When to Start Rice Cereal?

There are a lot of very valid reasons to wait until 6mos (or later) to introduce solid foods. Especially with a preemie - you need to go by adjusted age (calculate age by due date). At earlier ages, their digestive systems are not developed enough to process complex foods (even rice). Introducing foods too early (or to quickly) can cause a host of problems - reflux, constipation or diarrhea, colic - and also raises the risk of food allergies, ear infections, digestive issues and weight problems. If you don't trust your doctor's opinion on this (or any other) issue, find one you do trust or ask questions about why they have the opinion they do and what their reasons are for any specific recommendation for your child.

You said she was premature. Hence she really isn't gestationally even at 6 weeks. You sound like you have your mind made up already so I suspect you are really looking for confirmation of your decision, but I would tell you to HOLD OFF! I started my 4 month old daughter on it because she seemed so hungry AND SHE MET ALL THE DEVELOPMENTAL MARKERS TO START FOOD. And as soon as we did her weight gain started to drop off. By 8 months she was down in the 15th percentile. She is a perfectly healthy 3 year old now but it got a little scary in there for a little while. Now I have a 6 week old boy who was not born early, and last night he was up exactly every 3 hours, if not 2 hours and 45 minutes. I am pooped but that is normal for a baby. In a few days he will sleep a little longer again. But he is 13 pounds at 6 weeks. Mine son was bigger at birth than your daugther is now. If you don't believe in waiting until 6 months fine, but you are 3 1/2 months away from that point! I think you are allowing your fatigue to help you make choices in her health. DO you have someone else who could get up with her for one or two feedings each night? I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but I think you are doing more harm than good if you do start her this early.

Savannah is too young to have solid food. When babies are given solids too soon their digestive system isn't ready to handle the solids and although they seem fine as children, as adults they will develop digestive problems and will suffer the rest of their lives.
I breastfed 4 children and I know it is difficult to get up every 2-3 hours with them especially when you have an older child at home. I totally enjoyed getting up with the baby at night, it became our time. The house was quiet, no one disturbed us and often I would snuggle my little one with me on the couch and nurse him/her and we would drift off to sleep together as the baby nursed. It only lasts a few months and it is golden time for you and your baby, enjoy.

Hi B.,
Waking up every 2 hours is normal for a six week old. Since she had been sleeping longer before and she has hit the 6wo mark she is probably in a growth spurt. I breastfed exclusively until 6 months with my first and until 5 1/2 months with my second. It's just normal for them to need more breastmilk or formula during the growth spurts and at 6 weeks they are just too little to actually move the food to the back of their mouth to swallow. Don't worry...you won't be waking up every 2 hours forever! It'll just be a little while. In the end, it doesn't matter what everyone on here says...you're her mom. You'll have to decide what is best for her.

I waiting until my children were at least 6 months old. I remember trying some rice cereal with my oldest per the "advice" of our families and it didn't help her sleep any better. The reason they say not to start until 4-6 months of age is because of the gag reflex being so strong until then. Do what works for your family and don't worry about what others think. Congrats on your newest little one! How premature was she? My 2nd was 7 weeks early and my 3rd was 6 weeks early.

The doctors aren't saying to wait on starting cereal for their (the doctors)health. THere is legitimate research indicating that a baby's digestive system is not really able to break it down until 4-6 months. From an anatomy standpoint, they will be better able to manage swallowing if they have better head and upper trunk control (again 4 to 6 months). My mom and MIL also both encourage cereal earlier than is currently recommended "you kids all turned out fine" is their usual response. However, being in developmental pediatrics myself, I have read some of the information and it's pretty straight forward research. You are better off to wait (although I'm sure you will hear many responses of "we started early and things were fine"--but why take that chance, especially with a premie?). Additionally, babies do NOT need any of the nutrition in the cereal--everything they need is in breastmilk and/or formula.

Doctors are not fools. There is specific research as to why you should wait to feed solids. Even though we were all fed ealier and Grandma's insist it's ok, think about all the other things we were given and did as kids. Would you put your child in the car without a carseat? Most kids in the 60s, 70s and 80s went without. Your little girl is little and may really need eat during the night, BUT, is she really eating or does she often fall asleep a few minutes after nursing/bottle. Maybe it's the only way she knows how to fall back asleep. Hang in there! I'll bet by 9 weeks she's waking up only once or not at all. Trust your doctors advice. There is a reason they go to school for 9+ years after high school!

You are probably going to get a lot of mixed opinions on this. Here's mine :)
I started my baby girl (now 13 months) on rice cereal once a day (at night time) at 6weeks old. She was just so hungry and formula wasn't doing it for her. She's a perfectly healthy baby and I wouldn't have done things any other way. If I have another baby, I'll probably give rice cereal early again. It just depends on your baby and their needs - no two babies are a like, so a doctor telling you you should wait until 6 months is just insane because they don't live with your baby!
So, my advice to you is to do what you think is best for your baby. We introduced cereal at 6 weeks and it worked perfectly and our daughter is healthy as can be.

Good luck - I hope all goes well :)
J.

She is way to young for cereal especially being a preemie! My first son was a preemie and I did not give him cereal until 8 months old. Waking up every couple of hours for a baby is part of being a mom. I would rather be tired than to do something that could harm my child! Please listen to your doctor and wait.

hm.
really, the purpose of introducing cereals later is that allergy is greatly reduced. also, for nutritional needs, formula/breastmilk is ALL your baby needs, and replacing any amount of formula/breastmilk for solids (baby foods) is NOT recommended because they have WAY less benefits and nutrition that is NEEDED for baby physical and mental development.

babies should not spit out food when given solids. they should be able to sit up on their own, holding their heads up on their own. its very detremental to their overall health, nutrition and digestive systems to introduce before they are ready. your first child may have turned out fine, but theres no guarantee that this will happen twice. better safe than sorry.

also, your baby sounds like she is eating NORMALLY for her age. throughout the first year, this is NORMAL to want to nurse/drink OFTEN for spurts. i remember (exclusivly) breastfeeding my son and it always seemed that he was having a growth spurt. but i was ok with it. it worked for us.
what you can do is make sure to keep baby awake when feeding, nurse on both sides if breastfeeding, or bottle nurse making sure that baby gets full, not falls asleep. its ok to fall asleep while eating, but try your best to make her fall asleep when she is full. lights, eye contact, that will help keep her awake. gently removing the nipple when she may be starting to slow down and be drowsy can pop her back awake to nurse some more.

adding cereal to bottles wont help her sleep longer either, digestion actually disterbs and interrupts sleep.
same thing with just feeding cereal before bed, in general, its not going to help her sleep longer, its going to make her sleep disrupted.
i have heard that formula fed babies sleep longer because of the concentration of formula. you could possibly give her formula before bed, but again, anything heavy is going to slightly disrupt sleep, and if you are breastfeeding, dont stop - it has HUGE benefits that formula cant even compare to, including the reduction of the formula caused constipation, etc.

anyway, please check out www.askdrsears.com. he has very clear reasons for delaying solids. some moms make it a full year without feeding a bit of solids, and thats very healthy and fulfilling. babies just dont need food. its not nutritionally beneficial. they triple their weight and double their height in a year - a growth period that will NEVER happen again. theres no way you could feed enough solids to replace any amount of formula/breastmilk/
anyway,

please check out that site - www.askdrsears.com. a LOT of ideas that our moms and grandmas were forced to do with their babies may have "worked fine" but are actually harmful to your relationship with your children, harmful to their health, etc. the idea is to get to a place where moms are able to do things that THEIR hearts tell them to do, especially when it comes to responding to your baby. this is VITAL to build trust, and it also helps you to know your baby deeply. you will know her needs, her wants, the reasons why shes upset, or sad, or whatever.
my son is almost 2, and when hes having some sort of tantrum, i feel instinctivly that i know what he needs, and i have NEVER been wrong.
sometimes he needs something to eat drink, sometimes he just needs to be in his room by himself (i have an in home child care). but i just instinctivly know and it has always worked... this relationship i built by ALWAYS responding to him when he cried. crying it out is ok ONLY if you are at your wits end and you may hurt your child, or someone else will be in danger...
babies do stop crying with the cry it out method, but only because they learn that no one responds to them. doesnt sound good does it.

anyway, i know that has nothing to do with your question, but ... its something else that i sense important.
anyway follow your heart. its not for selfishness, control, or other stupid reasons that they say no solids until 4-6 months. its for health reasons. a friend of mine started solids with her son early.. and she regrets it because of the allergy issues her son has...

besides.
breastmilk is free, you can get formula from wic,
and kids eat you out of house and home soon enough. why start buying food and stuff before you have to? save your money, stay with what you are doing now. no one said parenting was easy, no one claims that you will get any sleep. its natural and normal, you shouldnt get sleep.
and its actually dangerous to expect babies under 3 months to be independent or sleep through the night.
it protects them from sids if they do wake up. i would be more worried about a baby that never wakes up at night than one that wakes up 3 or 4 times. at least shes waking up. some parents lose that ... whole experience, for no reason.

anyway,
dont listen as much to outside advice.
your instincts are there to preserve the lives of those in your family. its not spoiling, its not letting your baby manipulate, its being a responsive mom, an understanding mom, a knowledgeable mom, an attached mom.
you wont regret doing everything you need to do to keep your baby safe and calm. you will regret not doing everything in your power to make your babies as confident and connected as my son is. :D
www.askdrsears.com.
i trust him with my life and the life of my sons. and ive never met him. but he gave me permission to follow my instincts when everyone around me was telling me to go against my heart.
anyway.
sorry its so long

My little guy was like that too. My doctor suggested that instead of starting with rice to start with oatmeal. We started on oatmeal at three months. It is better for the digestive system and it will help keep her satisfied during the night. Hope that this helps. A.

Hi there B.,

I was in the same boat as you! My son is almost 7 months old and I started giving him rice cereal (in a bottle) at I think 7 weeks old. I just really diluted it down and made it really running. I used some of my pumped breast milk to mix it with. Then I started him on solids at about 5 months. He has shown no signs of being allergic to anything at all. It may be a little early to tell, but so far so good. He absolutely loves baby food!

I know giving them cereal or food at such a young age is going completely against all of the odds these days, but like many posters have said, we know our children best, not the doctors. Oh, I will add that a few friends of mine have had to do the same thing. Their babies were on the larger side and formula/breastmilk would not sufice them, so their DOCTOR told them to mix a little cereal in their bottle and it worked like a charm:)

Good luck with everything!!
J.

Hi B.,

Here's my advice: You know your daughter best, and the only way to find out if she can tolerate rice cereal is to give it to her. For every person that answers your request, you are going to get a different answer!

My mother gave me rice cereal when I was 6 weeks old, and I lived to tell the tale. ;-)

If she doesn't tolerate the rice cereal, or you are looking for another option, there is also "baby" oatmeal.

Good luck!

As a mom of two boys who were born big (8.5lbs and 9lbs at birth) and who were 20lbs by 3mos old, DO NOT GIVE CEREAL THIS EARLY. I cna't believe that its even suggested by anyone anymore. So much evidence is out there to support NOT giving solids until after 4mos old. Neither of my boys had any sort of solids until htey were 6mos old, breastmilk only, and they were fine. Sure they hit growth spurts, but its just that, a growth spurt.

Babies are born with 'leaky gut', meaning thier insides are not shut, whatever they eat leaches out into their system. THAT is why babies who are formula fed, fed cereal too soon, etc are more susceptable to allergies and other ailments, thier body isn't ready to digest anything but breastmilk, not even formula! Itl eaches out into thier system adn really wreaks havoc.

My advice, feed her when she is hungry. If you are breastfeeding, cut out the formula and only nurse on one breast per feeding. This will ensure she gets the fatty hind milk that will keep her full longer and help her grow.

And she is a preemie, meaning her gestational age isn't 6wks old. She is a PREEMIE, she NEEDS the nutrients in breastmilk to grow nad thrive, baby cereal has zero nutritional value, it is not good for her at her INFANT age. Please forgo it and stick with breastmilk, when she is hungry ,feed her, she is brand new.

My daughter was premature as well, she is now 8 months by birth and 5 months by corrected age. We actually just started cereal with her last week. What I looked for with my son as well as with Sara is when we are eating, is she reacting (tounge movements). I personally wouldn't feed your daughter cereal yet, as her digestive system may not yet be ready for it. Typically when she is corrected age of 4 - 6 months is when I would start it.

6 Weeks is a normal time for a baby to have a growth spurt. You mentioned breastmilk in your post. If you are breastfeeding it's important to nurse her often during this period (it will pass soon) because she is trying to increase your milk production. Introducing cereal at this age is completely inappropriate and unhealthy for your baby. Too early introduction of solids has been linked with all kinds of health problems, plus you'd be depriving her of additional breastmilk (or formula) which is what she needs right now for proper growth. Rice cereal really doesn't include much nutrition other than iron, and is low in calories. Be patient. I know growth spurts can be trying. We introduced rice cereal at 4months which is sometimes considered early now, but my baby had reflux and the doctor said it wouldn't hurt him at that age. 6 weeks is too early.

J.

If she is waking up that often to eat, I would start her on cereal. I know that they do things so different than 30 years ago...but it's not always right in my opinion. I started my daughter on cereal at 11 days because the formula just wasn't enough. She was hungry and I fed her. Each baby is different and a "one size fits all" way of doing things just doesn't cut it with this Grandma of six.

I think every situation is unique. If your child is obviously constantly hungry, it seems that it is time to try something different. I am ALL for following your gut as a mother, but 6 weeks does seem a bit little to be starting on cereal. I started both my son and daughter at 4 months and never had a single issue. The people who are against it will say that introducing anything other than breast milk or formula will hurt the baby's fragile gastrointestinal system...I heard this a couple times at 4 months, but my son was born at 10 pounds and he was obviously ready. Follow your instinct, it's a powerful thing, but if it was me, I was wait until at least 3 months.

Personally, I would wait another week or two and see if she starts to last longer between feedings. 6 weeks is very young to start cereal. Give her a little more time.
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If won't hurt her to wait a little longer, but it may mess up her digestion to try too early......
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This is very normal for a 6 week old. Even my son when he was 15 months old went through those spurts... It'll pass.

When asked this question by my girlfriends I always tell them that you know your child better then anyone else even the doctors. You can ask 100 different people and get a lot of different responces. If you feel she is ready then try it. If it doesn't go well wait a few weeks and try again. I have four kids and they all started rice cereal at different times. My last one we waited until he was 6 months old because of health issues and he refused to eat it. It depends on each child and what you think is best.

I hope this helps. Good luck
D.

I was given cereal at 24 hours because they couldn't keep me full enough. I'm now in my 30's and I have no food allergies and never struggled with weight issues (the two reasons people most often give for not feeding your baby cereal early). However, I didn't give my child cereal until he was almost 4 months old because I was nervous about both of these issues. My son didn't sleep well through the night for a long time...even after he got cereal he was awake several times in the night so it's important to remember that giving her cereal might not work. Sometimes it makes things worse because if their tummys aren't ready for it then they get gas or indigestion and you're awake with an uncomfortable baby instead of awake with a hungry one. It's a tough decision and you are the only one who can make it. Best of luck.

I was going to say the same thing, the digestive system in a 6 wo is not ready for cereal. I think we waited until 4mo.
"Young babies would not benefit from solid foods for many reasons. To start, they are not developmentally ready to deal with swallowing solids. A baby is unable to move solid food from the front to the back of the mouth for swallowing. Instead he tends to gag due to the extrusion reflex with which he is born. Young babies cannot break down the complex molecules in many proteins, fats and carbohydrates, so solid food may pass right through, or worse, cause unnecessary GI distress. Research indicates that children may develop food allergies if solids are introduced too early. Formula and breast milk provide the perfect balance of nutrients that he needs."

Your baby is only 6wks old, that's what they do. I wouldn't rush it.

Good luck!

Hi B.!! I absolutley would NOT feed your babe cereal until atleast 5 months!! There is so many reasons why not to, 1. allergies, feeding too soon can cause allergies 2.choking, their not ready for any solids yet 3. their stomachs are not developed for solids, it gives them more pain than anything!!

Please do not do this so early, most doctors do know what their talking about:)

They are stongly against it because of what research is now showing.

Here is a link from the American Academy of Pediatrics on introducing solids. If you want more detailed information, I suggest searching out the research on this topic through a public research database like PubMed. I also suggest becoming educated yourself before disagreeing with the educated.

http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm

Also, premies often undergo a period of catch-up growth, and the earlier this happens the better it is for the child over the course of his/her lifetime. If your daughter is experiencing this catch-up growth now, be happy.

A 6 wo's digestive system is not ready to handle rice cereal yet, nor does she have the muscles in her mouth/throat necessary to be spoon fed yet. I would wait AT LEAST til she is 4 mo, if not 6 mo. It is very common for a 6 wo to be up every 2 hrs to eat. And if she was premature, all the more need to feed her often. Yes, a growth spurt will cause her to want to eat more, which is what she needs, and around 6 wks is a common growth spurt. If she wakes at night to be fed, eats, then goes back to sleep, I would continue on as you are and let her eat when she needs. She knows when she is hungry and needs to be fed better than anyone else. Just be confidant that this time won't last long and you will look back fondly at the middle of the night time you had alone with her.
S.
mom of 3 and daycare provider

What does your doctor say to do? Could you just increase the breast milk/formula instead? When my son started taking 6 ounces regularly that is when he began sleeping through the night.
I know a lot of people do start cereal early, but since this was my first baby I followed my doctor's orders strictly (started cereal at 4 months) and haven't had any problem with stomach upset, allergies, etc.

HTH,
A.

I started my twins at 4 1/2 months.

I think 6 weeks is too early. My clinic says start between 4-6 months. That's pretty normal for a 6 week old baby to be up every 2-3 hours in the night. They have a small tummy and can't fit that much food in there at a time. That's why they wake up so much. Just give it time and the your baby will be up less and less at night.