When Is a Good Time to Feed an Infant Rice Cereal?

My mother told me the same thing when, my now 8month old son, was only 8 weeks old. So I called our nurse line and she said while they don't typically recommend it it's not going to hurt anything. So we did needless to say not much was actually consumed but he did start sleeping. Nine hour stretch before he woke up to nurse the back to sleep for about 3 more hours. So mom was right. Good luck

I feed both my children cereal at a very young age. Each child is different. Becareful with rice as it tends to bind them up and then they have no BM. This is just my feelings feed them a little oatmeal cereal before bed and it really helps.

I would advise talking to your ped as well. I know my husband started getting cereal mixed in with his formula when he was about 2 weeks old, but that was because he was ravenous and was just sucking down bottles and screaming for more.

Your doctor went to medical school for years to study (among other things) the effects of different foods on children and their systems. Your mom might seem all knowing, but do you feel all knowing? Kids don't come with a manual, so your mom is just using trial and error just like you. She got successful results on a couple kids. Doctors have studies over decades and with thousands of kids. Who sounds like they know better now?

My daughter as a new born was an insatiable (sp?) eater. She would not stop eating by 3 weeks old she was pullin 6-8oz every 2 hrs. So I introduced rice cereal in her bottle at bed time. It is totally not suggested by doctors and they say the baby can choke if you put it in their bottle but I always held her when I fed her and didn't prop her bottle with the cereal and she did fine. Also it helped a great deal in the sleeping department she not only slept longer but was much more content in her sleep. It's all up to you. Also I started my daughter because my mother thought it was a good idea. I don't regret it and she is now 5yrs old happy and healthy. Not overweight either.

Hi M.,
I'm going to be the one who is "Pro Rice Cereal." Someone metioned this to me. She told me to put 1-2tbsp directly into the bottle. If you're breastfeeding, perhaps pump a bottle to be used right before bed. I did this with both of my children but did it the feeding before the bedtime feeing (if that makes any sense). Mostly because I wanted the bedtime feeding to be breast fed. However, I only added 1 tbsp to their bedtime bottle (which was about 6-8 ounces). You have to shake it up very good so it dissolves. I never spoon fed this to them until they were 4 months, mostly because of the gag reflex issue. I had success. Good Luck to you!

I was putting rice cereal in my daughter's formula from 3 weeks of age. She just wasn't filling up. I always put a small spoonful in for each 2 ounces of formula. This helped a great deal. I know many doctors don't agree with this and some follow the strict regime of starting at 4-6 months. My doctor didn't really agree or disagree with me at all.

My mom said my brother (born in 1973) was given cereal in the hospital. Times have changed. You have to do what you think is best and to me feeding my child seemed the better thing to do.

My girls were both started on vegetables by 3 1/2 months too and did very well.

I followed my pediatrician's recommendation with both of my kids, who are now 7.5 and 12. I tend to believe the pros rather than old wives tales. Getting your children on track with good healthy eating is hard work at times, but it pays off as they get older. I have kids who love fruit, vegies, salads, milk and water. That doesn't mean they don't get junk sometimes. Bottom line - I would listen to your doctor.

Whether or not to start cereal is really up to you, but please don't expect it to help your baby sleep through the night! Also, be SURE you do the research (no offense to your mom, I know our moms have some awesome advice) before you go ahead and do this. Our doctor told us never to put cereal in a bottle, to wait until he was ready to eat from a spoon. I stuck it out and exclusively breastfed until almost 6 months. My son is 9 months, eats all kinds of solids, and he doesn't sleep through the night. lol some babies are just better sleepers than others. Do the research, trust yourself, and good luck getting some sleep!

i gave my daughter rice cereal at bed time at around 6- 8 weeks at bed time. she did seem to sleep better. i mixed it with formula so it was fairly runny and the held her on my lap and spooned small bites in to her mouth she swallowed it just fine after a few bites and a bottle she would sleep for the night. i say it is really up to what ur gut tells u. try it if u want and if it doesnt work u can stop. i later told my doctor about it and he wasnt that upset as long as she can kinda get the pushing it back in her mouth with her tongue part she will do good. good luck i hope u find something that works

i agree with the other post...wait to give cereal until at least 4 months.

With my first son the doctor put him on cereal at his 6 week check up because he was drinking a bottle to frequently. I would check with the doctor just to make sure it is ok.

doctors are against it for a reason. Babies tummies cannot handle the cereal until about that age. Its relativly new research. that is why. and it is NO garuntee that they will sleep better eating cereal. My didn't. no change at all to be honest...and i wait until 5 months to introduce rice cereal. And my son was born 9lbs 4 oz. You should really listen to your doctors before your mother

There is a formula out there that is called Enfamil AR (added rice). It is generally used to help keep formula down in the stomach to prevent spit up during sleep. I used it on my twin girls starting around 2months - suggested by my ped. the formula is broken down to an extent so it isn't hard on the stomach unlike normal rice cereal added to formula. I gave it to them for their last feeding. They are now 6mo and are doing just fine. I think this formula is a great way to give cereal if you decide to. My girls did sleep through the night since they were just before 2 months (after the rice formula) but I am sure it definetly had more to do with how much they ate during the day and how easily they were able to comfort themselves when they woke up at night and were able to get themselves back to sleep. Good Luck. But remember babies don't usually sleep through the night until 6 months (average), so if it doesn't work, it is naturally normal and eventually you will get your sleep. My first who is now 19mo didn't sleep through the night till he was 9mo - and that wasn't even consistent.

Both of my kids were on rice cereal at 5 months. I tried it at 4 months but it seems too young at that point. I'd do it at 5-6 months in my opinion.

First dont be too concerned about how she doesnt sleep all night, most babies dont start sleepingthrew the night till 9 months. Second I agree with Mandy P. I have two children both had acid reflux so they were on Infamil AR, obviously for different reasons than what you are looking for it to do. I do think that it is a safer way to have rice in there bottle then to put it there yourself. Rice is also something that you start when your daughter is more like 5 or six months old. My mom did daycare for a little boy whose mother did the rice in the bottle and it was hard to watch him try to eat the bottle, he had to work so very hard to suck the bottle with rice in it. To me its a no brainer, I would defintly try the formula with added rice before ever doing that. I think that we live in a society that expects new babies to sleep the same schedule as the parents and it has become to convienent to just do whatever it takes to get that. Not at all saying you are, just think you should use formula with rice that was designed for a baby to suck threw a bottle then to put rice thats not made for that purpose in there. Good Luck

I started my son on rice cereal at 4 months... that's when he STOPPED sleeping through the night! I know a lot of people believe that rice cereal helps babies get through the night, but that was not the case for us. I would suggest giving cereal when you are ready to and not sooner because of advice from others.

Hey M.!

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Babies stomachs are so small & sensitive at a young age, it could actually be harmful to do that (formula, with all the iron, is hard enough on a baby's stomach). I'm sure other people have done it without issue, but I wouldn't take the chance. It could cause stomach problems, constipation, etc. - all of which will likely disrupt a good night's sleep. Also - there is really no nutritional value in rice cereal, so it's just dumping empty calories into your child in the hopes of them maybe sleeping a bit longer.

Most kids sleep reasonably well at night by 4 months or so anyway, so it doesn't seem worth the risk to me. Personally, I would try other methods to get them to sleep longer - co-sleeping, consistent bedtime routine, soothers (pacifier or something like that) etc.

I may not have a very popular perspective, but maybe it will give you a different opinion at the very least.

Good luck!
J.
(mom to Chase - 3)

My 3 1/2 month old son is in the process of being tested for reflux and until all of the test results are in his doctor has me putting rice cereal in his formula. Every baby is different but it is not making him sleep any longer at night. I started giving my older son cerealy around 6 months hoping that he would finally start sleeping through the night and it didn't work with him either. They both sleep/slept longer after having cereal by an hour or two but not through the night.

Don't give your newborn rice cereal. It actually raises the risk of S.I.D.S. My daughter started getting cereal when she could hold her head up and roll. She was early with that so it was 3 months. I didn't wait until 4 months because she was hungry. The formula was not enough for her. If you do it before the doctors recommend, wait until 12 weeks.

At the risk of raising the ire of the anti-cereal stance, I gave both of my kids a small amount of cereal in their bottles around 10 weeks. Both of my kids are big and just formula didn't seem to satisfy them long enough. And they are 4 and 2 years old now and haven't suffered any long term effects.

However, if you are doing it to get the baby to sleep longer, it may or might not work. There really is no "secret" to getting a baby to sleep longer. Some do, some don't. As the mother of two babies who were lousy sleepers the first year, I can tell you that they were sleeping all night by the time they were 15-18 months. I know that may seem like a long time away to you right now. But it goes by so quickly. As your baby girl gets older and bigger, and can eat more at a time, she will no longer wake up several times a night to eat.

But no matter what, please keep in mind that whether your baby sleeps through the night at an early age or not, it is not a reflection on how good of a mother you are.

I fed rice cereal mixed with formula to my babies starting at 6 weeks. The first one is 14 now (they recommended 6 weeks back then). The second one is going on 2 years. There was no bad effects that I could tell, but probably depends on the baby.

I had also gotten a lot of people telling me that they fed their newborns rice to get them to sleep all night. I would recommend against it (as much as you want the sleep). Feeding them rice cereal this young can be the cause of having more food allergies when they get older. It doesn't always happen, but it is more likely to happen. Besides, remember our parents also put us to sleep on our tummies and it turns out that it can cause SIDS. Just because it didn't happen to their children, doesn't mean it can't happen to ours.

the reason the dr.s say not to.. is because the baby can later in life form a food alergy that u do not want. its normal for them to wake up every 2 hours to eat thats what they are supposed to do but i would wait till 3 and half or 4 months before u offer it to the child only cause the food alergy can eventually hurt their lil bellies and cause future problems with digestion.

Our dr. told us we could start cereal at 4 mos. because our son was so small and was waking up every 2 hours to eat. We tried it, and he still woke up every 2 hours to eat! He is now 11 months and we are finally down to one feeding per night, despite lots of solid foods during the day. So don't base your decision on hoping that the cereal will help baby sleep more!

I really thought about doing this with my little guy because he slept so poorly. Once we did start feeding solids at 5 months, he didn't sleep through the night better anyway!
I did read something about why it's good to wait until 4-6 months, though. I read that the little alvioli-like things in the gut are spread apart in young babies. Giving them solid foods before they close up around 4-6 months can cause some intestinal problems later in life. Found this, that may explain it better http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp. I have an intestinal disease (crohn's) so thought it was worth it to wait for my little guy. There are so many diseases out there that no one know what causes them.
Waking at night is tough, but it's just part of the deal. At 4 months, you may be able to sleep train your baby to wake up only a couple of times for milk.
Best of luck.
:) M.