Should I Feed My Infant a Little Rice Cereal?

No! Infants tiny little digestive tracts cannot handle the rice cereal. My oldest sees a pedi gastro doc and he said you can do harm by doing that! I know it is diffcult when they want to eat frequently, but fortunately that stage doesn't last forever! Soon they will be teenagers and we will be begging them to get up! Seriously, a lot of people do it, but it can have long term ramifications on their little tummy's and can actually cause them to be up ALL night because their bodies cannot digest it. That is certainly not the effect you are looking for.

No, taking care of an infant is not about what is right (or sounds right) to you. It is about what is right for them. Don't do something because other people have said, "it worked for me, therefore it must be good." Look at the science. Babies this young do not need anything but milk, and it has been proven that it does NOT improve how long they sleep at a time. I'm sure plenty of people have done this and their babies started sleeping longer, therefore, it was the cereal that did it... Forget the fact that it could just have been that babies time to sleep for longer stretches. The only exception I make to that is when a baby has reflux, thickening his milk is sometimes the only thing to bring relief.
I have two suggestions. First, it is very possible that he is just in a growth spurt and needs more food to keep up. This is quite common at 6 weeks. I nursed, too, and I remember waking up every hour on the hour to feed. What got me through was learning to feed him while I layed on my side (so I could snooze!)
Second, try the book, Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It was a lifesaver for me to fix my baby's sleep problems.
Good luck!

Go for it. I did it with my son and now my daughter. My son was a big boy. He would wake up every hour and a half to eat, it got to be ridicoulus. Plus he would spit up so much. At 8 weeks old, we started putting cereal in his bottle. We didn't consult the dr. when we decided to do this. We just did it. I did read an article that giving them cereal to early can lead to multiple ear infections, and my son did have to have tubes put in his ears. I don't know if there is any correlation, and I'll never know. I just know that at the time putting cereal in his bottle was what we had to do to keep him happy. Now my daughter is 8 1/2 weeks old and we did the same thing. She went from 4 ozs. to 6 over night. She's a spitter as well, just not the happy kind. We switched her formula and tried Prevacid for reflux, and none of it has really done any good. I put cereal in her bottle and it seems to help her keep the formula down much better and she's not nearly as fussy as she was before. There is going to be a lot of people that tell you don't do it. As far as I'm concerned when you are a parent and you are desperate for your child to get either some relief or you get some sleep, then you do what you have to do. Your his mother, follow your instincts. I've never heard of any child dying or being terribly ill from putting cereal in their bottle too soon. Go for it and see how he does. If it doesn't work for him, or it's not agreeing with him, then stop giving it to him.
You do what you need to do to get some relief for both of ya'll.
Good luck!

Hey! Well, I can relate to this! I have done this with both my children also. My son was drinking over 80 oz in 24hr period at about 3 months. It was stupid! When I told the doctor how much he was eating he was OK with me giving him the rice in his bottle. I have heard they have certain bottles/nipples for milk and rice in the same bottle. I personally have not used them so I am not sure how they work or how safe. Good luck and get some sleep!

Hello,
I feel your pain :) I'm a first time mom to a 4 1/2 month old, and I made the decision to give him a little cereal mixed in with his bedtime bottle at about 6 weeks of age. I know it's controversial, but it saved me! My son immediately began sleeping all night, and did not spit up like he usually did. He seemed more satisfied. It's a personal decision of course, but I did it because neither he nor I got any decent sleep, and I am a much better mom with sleep :) I truly don't believe that it doesn't make a difference in their sleep. He went from sleeping only 1-2 hours at a time to sleeping all night, and he did it literally the very night I started the cereal. I say do what you feel in your heart is best. It's not going to hurt him...just start small like I did... I think I started with 1 Tablespoon in his bedtime bottle. Now I put about 2 Tablespoons and he has always been fine with it. I don't regret it one second! Good luck to you!!

Absolutely! I did with all of mine. NONE of my children are overweight. Once they started walking, the weight came off. My 3rd son was never big or c***by as a baby.

Try it. You'll be glad you did.

You should NEVER feed cereal in a bottle.

There is no proof that early introduction of solids helps babies sleep. This misconception may stem from the fact that adults often feel a little sleepy or drowsy after a large, high carbohydrate meal, but the same has not been shown to hold true for infants.

We must remember that a baby's stomach is not ready to digest starches until age 4-6 months. Breast milk and formula contain milk sugar, which is easily digested, but infant cereal contains starch, which is not easily digested by infants until later on. Therefore, giving cereal can cause intestinal distress, including cramping, bloating, diarrhea or excessive gas.

In addition, some evidence suggests that babies given cereal in the bottle tend to over-eat, the reason being this: cereal cannot pass through the normal size opening in a nursing bottle nipple, and so the parent often cuts a wider hole in the bottle. Now, too much can be easily sucked through. In addition, young infants are not able to manipulate thicker consistencies of food in their mouths, (it flows differently then milk) and it may cause choking.

There is also a good deal of evidence that early introduction of inappropriate foods may produce allergies that could be avoided by waiting for the correct age for introduction.

Solids readiness depends on both the maturity of baby’s digestive tract and baby’s developmental readiness for solids. Although the maturity of baby’s digestive system is not something that we can readily observe, research indicates that 6 months appears to be ideal for avoiding the allergies and other health risks of too-early solids. After this point, different babies are ready for solids at different times -- developmental readiness for solids cannot be determined using a calendar. Most babies are developmentally ready for solids somewhere between 6 and 8 months.

Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:
Baby can sit up well without support.
Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Baby is ready and willing to chew.
Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

I don't think it would be terrible at all! It is none of anyone's business anyway. My son was on the big side too. We put a little organic rice cereal in his bottle just to fill his belly up a little more. He ate so much when he was a baby and still does 8 years later! I was worried that he would get too fat but that is not the case at all. It sounds like you are a great mom! Get some cereal and some rest!

I totally agree with K C's advice. Don't listen to all of the arguments. It's totally up to the parent. Rice cereal really will settle the spitting up problem with most infants; and it will help your child rest better. When they are eating so often, they spit up badly and they never get into a routine of eating three meals and a bedtime feeding. Being able to space their feedings out will help them to fall into a natural routine like the rest of the family. This is your ultimate goal.

My babies were 9 lbs at birth and they began cereal at three weeks. This is what was done by parents for years. And in those days, infants were sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. It works well if you put enough cereal in the formula or breast-milk. I'd suggest at least a teaspoon per ounce.

I think you and your child need some rest. This will help him get his days and nights straightened out. You'll find he'll be better satisfied. Now, you may have to offer it in a late afternoon bottle, too...at least to begin with. The important thing is that he'll be so much better satisfied and you'll enjoy each other even more.

Good luck, mom; and God Bless..

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Yeah, I would say NO to rice cereal. Give it some time...I think it was 8wks for our baby to sleep decently thru the night, and you're almost there!! You've already done it successfully with your other 2 children, so you're doing a great job...hang in there!

Go ahead and give him the cereal and see if it makes a difference. He might need it. Check and see if he has the silent reflux, that might be the underlying cause. I would highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I love this book, it gives a great overview of how a child's sleep patterns develop. Good luck

YOU know your baby better than even the doctor. If you feel he is hungry, by golly, give him some cereal. My mom fed be MEATS at 2 months -- MEATS. I am 33 and I have not weighed over 115 except during pregnancy.

I can also empathize with you. My boys were 9 lb. 5 oz. and 9 lb. 10 oz. at birth. They were ALWAYS hungry. Now, at 7 and 11, they are skinny and healthy. I can tell you, he probably IS hungry. Feed the little squirt. He seems pretty healthy already.

Best wishes and blessings.
P. <><

I would not do recommend doing that. Children at this age do not need rice cereal as far as I know. I would call your doctor and ask their advice. All us moms have our own way of doing things, each of which we will fight to the death to say is the right thing to do! Hey it worked for me...yada yada yada. But from what my doctor told me for both of my children, both of whom were big babies and wanted to eat ALL the time was that they were not to be getting cereal until around 5-6 months of age!! 6 weeks is not even close! I would be afraid of them choking...I dunno. I think that maybe the problem is that his sleep cycle is messed up and his days and nights are confused. I would get that on track and I think you will find that will fix things! If your little on is truly that big, increase the amount of formula at his last nightime feeding, make sure that things are nice and calm, and get him to bed. I would try and keep him up longer during the day and do not let him go more than 3 1/2 to 4 hours between feedings. Around 6-10 weeks of age, you should expect your little one to begin sleeping through the night (9-6 or so) ~ although I have known some that do not sleep through the night for months. I work in an Early Learning Center with infants and hear lots of stories. Really, check with your doctor. I think that you will find that this is not a good move for your child. This too shall pass~ do what's best for him...

I wouldn't do it. Evidence of someone else's children who aren't overweight from it has very little to do with your child, for genetics and a lifetime of activity and other factors influence adult weight as well.

The digestive tract is very sensitive in babie's and it can feeding anything but breastmilk or formla can cause problems later on down the road. Even too much water for babies can cause kidney failure. Also, he may become fuller from the rice cereal, but he may also wake just as much because he will need his diaper changed and have gas or more spit up. Feeding him rice cereal this early on may even lead to allergies later in life.

"...he's only 6 weeks, but he's a big c*** - he weighs 12 pounds - definately big enough to sleep through the night."

Also, him being 12 pounds has nothing to do with how long he should sleep at night. Sleeping is a developmental process, not based on weight. It is perfectly normal and expected for babies to wake through the night from hunger, especially at his age.

People may say that you know your baby better than your doctor, but old wives tales and traditions of a less educated era are often proved wrong. For example, smoking use to be considered safe during pregnancies not too long ago, but now we know it has terrible effects.

i say YES! my son was actually "prescribed" this method at about 6 weeks of age by his GI DR. he had severe reflux and everything was coming back up. we were told to use rice cereal to make it heavier, it worked for a while! if they are going to use it to treat medical conditions then why not use it to help yourself?

100% yes... but slowly. I did it and my daughter who is now 3. I breast fed but that was not enough. At 4-5 weeks I added a 1/2 teaspoon to her bottle at lunch and evening bottle but not the bottles in the middle of the night, then gradually increased. She was a big girl but now is tall and skinny... she eats fine (veggies first), is hardly every sick and is in montissori school; moved up into a class of children 4 and 5 years old, potty trained at one and can speak spanish (and we are not hispanic). It depends on the child. Some babies are naturally "greedy". YOU DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR CHILD. What did people do before we had all of this "doctor's advise".... Did your grandparents or great-grandparents go through all of this? No... They listened to the child not the doctor. Do what is natural and do not get caught up on the books and reading. DO...Educate yourself on the medical so that you know when there may be a problem but do not follow a script on taking care of your child. It comes natrually.

My mother put cereal in my bottle as well as both of my sister's bottles at 6 weeks and we are all just fine health wise as well as weight wise. My mother in law did the same with my husband and his sister. They are both fine. My nephews were fed the same and they are absolutely fine. So I say it's just fine.