My Three Month Olds Eating Habits.

Many years ago when my now 22-year old daughter was a baby, she also had to have cereal early. She was only about 6 weeks old when I had to start giving it to her. I was nursing her, but she was not getting enough from me. I know that the "experts" don't want you to give babies anything extra until they are much older, but what they don't tell you is that babies go through growth spurts at various times during their infancy and need the extra nutrition. As long as she is not spitting it up after you give it to her, she should be fine with taking the extras. Don't worry so much at this point about whether or not she will be obese later on, just give her what she needs.

I don't think you should worry about her eating habits at all...what you described sounds like she has a good appetite...but I don't think there is anything wrong with that! Goodluck!

I would say you have a hungry little lady there. She is growing and needs the nutrition. Sleeping all night sounds like a little angel. You are so blessed!

Hiya A...
awww how sweet! * my youngest is 16yo. so ...
Anyhow.. With 3 children I learned that "normal" is
a false perception... every baby/child is different.
If your daughter is thriving and seems to have no adverse
effects from the amounts she is eating then by all means..
leave her alone!!!
Hope this helps... Peace!:)

A.,
This sounds normal to me. Have you talked with her doctor? Maybe it's time to add some veggies or fruit to her diet as well.

My son ate early too, he just needed the extra calories because ehr was so active during the day... and he slept thru the night at 10 weeks... so this is a blessing.

Hugs your baby for being so good to care for!

Grace and Peace,
B.
deaffmommie

A.. My name is J. and I have a 3 yr old girl and 15 month old boy. I think as long as you are feeding her when she is hungry, listen to her cues. Mine usually ate every 2 to 3 hours all day long until they were older (1 +). Hey, if she is sleeping all night, you are doing something right, it means she is satisfied and not over-fed! I never did the cereal bottles, I read that this could teach overeating because they get full too quickly, plus I could never get the nipples to work properly (they always clogged up). Anyway, congrats on being a new mommy, I did it alone for a while too, and it's tough, but it forms a special bond when it's just the two of you. Best of luck.
J.

Are you worried that she is eating too much? What does her pediatrician say about her height and weight? The only thing I would discourage is the rice cereal in a bottle. While it might make her tummy full and you think that is why she is sleeping through the night, the rice cereal is supposed to be the first step on the road to eating like an adult. And, it sounds like she does that fine in the morning when you feed it to her via spoon. I have a 5 month old son and we started rice cereal briefly at 3 months but then I waited until he turned 5 months. It went much better then. I am still breast feeding and did the rice cereal in a bottle for one night (and he did sleep all the way through -- which was awesome!), but I felt guilty about that. That is probably just me. Anyway, the bottom line I think is to talk to your doctor and see what he/she says about the amounts and her weight and height. Good luck.

Talk with your pediatrician but I think infants should not be given solids until at least 4 mos. , preferably older. We waited the appropriate amount of time despite all the grandmotherly types and young, inexperienced mothers telling us to give him cereal. As it turns out, he is allerigic to rice cereal. We only realized this when he started projectile vomiting 1-2 hours afer cereal. It is frightening to think of him doing this at 3 mos. Allergies are much more likely in children who are introduced to foods before they are ready.

She maynot be getting enough in her cereal to fill her tummy. Try mixing in a little fruit or even a small amount of vegies. Our first little ones are always experiements.
Give this a try, and Good Luck Mom

Nana

You are actually not supposed to give them cereal until 4 months of age at least. Also they tell you not to give them cereal out of a bottle. I would ask your pediatrician if this this is normal/appropriate. I'm sure they can give you a lot of direction.

I'd call your pediatrician's office and ask one of the nurses. A 3 month old usually eats 4 to 5 ounces every 3 to 4 hours. My baby has always eaten an ounce over the recommended amount though. (He's 4 1/2 months now). So at 3 months old, he was eating 6 ounces. He's really long and perfectly plump, so I didn't worry about it. And unless your doctor has told you otherwise, you usually wait until between 4 and 6 months before starting any cereal. Does she spit up a lot? Not always, but sometimes that can be a sign that her tummy is too full. I hope that is helpful!

I agree with all the other moms that say you shouldn't be feeding her solids this early, especially since it is not recommended by the AAP. Formula/Breastmilk should be her only source of nutrients right now. This link discusses the problems posed by putting cereal in a bottle.
http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html
But furthermore, you really need to discuss your infant's nutrition with your pediatrician.
Good luck!

Wow - she is a healthy eater! All the doctors say to hold off on cereal till she is six months. Having said that - I wouldn't take it away from her at this point. I think as long as her growth is nornal (not over the 100th percetile) to just keep doing what works. As for sleeping through the nite - my son slept throught the night since he was 6 weeks old.

Sounds normal to me except for the cereal. It's usually not recommended to feed a baby solids until about 6 months.

I wouldn't worry about how much unless she doesn't seem to be satisfied. If she is totally fine, then that is what is needed for her.

For what it is worth I don't beleive it is nessesary or healthy to give a baby solids this early. From everything I read the longer you wait the less chance of having allergies they have. My hubby and I both had bad food allergies as children and thus my reason for looking into this but it worked. As far I we can tell so far (and the little one just turned two but we have 11 children)none of our children got the allergy issues we had. I don't know how the formula thing fits in though as I breast fed.

Sincerely,

K.

You said "bottle of cereal." Are you giving her cereal in a bottle (really bad idea) or did you mean bottle of formula?Three months seems rather early to start cereal. What does your pediatrician recommend? I suggest you stop the cereal for now and calculate exactly how many ounces of formula she gets per day. Then check with her doctor. He/she will be able to tell you the ideal amount of formual per day. It will also depend on how she is doing with her growth.

I don't know if I entirely agree about all the flack about the cereal. My son went from quiet little angel to loud unhappy hellion at around 3 1/2 months. He'd be quiet after a bottle, but about 30 minutes later he'd do a lot of yelling (not really crying so much but just antsy and yelling) and continue on up till the next feeding. I know it's stupid, but it just never occured to me that he might still be hungry because he almost never finished a bottle completely. At 4 1/2 months I introduced solids and for the first two weeks he reverted right back to the kind of behavior I was used to before. I simply concluded that he'd been really hungry. Since I've started feeding him the solids, he also finishes more bottles (go figure). I know my pediatricians office is not the most personal place, and they usually don't give me very specific answers on questions like this one, but I'd suggest bringing it up at the next scheduled visit. I've always practiced (and always heard) 'feed a baby until he's done eating'

What part are you concerned about? That she is eating too much?? A 3 month old can eat anywhere from 4-8 ounces at every feeding and that is their "normal". Every baby is so different with their eating habits!! I'm curious as to why you are giving her cereal - 3 months is a little young for that, unless of course your Dr. told you to give it to her for reflux or something. (My 5 month old daughter has severe reflux and the cereal in her bottle made it 10x worse and gave her severe abdominal pain). She now eats 7-7.5 ounces of formula every 4 hours and is thriving! If your daughter is not overweight and has no other problems it seems like you are doing just fine, some babies just eat more, or more often than others. And since she is sleeping through the night be thankful!! =)

The AAP says infants should not get any solids at all until six months, so you really ought to discontinue all of the solids. She still has an open gut, so you're risking allergies and infections by giving her solids. Babies aren't ready for solids until they can sit up and have lost the tongue thrust reflex. I know you'd never do anything to hurt your baby on purpose, but solids to a three-month-old is really inappropriate and cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard.

Please look to the American Academy of Pediatrics on this one and wait three more months.

I have 4 kids ages range from 3-8 years old. As long as she is not over weight you know then there shouldn't be any problem with that. You would normally start introducing cereal when they turn 4 mo but there are infants that the milk just doesn't get them full or satisfy them long enough. atleast 2 of my kids where eating cereal at that age. So i see nothin wrong with it.

Heaher

HI-
It sounds like your baby is eating a lot. You may want to speak to your pediatrician on how much you are feeding youe daughter. You may want to feed her less, but about every 2-3 hours a day. This sounds like the eating habits of my 10 month old. You want to be careful that you are not setting your baby up to be overweight or unhealthy later in life.
You shouldn't be giving a 3 month old cereal unless you are specifically under a doctor's orders. It is not recommended that you feed infants cereal until a minimum of 4 months, usually closer to 5.5-6. Babies the age of yours do not have digestive systems developed enough to fully process the cereal. When you do introduce cereal, you nver want to do it in a bottle. It is best to feed it to your daughter with a spoon. For a baby. the food is an experience, not really a nutritional source... At the age of your baby, she should be getting all of her nutrition from the formula or breast milk.
A great website is
www.askdrsears.com or the American Academy of Pediatrics website, once you start solids www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Please get in touch with your daughter's pediatrician on this one. Also, check out these links:

http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/tipcerealinbottle.htm
http://life.familyeducation.com/baby/sleep/42338.html

I wouldn't be giving her anything but breast milk or formula at this age.

Good luck to you. I know how hard being mom to a small baby is. Doing it young and single has to be sometimes overwhelming.

Hi!!
One word of advice, ENJOY! That's great that she is doing so well with eating and sleeping. Basically, today people try to discourage babies from having cereal, or any "food" other than formula until they are six months old, or something to that effect. But, years ago,(at a time when things were more natural than they are now), babies were fed a little bit of rice cereal, very very diluted, even as young as 2 weeks old. They had less difficulties as well. (spitting up, gas etc.) Just keep her food (and yours as well), natural and additive/preservative free. Those are the main culprits in food reactions. And when adding fruits, only introduce one at a time, in small amounts to see how she does. (Applesauce is the best).
This is from someone who has done it three times over, and then some....:) By the way, none of my children were overweight, or had food allergies.
You know your baby girl best! Is she happy and contented?
As always, take all advice with a "grain of salt", and follow your own heart!
Best Wishes

Hi A.,
Congratulations on your beautiful daughter! I have a little girl who will be 4 months old next week (and a two year-old son).
I'm wondering why you're giving her cereal so young. Our parents' generation fed cereal in bottles but now that's generally not advised because it can be a choking hazard. Most current research suggests holding off on solids (cereals and fruits/veggies) till 6 months of age so that the baby's digestive system is more well developed. Some pediatricians suggest 4 months, and we started cereal with my son at 4.5 months but are waiting till my daughter's 6 months to introduce anything else. At this age, all of your daughter's nutrition should still be coming from breastmilk or formula.

As for how much formula she needs per day, it depends upon the baby. Generally, she should take 2.5 to 2.7 ounces per pound per day. If she weighs 10 pounds, she would typically take 25 to 27 ounces in a day but that can vary from day to day.

Good luck and my hat's off to you raising your daughter as a single mom! I felt as though I had no idea what I was doing when my son was an infant, and don't know how I would have gotten by without my hubby's help.