Is 3 Month Old Ok to Eat Cereal

USA is one of the exception countries in the world, where mamas are rushing to give their babies some solid foods, including cereals ... to either get their babies to sleep longer at night, or to grow their bodies faster than nature intended.

Please DO NOT GIVE ANY CEREAL TO A BABY LESS THAN 6 MONTHS OLD. It is best if you can wait till she is 8 months old.

Her digestive system, particularly her intestines, are not mature enough to bear the load of a cereal. At 4 months of age, your baby girl has an "open gut" ... her small intestines are not fully covered with a protective lining ... not till she is at least 6 months old.

So, when you feed cereal to her, allergens or proteins leak from her intestines directly into her bloodstream. This is harmful in a variety of ways (allergies, respiratory illness, future obesity, health problems in later age) ... ask your pediatrician or look up the internet.

Moreover, a cereal feeding forces the baby's body to focus on digesting the cereal (which is an overload on her body), instead of spending all energies on maturing her digestive tract.

There should be no hurry. Please wait till she is at least 6 months old, to feed her any kind of solids. Enjoy her.

1 mom found this helpful

Do not introduce cereal until 6 months old, and only feed with a spoon. Never add cereal to bottles!! The only reason to introduce cereal as early as 6 months is to teach them how to eat from a spoon at the critical learning phase. They don't actually need the food, they get all the nutrients they need at that point from formula or breastmilk. They don't need cereal or other food until 12 months. 3 month olds digestive systems have not matured enough to deal with food, and tricking them by putting it in their bottle just makes it harder for them to drink from the bottle and if you enlarge the hole it might be too much and then they either get too much or they choke on it because it flows too fast. Plus they are supposed to be learning that liquid comes out of the bottle and food is eaten from a spoon. Good luck with your new baby!

i started my son on rice cereal at 3 1/2 months
it all depends on the baby
i heard your not supposed to put it in their bottle
it can be a choking hazard
give it to her by spoon
start off with 1-2 tablespoons formula with a little in there
once she gets used to it put more of the cereal with the formula to make it thicker
if she keeps spitting it out after a few days she may not be ready for soilds

Around 4 months is typically when most people start their babies on cereal, so I see nothing wrong with start her now.

I am going to suggest that you give the rice cereal to your 3 1/2 month old first thing in the morning and before bed. I am also going to suggest that you give her the cereal first and then give her a bottle.

No.

Read the back of a Gerber or Del Monte cereal box for their guidelines.

WIC doesn't even start babies on cereal and juice until after they are 6 months.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/benefitsandservices/Snapshot-...

Babies will have problems with cereal in their formula too. They don't digest it well so it sits in their digestive track and your boyfriend is probably right, it will make her fatter. And you will also start seeing her having GERD. Her little bitty tummy will only hold and process so much and the rest comes back up.

Formula is perfectly balanced. If it is not satisfying her then ask her pediatrician for recommendations for changing it. The only reason to introduce cereal while on formula is to get her interested in the action chewing and eating from a spoon. They are also more active at this 6 months and the cereal will be better used then.

I would ask your pediatrician. Most doctors I have seen recommend starting feeding cereal, not in a bottle, around 4-6 months. Unless she is having a problem gaining weight, I would think you don't have to give her the cereal in a bottle. But I would definitely call your doctor's office to see their opinion. Good luck!

You aren't supposed to feed your child cereal or food until after they can sit up straight on their own and even then you are supposed to feed them with a spoon not out of a bottle. Feeding your child cereal before that can make her chunkier and only your child's doctor can tell you if you really should be feeding the child cereal. My brother fed his child cereal from a bottle and that child is chunky. I'm not sure if there are any health risks involved, but I would most definitely suggest talking to your doctor about it.

Four months is a typical age to start cereal...babies have a reflex to push things back out of their mouths with their tongues before they are ready for real food. If she seems to be pushing the cereal back out with her tongue every bite, wait a few more weeks and try again. That reflex will go away when she is ready for solid foods.

Also, don't worry about weight at 3 months old -- a "chunky" baby does not equal a chunky child or adult...some babies are naturally chunky no matter what they eat -- the last thing you need to worry about in a three month old is weight -- unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Of course, it's possible to overfeed her, but that is highly unlikely at three months.

I do not recommend feeding your 3 month old baby cereal. You should talk to your pediatrician. He/she can give you more information on it. Was there a reason why you are putting cereal in her bottle? Is she spitting up a lot? If you, you should talk to the doctor and maybe change her formula. I had to do that with all three of my kids. My oldest son was on Prosobee. My other two had to have Enfamil lipil with AR (added rice). Which would be like added the rice cereal. It would be better to use the formula rathen then putting your own cereal in it. Just please talk to your doctor!

3 months is way too young! Most doctors these days advise waiting until at least 6 months before introducing any solids. Formula and breast milk are all they need for at least the first 6 months of life. Solids too early causes gas, indigestion, even food allergies. Don't rush it - it doesn't really help them sleep any better and they're just too little for it.
Good luck!

Babies tummies aren't designed for food until they are about 5 months old. Doctors try to tell parents this, however parents for ages have fed their babies cereal early on so they will "sleep longer". I think you should follow the advice of your pediatrician. Good luck.

Hey K., i fed both of my boys cereal with a spoon very early. THe oldest at 3 weeks, we couldn't keep him full and the youngest at 2 months. Neither of them have allergy issues which i think is a concern for doctors nowdays. Also, i would feed them the cereal first, just a small amount, and after each bite, give them some bottle to wash it down then let them finish the bottle after the cereal. Neiter of my boys were/are chunky. Good Luck, R.

As a mother of 4 I was advised to wait until the child was 4 months before giving them any cereal. Years ago parents would give their babies cereal in a bottle perhaps to help them sleep better, but I don't believe it really helps. What does your doctor say? I would wait a few weeks till she is 4 months then give her some cereal from a bowl with a spoon. It may be a little messier, but that is part of the enjoyment of feeding our babies. I know as a young mom you are probably anxious for all those firsts. I was, but now with my youngest I wish she would stay little, she is almost 5. The other thing about putting cereal in a bottle is that it could fill her up more and then when it comes time to give her other foods, she may not be so hungry. Also for the future as she starts fruits and vegetables I would give them to her before she has a bottle.

I would say no that you don't need to give her the cereal simply because if she's not having issues with her weight(meaning issues with being too small), why would you feel that she needs MORE food?

I started my son on cereal early because he was way too skinny and simply would NOT drink enough from his bottle (he had major issues with thrush). In his case he needed it. In your case it doesn't sound like your DD needs it.

Take care,
M.

I think 4 months old is old enough, i started my 3 at that age, and i didn't have any problems with it.

Hi and congrats on your beautiful girl. The best thing to do would be to consult either your physician or health department WIC consultant. I am a mom of 4 boys and also have run a state licensed childcare home for 10 years in which I often go to nutrition classes. We are told to never put cereal in a babies bottle unless directed by the infants doctor. This can cause choking and encourage overeating. Our instructions are to start feeding cereal by spoon at 4 months, beginning with plain rice infant cereal. Before that an infant tends to push most solid foods out of their mouths. Also they recommend only 0-3 tablespoons to start out with mixed with formula to a thick consistancy. The best thing would be to consult with your doctor or county health clinic. Good luck and enjoy her as she will grow faster than you realize!.

Her digestive system is not mature enough to handle anything other than breastmilk or formula. Please stop feeding her cereal. This practice often leads to dangerous food allergies and other health problems. Depending on how much formula or milk you're replacing with cereal, you could be putting your baby in real danger of organ damage, seizures, and other life-threatening consequences.

Your baby should not eat cereal or anything else but breastmilk or formula till at LEAST 4 months; most pediatricians recommend waiting till 6 months to start feeding such foods. Check with your baby's ped.

Hi K., may I suggest that you only give her perhaps 2 tbsp in an 8 oz bottle of milk in the morning and 4 tpsp in the late evening (at least 1 hr before you put her down for the night). This will make her sleep longer and you'll get the needed rest you deserve. Hope this helps.

being a mother of three, i'd say there's no real reason she needs rice cereal until 4-6months. with my first of course, i tried at 4, with my other two, i waited until 6. they still have their reflex to push solids out with their tongue and usually aren't ready until closer to 5-6months. with my first i put it in his bottle and it seemed to help him sleep longer through the night, but i think he would've anyway...it was probably just a coincidence. with my second, i did the same thing, but it did not help her sleep any longer so i stopped. it just depends on the child, they are all so different. unless she needs her liquids thickened for reflux or other problems, she really doesn't need it, but then again, it really shouldn't hurt, except it may chunky her up more. if you are set on wanting to give it to her, i'd only give it to her once a day like you said, maybe just that night time feeding (in case it does keep her full longer), but i wouldn't use a spoon yet. Wait until 5 or 6 months, because once you start, it's actually kind of a hassle and you'll start adding fruits, vegetables, and juices to the cereal. Once you do that, only introduce one food at a time and try it for a few days or about a week before trying another. that way if she's allergic to anything, you'll know what it is. I'd start with yellow veggies like squash, sweet potatoes, then maybe peas and greenbeans, then fruits. good luck, hope this helps!

Absolutely! My pediatrician wanted me to start cereal BY SPOON 2x daily at 3-3 1/2 months and introduce veggies once a day at 4 months 1/2 jar...3 days at a time before changing to a new veggie. then cereal for breakfast, veggie & fruit (no more than 1/2 jar each at first) for lunch and veggie & cereal at night....Just make sure you STOP giving the cereal in the bottle.

You should only feed a baby cereal by spoon unless your pediatrician has directed otherwise. Typically around 4 months. Your baby is close enough so I do not see anything wrong with it. I started our oldest on cereal about 3 months, and was directed to do so by our pediatrician, and she was fine. It is a little messy at first, but once she got the hang of it we had no problems. She also did not develop any food allergies. I waited until about 5 months to do any baby food. Remember every baby is different. The guidelines to follow are only to be approximate and not definite for all babies. I hope this helps.

I would ask your Doctor to see what he would say. I had to give my son ceral when he was only two weeks old due to him needing more fiber in his diet then just formula but most Doctors don't recemend you puting it in a bottle. Some babies stomachs are not ready for any solids so its very important to talk it over with your dr. Also ceral can cause a baby to get heavier if ceral is introduce too soon or can cause babies to have a bowel problem so talk it over with her doctor and go from there. Hugs, K.

Hi K..
Congrats on the baby. You know I love the advise you can ggive & receive on mamasource but I have always found it a little odd all the questions moms ask about babies, especially when it comes to feeding. All babies are different, you should not give your baby anything that her pediatrician has not okay-ed first. There are so many reasons to NOT give an infant cereal as there are to give them. Just call her pediatrician, that is what they are there for & if you have a good one it will be no problem for them or their nurse to help you out.
Good luck to you & congrats again,
A.