Starting Cereal

Generally, the drs say between 4 and 6 months, closer to 6 months for three reasons. 1) The milk is providing all the nutrients they need 2) Young infants don't have the capabilies of moving solids to the back of their mouth to swallow 3) their digestive system isnt ready to handle solid foods.

Babies will generally let you know when they are ready with some subtle signs like closely watching you eat, being hungry after a feeding, and puting objects in their mouths.

We started our son out around the 5 month mark by adding a little to his bottle then eventually moving onto spoon feeding.

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The recommended age is 4-6 months old. So I would say you could give it a try and see if she is ready for it. Try spoon feeding it to her though. Because if you put it in a bottle or one of those bottle feeder types then it becomes a choking hazard for them. Good luck. I hope she does well with it.

There is some research out there that says that a child who is fed cereal before 6 months has the increased chance of getting adult onset diabetes in later life. Don't let this scare you, for your child is out of danger. The Amer. Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 1998 that mother's nurse for a year, and not to supplement with any other food before 6 months.

If you are needing to increase your milk supply, there are a few suggestions.
From the book, PRESCRIPTION FOR NUTRITIONAL HEALING, a book every household should have, in my humble opinion: Drink more water and fluids, In some studies, when one consumes garlic, it increases the baby's desire for milk and nursed longer. This makes sense to me, if you know anything about the feedback mechanisms in the body for nursing; the more a child nurses, the more milk you will create. Drink raspberry tea (the leafs, but I think the fruit will do as well), and Anise; they both promote milk production. Avoid eating sage, black walnet and yarrow, which reduce milk production. But those herbs will be nice to use when you wean.

Anise, I like the taste of anise. At the World Market, I find those little tins of Anise candies from France, at the back of the Lawrence store. I am sure any anise will do tho.

I believe most pediatricians (and the What To Expect Books) say it's okay to start rice cereal between 4-6 months.

I'd hold off on any solids until at least 6 months when her digestive tract is more ready, and then start with real foods: fruits and veggies instead of cereals. If you want your milk supply to keep up, replace your daughter's formula with breastmilk. Breastfeeding is based on supply and demand. If you're working and she is in daycare, send pumped milk instead of formula and pump while you are away from her, this will help keep your supply up. Also, if you feel like you need help increasing your supply have a bowl of oatmeal, a bottle of beer or some fenugreek tea,as these are all galactagogues (increases milk production). Feel free to PM me if you would like more information or need a "seasoned veteran" nursing mama to talk to- I've been nursing for 29 months, through pregnancy and now two babes.

yeah, you can definitely start cereal. my doc told me it was ok to start cereal when my baby was 3.5 mo. just make it really watery to begin with, and make sure you feed it with a spoon, not in the bottle. make sure you do some pumping now and then to keep up your milk supply, and if you are feeding/nursing him on cue (when he shows signs of hunger, rather than trying to schedule him)your milk supply will stay current to what he needs. those few formula feedings might be what's effecting you. when you have to supplement it's fine, just know that you're telling your body that he doesn't need those few extra feedings, so it's actually producing less milk than he needs. if he's going through a growth spurt, the best thing you can do is actually nurse him more. my son just started sleeping through the night with no night feedings (8m) so i try to make sure to pump a couple of hours after he goes to bed each night so i don't dry up. anyway, that's all under the assumption that you WANT to keep nursing. if you're needing to wean or anything like that, that's a different story! but it's totally fine to start cereal, and you could actually start incorporating some stage one baby foods and juices too. just don't force it, she may only want little tiny bites at first, she'll work herself up to eating more!

I started my daughter on cereal at 3 months old. The earlier you start them the soupier you need to make the cereal. Now my daughter wakes up, eats her cereal(feeds herself), and then plays until lunch. My child usually only eats 3 times a day. She has put herself on this schedule because of eatting cereal in the morning, a fruit or vegetable in the afternoon, and whichever she did not eat for lunch is what she has for dinner. She gets an 8 ounce bottle with each meal.

You could have really started her on cereal at four months. I have three children and all of them I have went by the book on feeding them. There are so many mothers who start off feeding their children cereal way too early in the bottle. They have to literally make a bigger hole in the bottle so that the thick cereal can get through. This is the wrong thing to do. First of all, the child's stomach is not ready for cereal when they are first born. And secondly, when they are old enough to sleep through the night they will. That is a sign that they are getting older. So many feed their babies cereal early so that their children will sleep. This only stretches their stomachs and makes them hungry for more. I commend you for not doing this. At five months your baby is ready. Make sure that you use a bowl. Never put it in the bottle. Your child should get used to eating from a spoon. It is also a good time to start her on jar food. Or if you are going to prepare your own food. That is your choice. She is ready for stage one jar foods. Make sure that you try one food at a time for a week to make sure she is not allergic to any foods. I would advise that you start with veggies first then fruit, then meats. Make sure that you pump to keep your milk supply up and drink lots of water and fluids to increase your milk supply. Good luck.

Each child is ready for solids in their own time, but my little boy (now 16 months) started on cereal at 4 months. (He also had 2 teeth by then, so I think he was a little ahead of the game.) We were told not to put it in his bottle, so we fed it to him with a spoon (kind of messy at first, but he got better). Once he was taking the cereal well for a couple of weeks, we started him on babyfood (veggies first). He has done beautifully with solid foods from the beginning. His pediatrician suggested starting him on solids at 4 months because he was ready, but she said that not all babies are ready at 4 months. So I would recommend talking to your child's pediatrician if you are unsure if she is ready for solids.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Short and sweet...she's ready.

I am the mother of 3 now teenage girls.

I've always been told to start cereal (both by my doctor and also by WIC) at 4 months old, Juice (from a sippy cup) and vegetables and fruits at 5 months(with a spoon), with meat working its way into the equation by about 9 months. Once they get to the meat in the baby foods, it is recommended to also start with some very easy to eat (no choking-type foods) from the table. Many mothers at this point will share a plate with their young child as they usually don't eat enough off the plate to form a full meal in the beginning and when they do start eating more, mom sometimes starts eating less. lol

One other note you may hear, but it isn't recommended, is some mothers tend to put cereal in the bottle to thicken it up. This practice is suppose to keep the baby more "full" than just formula alone, but again, it isn't recommended.

Hope this helps.

Hi P.,
Every baby starts with rice cereal and try ans spoon feed her since she thinks she's grown enough to try it!! lol.
They mature quickly. Try one kind of cereal for a couple weeks before trying anothr just to make sure there are no alergic reactions.If she won't spoon feed, they do have special nipples for cereal. how does she sleep at night. If she's still waking up, try giving her cereal at night too. if this works, you can do vegetables too, one kind for two weeks before you try another one

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Hey P.

I think every child is differant. I also think the FDA and your ped may have a recomended age to start, but I have also heard mothers w/ children that have acid reflux start later then most because the cerial and acid reflux are not good together for some reason. I also know breast fed babies get hungry quicker then formula fed babies because brest milk has less to digest then formula so it goes though them quicker. So with breast fed babies I would try giving them formula at night so they stay fuller longer and maybe sleep better. If baby is still just hungry all the time try a tespoon of cerial (I always used mixed cerial) in the bottle. I think 5mo is old enough.

To be honest I have no idea what age to start giving cerial, I thought by 5mo babies where starting their stage 1 fruits. I would not just take my advise on this. I started my son on a 1/2 a tsp of mixed cerial in his formula bottle at 7weeks and he never had any problems. He only had one a day, and I gave it to him at night. Yes, he slept through the night too.

The only thing I would recomend w/ all of that is stick w/ the same flow nipple the baby is use to just keep a tooth pick handy to keep the hole of the nipple clear of clogs. If baby cries after a few seconds of drinking the nipple may be clogged and she can't get any out. A faster flow nipple may be too fast and she will spit up.

Anyway, that is just my experiance w/ cerial. Check w/ her ped. she is probably ready.

Good luck, and happy feedings.

T.

I started my daughter on cereal at 4 months, but I've read that waiting until 6 months is fine, too. She was exlusively breast feed. It is my understanding that they don't necessarily need the "extra" nutrients earlier than that, but getting them used to a texture and the whole business of eating food is good practice.

after 6 months you can start introducing low allergen solids.
another thought....if she is getting formula during the week this is probably what is affecting your milk supply. breastfeeding works on a supply and demand system. if you are giving her a bottle of formula, then you aren't giving your body a chance to catch up to her increased needs. your body will catch up, if you exclusively give breastmilk and do not give formula. you need to nurse her for every feeding. When you are separated you need to pump as many times as she is eating while you are apart. if she is getting a feeding of formula and you aren't pumping during that time, your milk supply is not being stimulated to meet her increasing need. plus if you pump and save it, then you will have breastmilk to give her instead of formula the next time you are apart.

It's time to start cereal. 4 months is the norm, but as her appetite is increasing, that's a good sign that she needs more substance.