Rice in Formula Bottles??

I've been told not to do it, but when my daughter stopped getting full from the BIG size bottles but was still too young to eat by spoon, my pedi told me to do it so that she wouldn't start to lose weight. We never had any problems(use a fast flow nipple, do not EVER enlarge a hole yourself as it could causes pieces to break off and choke your baby!). I have heard that it supposedly confuses baby as to how to eat solids, but my daughter is already feeding herself w/ a spoon so I think that's just people being people. Now y that book says it won't keep them full longer is beyond me (don't u get more full if u eat solids and drink, not just drink?) but it probably will not make them sleep any longer. However, your daughter is 7 months old, there's no need to be putting cereal in her bottles- she should have been eating baby food and not just milk for months now! If she has any teeth, she's probably even ready to give her some finger foods, so if your baby isn't getting full enough on milk, it's b/c she's more than ready for real foods!

Hi L.,
My name is J. and I too am a first time mommy! But my daughter is 13months old. I started putting rice cereal in her formula at 6 weeks, and it made absolutely NO difference in getting her to sleep or sleep any longer. She had her own clock and still does. I read that same book also and I was a little scared to do it but I did. You just have to find out what works for your baby through trial and error unfortunately. But be careful of giving her too much cereal, because she can get constipated, and trust me you don't want that. Good luck and just let her guide you through what works for her, I am still doing it! It works!

I would not put rice cereal in you daughters bottle she seems to be a little old for that. If you want her to have cereal just feed it to her out of a spoon. I started my daughter on it when she was 2 months old because of her reflux, but I only feed it to her out of a spoon. My son started it when he was six months after I stopped breastfeeding him in his bottle because he spit up alot drinking formula. My doctor recommended me doing this to help him keep it down. It worked and I only had to do it for a months until his body got use to the formula. One of the doctors concerns about adding the cereal is weight gain, but I was never worried he was spitting up so much he wasn't really gaining weight. He had been sleeping through the night since he was 6 weeks old so I am not sure will help you in that way or not.

The doctors and books say not to put rice in the milk. When I was growing up, it was common for moms to do this and nothing happened to the kids. I tried to go by the book with my older daughter but now that I have twins, everything is different. I'm tired and if a little rice in milk means an hour more of sleep per night---sign me up.

I did put rice in the bottle when my son was 5 mo old and was instructed to do so by our DR. The reason we did it is that my son had acid reflux and the rice helped wiegh down the formula to keep it from comming back up as easily. If you are wondering how much rice/how thick. It was like a semi-melted milk shake (somewhat thick) So don't be afraid to do it and no it doens't help them sleep longer. Hope this helps!

I wouldn't put rice in the bottle. Their digestive tracts are not ready to handle it yet, it hasn't been proven to help them sleep longer, & you should start feeding solids between 4-6 mos.

My son had reflux, so we did it...
Dr's books are guidelines... advice changes from decade to decade... going back and forth...
Try it. It may work for you.
E.

I am a mother of 3 and I had to do this with 2 of my children for medical reasons, but I would not recommend putting baby cereal into the bottles unless instructed to do so by a physician for medical reason's such as reflux. Your daughter should be okay with eating baby cereal from a spoon at 7 months so try giving her some in a bowl before bedtime maybe and see if that helps.

Thanks,

T.

I heard from different sources that they like you to hold off on the rice cereal until you can feed it to them with a spoon. It helps them transition into eating solids....and of course they say to wait until 6 months to start feeding solids. I did it with my son when I thought he was ready which was 4.5 months.

Just know that, just b/c you add rice cereal to the diet doesnt mean they are going to sleep longer bc their tummy's are full.

If I were you, I would not put it in her bottle and just feed it with the spoon.

I LOVE your baby's name, Ava Rose! Wedo foster care for drug babies. I have found that rice cereal does help them sleep. I have also found that it helps with babies that spit up frequently. The dr. says that the weight of the rice cereal (or oatmeal or mixed barly, etc) will also help to keep formula down for those babies with acid reflux. What I do is to add a small amount to the bottle and enlarge the hole in the nipple to allow the cereal to pass thru. I have also mixed it with formula and spoon fed right before bedtime. Good luck. I usually start this at 2-3 months.

Hey L.,

I have a 5 month old son and I put rice in his bottle around 2 months. He really likes it and I think it helps him sleep longer. He also eats all the first foods and tries to eat big people food too. A lot of people would say he is too young to eat all that stuff but he is big for his age. 20lbs and 28 in so he really does need the food or he would be hungry all the time. The books are great for a guideline but the book doesn't know your child...you do. so do what you think is best for her. I just started trying it out and made sure my son could digest it without any gas or pain. he could so we just kept going. Always trust your motherly instincts. God gave them to us for a reason!

DON'T DO IT!

We did it with my son for reflux and it was awful weaning him off of it. Seriously the child acted like he was starving. It seriously took him getting really sick for us to be able to stop putting the rice in his bottles.

It didn't make him sleep longer. It DID keep him from spitting up so much. It DID keep him from eating regular meals because he was so full after his bottle. It also made him gain a TON of weight. He was 27lbs at 6 months old!!

By this time your baby should be able to eat cereal from a bowl. You can also add a little bit of fruit to it. Just don't make it so thick that it would choke her - like someone said about consistency of a think milkshake. Constipation is no fun for the child or the parent. I had this happen and it took about a week before we got it right and did not need it again just fed her different (breastfeed). By this time the doctor may have suggested veggies to you and you can now have a breakfast and then a lunch or such. I made my kids baby food from scratch and they were very healthy. They don't have any foods that they won't eat even though there are some they are not fond of. Each child/parent relationship is differnt but there is no manual on parenting.