Look for Advice on When to Start My Infant Daughter on Baby Cereral

Updated on March 04, 2008
T.B. asks from Kansas City, KS
24 answers

My daughter will be 2 months old in a few days and it seems that her formula is not filling her up and her bowel movements are really liquidey.I started my other childeren on infant rice cereal at different times. But the dr suggested not to put her on cereal yet but could not make any recommendations on what to do. I would not put the infant rice cereal in her bottle i would give it to her by spoon and suggestions on if I should start her on cereal or not or any help on what do to about her not being full.

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V.H.

answers from St. Louis on

Here is a link to the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding when to start solid food. They say 4-6 months, and my pediatrician said 6 months. My chubby guy got his first cereal on his 6 month "birthday", but was probably ready for it several weeks before then.

http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm

I hope this gives you some help and peace of mind! Good luck!

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C.K.

answers from Kansas City on

Try starting rice cereal at night. You can also try increaseing the # of ounces at a feeding.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.F.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi T. nice to meet you. I use to put the baby food in the milk and mine done great on it. I got beggies and fruit the small jars and had no problem. Hope it is an idea for you. God bless you and your family. Bekke

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R.C.

answers from St. Louis on

I started my daughter on cereal at about 2 months, but only put about a teaspoon in a bottle at bedtime. It helped her sleep longer too. Of course, my daughter is now 26, and pediatricians ideas have changed over the years, but this worked beautifully for me.

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D.V.

answers from St. Louis on

I think 2 months is way too young to start cereal. A baby this age does not have the proper feeding skills to eat cereal at this age (she must have the skill of moving food to the back of her mouth with her tongue, be able to hold her head up unasisted). From what I recall, 4-6 months is the earliest age recommended for starting solids, including cereals. Is she getting enough formual at each feeding? She may be going through a growth spurt. My children were exclusively breastfed until they started solids around the 5-6 month age. They both nursed more often when they had growth spurts. Maybe you just need to increase the amount at each feeding. And, her liquidy stools could be from a stomach virus, a cold, or teething, or something since it's cold season. I would listen to your MD and not start cereal yet.

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K.C.

answers from Wichita on

I definitely would not start her on cereal until at least four months old. Until a baby is four months old, they have a tongue reflex that spits anything solid right back out at you. Putting cereal in a baby's bottle is something that could cause choking. Your baby's tummy is not ready for solids yet - at least for another two months. My younger son, now three, was the same way. I nursed him. He would eat every thirty minutes - literally. At night, he would wake up to eat every two hours. Trust me, it does get better! It just takes time. :^)

K.

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E.W.

answers from St. Louis on

My baby is a chunk. 3M and 18.8lbs. I also worried about him not getting enough to eat. He is also formula fed. At two months I gave him only 5oz at a time, but would offer it to him every hour or two. If he only ate a couple of ounces every hour I would stretch out the feedings. I remember reading somewhere that for formula fed babys only 4oz at a time the first month, 5 the second, 6 the third, 7 the fourth and 8 the fifth. Even though they may be able to eat more they might have a problem with spitting up if they are getting too many ounces at once.

Whatever you do, if your daughter is gaining weight in a pattern following her growth curve she is probably fine. Remember the earlier you start her on solids and cereal, the longer you have to feed her in that method. She won't be able to hold a spoon or feed herself a cracker for a long time still and if the thrust reflex is still present she won't be getting anything anyway.

Good Luck!

A.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Your doctor advised against starting cereal, to I think you should listen to him/her. The American Academy of Pediatrics says babies should have breastmilk or formula exclusively until they are 6 months. There are many reasons: their digestive systems are not developed enough to handle solids, including cereal; introducing solids this early could put your baby at increased risk for food allergies; giving your baby solids at such a young age also poses a huge choking hazard.

It is very normal for 2 month olds to eat very frequently. It is also completely normal to have soft stools. Their bowels aren't fully developed yet, so they can't push out harder stools... introducing solids could make her constipated.

I would take your doctor's advice over anyone's word on the internet. www.aap.org has some info, if you want to take a look.

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M.T.

answers from Kansas City on

The newest research suggests waiting a full 6 months. Some doctors are ok to start as early as 4 months. 2 months is really too young for more than breastmilk or formula. It's nto unusual for infants that age to need to eat quite often. They have tiny little tummies and can't eat too much at once. Hang in there.
ETA - liquidy stools are normal for infants. They don't eat solids, so you can expect them to stay this way until they are about 6 months old.

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T.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I was just reading this book "The Portable Pediatrician" by Laura Walther Nathanson, MD, FAAP and in the two months - four months section it says this regarding food at this age:

"Up until about four months of age, many babies actively reject a food-laden spoon. Breast milk and formula provide all the baby needs. So wait on foods at this young age: They take up the room that milk ought to occupy. Gram for gram, ounce for ounce, milk is more nutritious than food. etc..."

I have an almost four month old and the Doctor told me to wait until after her four month visit to talk about introducing rice cereal. My daughters BM's were very liquidy also - it seems that it gets a little thicker over time but is mostly liquid until they start on foods. I wouldn't start worrying yet - as long as she is gradually gaining weight she should be fine. Good luck!

(P.s. You can probably find this book at your local library if you needed additional information)

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Y.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Give that baby some cereal, children are all diferent & you've had two others...follow your gut. I'm NOT saying that doctor's don't know what their talking about BUT on some things their a little off key. Give her some in her bottles, I wouldn't feed it to her on top of the bottle because you don't want to affect her being able to have a bowel movement. Her feeling & staying full could help you in the run...like get some extra winks:-)! Good luck & be BLESSED!

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T.C.

answers from Springfield on

best thing to do is to put it in her bottle i did with my son at 2 month's and it worked out great he was full for a longer period of time and slept better at night.

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T.M.

answers from Kansas City on

my son went through the same thing at 2 months. my dr. also said no rice cereal, the reason he gave is because he may choke on it when trying to spit up. but it just seemed to be a growing spurt. i had to feed him more often and after about two weeks he was back to normal with an extra couple pounds!

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L.E.

answers from Kansas City on

I would listen to your doctor and not start her on cereal yet. 2 months seems really young and she might not even be ready to do this. It's o.k. if their bm's are liquidy, especially at 2 months. As long as she is having a good amount of dirty diapers, she is getting enough food. I would wait for the ceral until she is at least 3 and a half months at the earliest.

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K.V.

answers from St. Louis on

No no no. Don't give in to the old mom's. My mom gave me the same advice about how she started us on rice cereal at 2 weeks. We know better now. First off, as mentioned previously, your baby is not physically ready to take food by spoon at 2 months. And secondly you are putting your child at risk for food allergies which believe me are no fun to live with, and asthma. is it really worth it? Liquidy stools are perfectly normal at this stage. Basically their gut is not mature enough to handle the solid foods at this age and it can pass proteins into their system that their immune system overreacts to. Definitely the right time for a growth spurt, so hopefully this will slow down a little. There are some schools of thought that waiting until 6 months is reasonable to start solids especially if the baby is breast fed. not sure why we are all in such a hurry to feed solids.

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G.N.

answers from St. Louis on

It all depends on the baby and how they take the baby cereal, they say not to give it at a young age due to the fact their digestive system cant handle it. I say do what you think is right for your baby. All babies are different.

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J.C.

answers from St. Louis on

I started my babies out when they were 4 days old with a teaspoon in a 4 oz. bottle before they went to bed. I then gradually went up from there. My kids are 13 & 8 now and are happy healthy kids. Feeding them earlier than the doctors (my oldest's doctor did sctually recommend him eating cereal in his bottles at 2 months, but I was already doing it)said didn't hurt them one bit. You know what your daughter needs. Start her out slow and as long as she doesn't get a bellyache, she's fine. You want to make sure you start with rice cereal, it's easiest digested. By 4 months my kids were going through 3 boxes of cereal a week and 6-8 8 ounce bottles a day!

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J.S.

answers from St. Louis on

The organization I work for suggests no solids until the age of 4 months. Giving solids too early can cause your child to become prone to food allergies, respiratory and digestive issues, and reflux.

I'm sure your doctor has suggested increasing her intake at each feeding, and/or increasing the frequency of her feedings...?

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K.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I think you should wait until your daughter is at least 4 months to start on cereal. Generally their little digestive systems just aren't developed enough for cereal until then. As long as she is having 6-8 wet diapers a day, she is probably getting enough to eat. If she acts physically hungry, you could try increasing the amount of formula you give her (if could be as much as 4-6 ounces depending on her size) or maybe close the gap between feedings by one hour. But the last thing you want to do is overfeed her. Hope this helps!!

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M.T.

answers from Kansas City on

Babies are not orally ready to take in baby cereal until at least 4-6 months of age. They still have the "tongue thrust" reflex in place, which inhibits them to swallow correctly. Also, you are taking away much needed calories when you start feeding cereal. It seems that your baby is thriving well. Every baby is different. It seemed like my baby was ALWAYS eating, and I breastfed (which was difficult!). Make sure that the formula is being mixed properly. If there is too much water and not enough formula, that could be causing some problems. I would not start cereal until your baby was at least 4 months old.

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D.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I started both of my sons on rice cereal mixed with formula at 2-3 months because their pediatrician (who was VERY into common sense and advice based on each child's schedule/habits) informed me they were taking too much formula. I did still use a bottle -- I found a special one for that purpose which had a larger hole in the nipple and started them out with a very thin mixture, gradually working their way up to eating it from a spoon. Starting them at such a young age evidently did NOT harm their growth in any way as my oldest (now 23) is 6'2" and 290 lbs. and my youngest (will be 21 next week) is 6'4" and 275 lbs.! They slept much better after I started doing this AND stayed full longer. Hope this helps!

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M.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I am not sure why you are hesitant on putting the cereal in her bottle? I have three children. 15, 12 and 6 and I have put cereal in their bottle as infants and they did fine with it. At first i would only add a little dry cereal to the formula. Like a teaspoon or so. there is a chance that by doing it like that you will have to get her a little bit bigger nipple that has a bigger hole? If you would prefer to give it by mouth and not bottle just make it real thin and spoon feed her. I have no doubt that it will be fine. She may not know what to do with it at first but then she will learn to love it. Good luck!

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R.W.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi! I believe if your baby is acting hungry it is time to start feeding her. My oldest daughter [who is a mom now] was acting the same way only she was about 2 to 3 weeks old. She was waking up about every hour and a half wanting something to eat. Once I started her on cereal mixed with a small amount of fruit and some of her formula, spoon fed, she started sleeping all night. I just feel like your baby will tell you when she is hungry and you can't always go by statistics. Every child is different. If it were me I would give it a try. Good luck!
R.

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T.N.

answers from Kansas City on

There are some real concerns with feeding cereal to such a young infant. I think your Dr. is right to recommend against it.

This article links additional calories as an infant to obesity later in life:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/chubby-babies

I had a very hungry baby, but he did fine without cereal until between 4-5 months. Then he started to get cranky. If your baby is cranky and hunger is the reason, certainly you shouldn't deprive her. Consider a different formula first. (If you were nursing I'd say pump to check if your production has decreased)

Just remember that your baby doesn't know to over-eat or starve herself... if she's hungry, she'll eat - if full, she won't. Follow her cues and your best judgement and you'll do great together!

T.

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