Starting Cereal and Continuing to Breastfeed

I was in the same boat. At 3 months old, my baby (now 7 months old) had small streaks of blood in her poop and the doctor diagnosed it as milk protein intolerance. He recommended that I eliminate all milk and soy products from my diet (I'm nursing as well). This seemed to help.

I started my baby on rice cereal mixed with expressed milk when she was 5 months old. She got a rash on her stomach and I waited 2 weeks to try again, and it was fine. Then, after she was eating two small bowls of rice cereal a day, I added oatmeal, which also did not go well. She was up a lot more frequently at night. So, her pediatrician told me to hold off on oatmeal until she turns 1 year old.

Still giving her two small bowls of rice cereal a day, I started to give her a couple of spoonfuls of sweet potatoes after she had eaten some of her rice cereal. I got this advice from a book and it actually worked. She ate it without a problem.

The slow method has worked for us. It sounds a little strange to me that your pediatrician would recommend giving your baby solids early because of an allergy. Usually they say to wait until at least 6 months when a baby has already shown signs of an allergy to food. What symptoms did your baby show of an allergy? Or was it an intolerance(a GI specialist clarified the difference to me)?

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If you think he's too young, go with that. The current recommendations advise waiting until at least 6 months. I didn't see your other post but I don't know what one thing has to do with another. If your baby has a milk protein allergy, that has nothing to do with introducing cereal. It does take a few weeks to get the dairy all out of your system though and if you eat anything prepared, it is very difficult to get all the dairy out.

I never introduced rice cereal. Have you tasted it? It's nasty. I waited until my daughter showed all the readiness signs and introduced self feeding with real food. The only puree she's ever had is applesauce. That's what worked for us; it's not for everyone but it is much easier too. But you should go with your instinct on this. If you are not ready for solids, wait. Breast milk is custom made perfect food for him.

When you do start solids, because it won't be providing much nutrition (cereal is just empty calories with some hard to digest iron thrown in), you should nurse or bottle feed first, then offer some. The only thing that's really important with introducing new foods, especially since allergy is a concern, is to introduce only 1 new food at a time with a few days in between so you can recognize allergies. The argument that you need to start with veggies because fruit is sweet and they then won't eat them, doesn't really work as breast milk is very sweet so he's already used to it. We started with avocado then banana. Yum!

I don't think there is a magic schedule or mixture to baby food vs. nursing. YOu can mix the fruit with the cereal and a little formula or breast milk, whatever you are using. If you think your child has a milk allergy, you can use soy-based formula and decrease your own intake of dairy products. My son started cereal and fruit at 3 months because a breast infection stopped my milk. Other kids wait a long time. They all thrive. The older they get, the more milk they can take at one feeding, and the longer they will last between feedings. However, eventually they do need more food to hold those growing bodies for more than a few hours. If he is full from breast feeding, he may not want cereal - you can try to alternate, but give him the breast or a bottle after the cereal at first, because it takes them a while to figure out what to do with that cereal and how to get it back in the mouth and swallowed. At first, the texture, the taste and the spoon can be confusing! But they all figure it out! Just make the food fun - make faces and smile, rather than be concerned. Eventually you will want to introduce the tastes separately so he develops a diverse palate, but in the short run, mixing them is fine. Also, just introduce one or 2 new foods at a time, so that if there is something he is allergic to or truly hates,you will know which one it is. Start with cereal and a fruit or two. Wait a few weeks before introducing a vegetable. If he spits it out, don't automatically give up. Sometimes they just spit because they don't know what to do with it! Have a toy in your hand so he can be entertained while he works his mouth and tongue to get the food swallowed. Sing a song, make up something about fruit and veggies - anything! Good luck - they all figure it out!

Hi,

I also have a 4.5 month old son! And, they think he may have a milk protein allergy as well. He's my fourth baby, but the first with a potential allergy. We're about to start cereal also. With my daughters, the first few weeks of cereal were more "trial and error". More spilled out than stayed down, so I didn't really consider it a substitute for breastfeeding. After a couple of weeks, when they got the hang of it, I would add a bit more, and then delay that nursing session for another hour or so. Gradually they took more and more cereal, and then fruits and veggies, so the nursing sessions got less frequent. By about 6 months, they were eating three "meals" each day, with 4 nursings between.

Good luck!

Hi,
My daughter's ped. said that anytime after 4months is fine for starting "solids". He suggested we start with rice cereal as its unlikely for babies to have a bad reaction to it. Also, rice cereal does have lots of vitamins in it, and iron - so its not completely "empty calories" - and it's a great practice food. I've tasted it (I taste everything my little girl eats) and it just tastes very bland, not horrible at all. I have definitely heard of peds. recommending colicky babies, or fussy babies, to start cereal as early as 4 months - or even earlier. If a baby has a reflux problem often it is recommended to mix cereal with formula/breast milk as early as 2 months - but that is in rare cases. My little girl is 5 months and we just started her on cereal and then bananas. I exclusively breastfed her until 5 months. Now I still BF her like always (every 2-3 hours), and at lunchtime and dinner I nurse her a little (so shes not starving) then feed her some food, then nurse her again. I got this idea from the book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. She writes all about how to tell a baby is ready for foods, and how & what to start them on. She's a very organic oriented person, and even thought I am not necessarily like that, I really enjoyed her book, and learned a lot.

Best of luck! Congrats on your little boy!

Hi there! My daughter who is now a little over 2 was diagnosed by a GI spec. with milk protein intolerances. Cereal only made her worse. She did not actually start eating solids until around 9 months. We ended up having to use a prescription formula for the 1st 18 months. She now drinks rice milk and we have to watch everything she eats. Milk proteins are surprisingly in almost everything. She was also extremely fussy all of the time and I was also breastfeeding in the beginning. It is a hard thing to deal with. If your baby has not been referred to a GI spec. you might want to aks for it. They did blood work to find out exactly what her allergies and intolerances were to. Hope this bit of info helps and good luck!

Hi E.; I am a mother of an 11 month old who has an allergy to either milk, soy, egg, peanut, or fish. I have cut all of these things out of my diet since my son was 3.5 mos. I too was worried about starting him on solids and I didn't do so until he was 7.5 mos. My pediatrician told me that my son did not need anything but breast milk until he was 12 mos and to not worry about feeding him solids at all. So I went with my gut and started after we came back from a long trip when he was 7.5 mos. I used Beechnut oatmeal cereal b/c it is easier to digest than the rice cereal. I just mixed it with pumped breast milk and gave it to him as a mid-day meal for three days in a row then bumped it up to breakfast and lunch for the remainder of that week. Eventually I got up to 3 meals a day at the end of 2 weeks. Anytime you start with a fruit or veggie, use the same one for 5 days to make sure that there is no allergic reaction. Start with the yellows and oranges, they are the safest. Then move onto the greans and reds. Any veggie or fruit that can be peeled is always the safer way to go as well. I would add the fruit into the cereal when you first intro it. As far as the nursing while starting solids, I will say that during the first week of food our schedule was a bit wacky so I just fed him on demand until we found a rhythm. Now he eats 3 meals a day with an a.m. snack and p.m. snack. He nurses when he wakes up then for his a.m. nap then at 11 then after lucn for p.m. nap then at 4 for snack and then right before dinner and then to fall asleep. So 6-7 times a day still for an 11 mos old is normal keeping in mind that breast milk is his only source of fluids. Definitely nurse a bit before a meal and then finish up the meal with a nursing, they need to wash that food down!!! You don't have to do so immediately before and after just maybe within 15-20 minutes. It will also help keep his system from constipating. Well I hope this help, I feel your pains lady!-H.

I agree with you and why would they want him on cows milk if he is breast feeding? weird! My son had No real food until 8 months old, BF only (he was a preemie and I wanted him as strong as possible, we went for 14 months BF with food after 8 months)

If he is BF he should do only that for a 2 more months..it is the perfect food and needs nothing else yet.(I am not an over zealous BF mom either..but this is silly of them to start him so soon)

Go with your gut, cut out milk, do not be concerned about adding anything for 2 more months and unless he has a weight gaining problem..why would you need to add anything this early? BF helps with allergies too..
Some Doctors are still not fully BF advocates..

I have always thought 4 mo too soon i wanted until 6.5 mo for cereal. I work 3-11 and had problems pumping my R breast so i dropped the 4p feeding and replaced with some extra milk pumped from L earlier in the day and cearal. As long as at this age i think if the cereal still has breast milk it can replace a feeding. I was VERY slow to start solids looking back im no sure why. I switched doctors at 4mo the first dr said no to start till 6m and the new one wanted him started right at 4mo. Have you stopped takind milk products? Im not sure i understand how cereal will help with a milk allergie? When he got older i would do cereal then breast feed, i didnt add fruits/vegs till 7mo then i would mix veg with cereals. The only meal that ever replaced breast feeding was 4pm. Then at 10mo i added a bit more to the meal and slowly droped feedings down to 3times a day am 1p and bed time i dont know if this helps its just what i have done, my son was always happy to eat and didnt have any allergy problems

Ok, I know this is hard, but you have to keep calm, and remember that you know your child better than ANY doctor. I have gone through a lot of medical situations with my sons and similar eating situations, and it is important that you read the babies cues and go with what you think is best. With that said. It is not to early 4-6 months is the pediatric recommendation 6-8 months in the La Leche recommendation. I breast fed both of my sons until they were 13 months old, and my first son (with a similar situation) started on rice cereal at 3 months, my second not until 6 months. The baby should still be nursing the same amount. what I would suggest would be give him milk when he wakes up and then at breakfast time give him some cereal mixed with milk, and then follow his regular nursings after that. See how that works for a little while then add in a dinner.

Other things to think about though would be decreasing your dairy intake (that will increase his), also make sure you are not eating anything spicy or green. If your MD really thinks that the baby has an allergy he can test him through a simple blood test, and that might solve some of your problems. My older some had reflux that did not always cause him to spit up, but did cause severe gas pain and what we assumed was discomfort in his throat. We would give him Mylacon drops and eventually Zantac (and after a few more weeks no more screaming. PS on the gas drops we found that my son needed more that the recommended dose and our doctor told us that there was no harm in giving him more than the bottle said because it was such a mild medication.

Anyway I could go on and on, if you would like to know more just respond and we can talk via email if you would like. Good luck he will be fine it took us until my son was almost 6 months before he was doing better and with the increase muscle tone and body control the baby will start doing better as well.

Hey E.- I am certainly no doctor, but I had much of the same troubles with my daughter from birth. No only was she fussy, but she had a VERy hard time keeping milk down at all... until I got the tri-cut nipple for the bottle and added the rice cereal TO the bottle, thickening the milk up a bit. My daughter is now 2 and a half and turns out, she has a gluten (wheat) AND casein (dairy) sensitivty. (actually causing symptoms of autism) So I say, give the rice a chance and from all the moms I know 4 months is def. not too young. My best friend has a 5 month old who breast feds in the morning, afternoon and befroe bed (also in the night) but other than tose feedings has rice cereal mixed with breat milk OR she has even started her on foods such as sweet potato, banana, and applesauce. (all organic)

I agree with you, I just started feeding my little one solids (he'll be 8 months on Friday). His Doc said that I could start him on solids way back at his four month check up, but I told her I would not start soilds until he was at least 6 months. Your the mom and you know whats best for your little one. As for help with how to get started Try reading "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. It goes step by step on how to get started and will walk you through A lot of the questions we all have. The only thing with the book it talks about this "super porridge" that she wants you to make and give your Kiddo, I just give my little one cereal, but read through it I thimk it will really help anwser your questions.

Congratulations on your baby! When I started giving my son cereal, he was about 4 months as well...the dr. had me start because she thought he needed a little extra sustenance during the night to keep him asleep. ANd it worked! I started by giving him cereal at dinner time, and then feeding him a bottle AFTER...that way I could see how much he could eat. After about a month, I started giving him cereal in the mroning and at night, both times with a bottle afterwards. Good luck!

Hi there,

With both my daughter and my son 10 years apart, I thought things would change, but the only thing different was that my son didn't like breastfeeding and so he stopped around 4 months but at that point i gave him (VERY LITTLE) banana, and rice cereal. I am West Indian and so my mother made Fine Plantain Flour porridge. He was very fussy and very colicky before that but I promise you after I gave him that he was fine. The child was just hungry! Fast forward 10 years and my daughter 4 breastfed until almost a year I mixed in breast milk with the same Plantain Flour and she was fine her stand in grandmother (as my mother was not able to be there) was watching her one day and fed her applesauce and bananas. Needless to say, I freaked out however, it turned out that she too was hungry and ready for more! Now these methods are unconventional but I write this to say, Doctors don't know everything! Sometimes it's by trial and error. By all means consider their advice on the fact that your baby is ready for solids, but try to find what works for you and your baby. But, if your doctor feels that your baby has an milk allergy, (my son did and i gave him soy and rice milk for a few years) you can always get him tested for different allergies so you know what your dealing with. OR (don't feel guilty) it could be something your eating as well as they get everything we ingest when we breast feed, or even gas.

Motherhood is mostly trial and error. Here I am 4 years later on my 3rd and last but this time, providing this baby's digestion is as healthy and fast as my other 2 I know that I will watch for fussy signs and try the Plantain Flour, Rice Cereal, bananas and apple sauce once she is ready. You will not hurt the baby just pay close attention to what your child is telling you whether they want more or not. Sometimes they will want to be fed some breast milk after for either comfort because they are used to it and want to be reassured or (contrary to popular belief) they are thirsty.

Maybe you can try some good old-fashion water and you'll see before you know it you'll be missing that let-down sensation! :)

I hope I wasn't to long winded and you find something useful here. But above all relax and don't worry.

Sometimes children are just fussy. I have 4 and 2 have been fussy. 4 months is way to young to start cereal. I started feeding my oldest cereal when she was 4 months, but ended up exclusively nursing my youngest until he was 9 months. I think a lot is dependent upon the child. Then I started with only fruits and veggies leaving grains for last, as they are hard to digest and can be highly allergenic. Here is a link that I like and the site has lots of good info.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html

Good Luck!

From everything I've read babies are not able to properly digest solids until at least six months, introducing them sooner can cause digestive problems and further food intollerances. I didn't start my daughter on solids until 7.5 months, and even then I don't think she was ready...she seemed to hate everything I tried to give her and had constipation issues. It wasn't until she was able to have what the adults were eating that she really got interested. It is completely your decision when to start these things, not your doctors...if you think it might be allergies then try an elimination diet on yourself. Cut out milk products for two weeks to see if that helps, then try wheat, soy, peanutbutter, oranges, tomatoes, etc. until you find out what is the cause. Eventually you may be able to add things back into your diet as his system strengthens. Breastfeeding is so important, make sure if you do choose to start solids that you nurse him first so that he is still getting all the nutrition he needs from the milk. He should continue to have all the feedings until he gets a little older and is eating actual meals. I've also read not to mix foods and to wait two weeks between introducing new things so you can easily detect intollerances. It is a very gradual process when introducing foods. Good luck!

Maybe he doesn't have an allergy to milk, but to something IN the milk?

My son was so fussy when he was a baby, and no one knew how to help... When he was two, and had been weaned for a few months we finally figured out he was sensitive to gluten/soy/nuts/and Especially dairy... When we took that stuff out of his diet, he thrived! If I had eliminated those from my diet he wouldn't have had so many issues as an infant.

So when my daughter was born, and was also having tummy trouble, I removed dairy from MY diet and she felt better...

Get your son checked at the chiropractor, first. If he's been "fussy" since birth, he may have some birth trauma that is manifesting in what you think is being "fussy". I use Inner Wisdom in Groton, a family centered practice. ###-###-####.

I never introduced foods (I have 4 kids)until they were about 6 months and only made my own or used organic baby foods like Earth's Best - I don't trust the corporate baby products. Your baby will definitely not starve if you are nursing until he is satisfied. He's still such a little guy yet!