I would also talk to your doctor if you are unsure of anything. Family means well, but things have changed a lot since we were babies..

Good Luck

Hi T.. This all really sounds familar to me!!! I just went through the same thing with my 3-month old daughter about a month ago. Kallie would get extremely fussy after she scarfed down about a 3 oz. bottle. At first, we thought she was still hungry too. But, her cry started to sound painful, not out of hunger.
Babies at this age, are proned to gas and a lot of things cause this: the nipple size, type of bottle, type of formula, etc. So, we did a few things to help the situation:
Immediately after she was done with her bottle, we would give her a pacifer (you can still get a burp out when they are sucking on a pacifer) - this seemed to soothe her before the gas got worse. We also ended up switching her formula - sometimes its the formula that doesn't agree with them. Kallie was on Enfamil, but it really seemed like it was causing her to have gas. We switched toCarnation Good Start and that seems to be working very well! We were also using powdered and switched to concentrate formula. I don't know if this is proven, but it really seemed to make a difference. It seems like the concentrate has less air bubbles.
Lastly, we gave her gas drops and I swear by them! Its magical how wonderfully they work!

I never did put the cereal in my children's bottle. I seen a lot of people do it and their baby gained too much weight. I would try a few bites off of a spoon. That way they are tasting it and learning to eat it at their own pace. I did this with all five of my kids, but just at bedtime. If she isn't satisfied with what you are giving her, let your Pediatrician know. Sometimes certain formulas don't agree with babies belly's and she could be gassy and think she is still hungry.

Hi, T.,
I don't think your daughter cries after eating because she is hungry. She may be having gas. Almost all babies have painful gas in their first months. Especially ones on formula. My daughter had it too. Try Mylicon drops. They helped my daughter. Good luck

I am a mother of 2. 5yrs and 1 yr. I also run a daycare in my home and have a 3 month old, 9 month old and a 2 yr old.

Starting cereal at 1 month of age is WAY too soon!! I think that even the dr. would agree. I would talk to him/her about what is going on. How often is she eating? 3oz every 2-3 hours is typical. Could it be the formula that she is on? Maybe that is upsetting her tummy or making her gassy. Maybe try giving her Mylecon gas drops in each bottle. Alot of the big name formulas are hard on little tummys. Try switching to a formula like Good Start. She may also have a strong sucking reflex and still feel the need to suck after the bottle...try a pacifier. She may or may not take to it right away but she'll get used to it.

Best of luck.

YOur daughter is not ready to digest infant cereal yet. I love how older relatives try to tell you things when there's no evidence that their cure alls work.

Hello,

I would talk to your doctor. Peditricians do not seem to be recommending cereal in the bottles. When our parents raised us. This is what they were doing. My daughter's peditrician told us to feed it to her in a spoon. We didn't give her cereal, I think until she was 3 months.

a lot of people will tell you not to put cereal in her bottle, but I'm telling you now, it will save a lot of stress. Every doc is different, try asking him/her. But it sounds like she is not getting "full" enough, the formula needless to say is not filling enough but by eating too much it's making her sick, she needs something solid, try a half spoon full of cereal in there with her normal formula see how that goes. I began putting cereal in my daughters bottle when she was about 3 months old, and I got a lot of havoc about it, but she is 6 months now and perfectly well and eating with a spoon. If a half spoon don't work, try a whole spoon, just make sure it doesn't get clumped to the end and she can't get it out. Good Luck!

One month is too young for cereal. If she cries after eating - it is not because she is still hungry- try giving her a pacifier after she eats. She may still want to suck on something. Once she stops eating after 3- 4 oz - do not offer her more food- becuase as you say she vomits.

You might try another brand of formula if your daughter seems to have problems with this brand. Carnation good start is supposed to be easy on tummies.

I was very strict with all of my kids and what they could eat at certain ages beacuse I was worried about allergies and what certain foods do to an infants stomach when it is still premature. I would never put cereal in a bottle. My kids didn't get anything but formula until they were 4 months old than I started rice cereal. She probably has gas or maybe the nipple is too big and she is drinking the bottle too fast and still needs something to suck on.

Don't give solids until she is 6months old. When solids are given too early there is an increased chance that she will develope allergies. Try feeding her a different formula, if she is getting an iron fortified formula try making the formula half and half. If this doesn't help change formulas completely. I read all the advise that you have recieved and think the use of a pacifier is a good ideal. I often watch Dr.Phil and recently he had some of the top peds physician in the country which gave the advise of not giving solids until 6months. Check Dr.Phil's site. Be sure to spell Phil as I have are you won't get his site. The specialist on his show have writen books but I don't remember the name of the physician's or the books. Good luck!