6 Week Old and Baby Food

I'm with the other posters! 6 weeks old is way TOO early to be introducing baby food!! Giving a baby cereal with formula/breastmilk is an old wives' tale about getting babies to sleep longer at night.

They are probably causing the digestive problems. This is way too early. You should say something to her. Not getting sleep with an infant should be expected.

NO, 6 weeks old is way to young.
Their digestive system is not even fully developed yet.
ARE they even telling their Pediatrician about this????

6 months old, is the recommended age for 'solids.'

Check the American Academy of Pediatrics.
http://www.aap.org/

the baby is having digestive problems... because of their bad decision to feed baby solids already. And their 'reason' is to make baby sleep better. NO, that is not a reason.
Babies wake, they cry, they do that.
That is what a baby is.
They are doing it for their benefit... not baby's.

They do NOT seem, to know how... to take care of a baby.... ? Properly.

For the 1st year of life... breastmilk or Formula, is a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition... NOT solids and NOT other liquids.
This is per our Pediatrician....

And, the more they give Formula or solids... then the Mom's breastmilk production, will lessen.

They are making their baby worse.... and it is really alarming, they are doing this.
Their Pediatrician... needs to know.

Recommendations at 4-6 months. 6 weeks is way too early according to my ped!

I agree with everyone else. 6 weeks is too early. I think I started my son on cereal at 4 months and baby food at 6 months. If she happens to ask your opinion on the digestive issues you could mention that the norm is X, and that maybe if they try that the digestive issues will subside?

I think formula and breast milk are ok for 6 weeks old, if the baby is a preemie breastmilk would be better for the most part. If she wants to give the baby cereal adding cereal to the milk for flavoring in small amounts wouldn't hurt. But the baby should def be drinking milk for right now. She get multivitamins for the baby if she wants added nutrients.

I started my daughter on cereal at about 7 weeks due to reflux, so its not uncommon to start them early if theres a reason for it. as far as baby food, i started her at 3 months exactly. She was drinking 10 oz bottles and still wasnt acting like she was pleased with it (and of course cereal was in her bottles which should have made her full quicker) But at 6 weeks a babys digestive system just isnt ready for all the mess they're feeding him/her. They need to take the baby off the food and cereal unless the baby has reflux. theyre really going to end up screwing him/her up for a long time or possibly forever.

Uh yeah, tell them to start doing some research! I would also like to add that feeding them cereal to sleep longer isn't completely a myth, BUT at 6 weeks the babies haven't developed enough melatonin to sleep more than a few hours at a time, so it's totally biological and nothing else! Giving a baby cereal (at 4 months or older) to get them to sleep actually has about a 50% success rate, so it's certainly not foolproof but is a waste of time all together at this young age.

I hope your friend gets some help!

I did not start my little one until 4 months as per doc. My mother-in-law gave me grief about it, but I stuck to my guns. My daughter dosen't have any food allergies, no digestive problems, is not a picky eater and she is 8 years old. So I am in favor of waiting. To get her to sleep through the night I added about 1 to 1/2 more ounces more to the milk at her 10 pm feeding. This kept her full longer. Every baby is different but I think this is the time to be careful. Why not?

Google open gut as it relates to babies. That will give you some powerful info to explain to them why solids are not a good idea before 6 months.

Honestly, what is wrong with people!?

When I had my first 2 kids (30+ years ago), the recommendation was to start cereals and juices at 6 weeks. My kids actually did live! LOL It's probably better to go with the newer recommendations to wait until they're older and/or weigh a certain amount before adding anything other and breast milk/formula, tho, and add them 1 at a time with at least 1-week intervals between new additions (so you can see if anything causes any reaction or digestive issues). What you consider digestive problems, tho, may just be another family's normal digestive processes. One of my babies (now turning 25) had hiccups many times before he was born and often after. At church one day another lady was holding him and he got the hiccups. She got all worried and frantic wondering, "What do we do for him??" Well, we let him hiccup til he gets done! LOL

The whole idea behind giving semi solids is that by that age most infants are able to hold their head up. There is no baby that can hold up their head so well at 6 weeks. Your friend should concentrate on a routine and giving them colic relief medication. Both of my kids were sleeping well by 6 weeks its when they started semi solids it was a different story.

Babies cannot digest solid foods until they are 4 months. Therefore it will just make the baby's belly more upset and eventually may lead to hospitalization. The baby definetly wont be sleeping at night at that point. They need to read up on baby's digestive system.

I gave my sons cereal at 5 weeks but no fruits or veggies till 6 mnths suggest to her to take the fruits and veggies out.

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I hate to say it, but if my friends were feeding their six week old actual jarred baby food, I'd be calling child services. They are endangering their child's life and that isn't cool.

This baby should only be on breast milk and / or formula. I can't imagine that it is even safe to give a baby this age anything else.

Your friend should wait until the baby is at least four months old before adding foods. But it probably won't cause any long-term harm. When my firstborn was six weeks old I went back to classes as a graduate student. At least one night a week I took a three-hour class. I always came home during the mid-class break to feed my son, but sometime he still got hungry so my husband fed him apple juice. Later I realized we shouldn't have done that, but he's a very healthy 28 year old.

In the US we seem to think it is some rite of passage to start food early, but until they are a YEAR baby's main food should be milk (breast or formula). Their tiny intestinal tracts cannot digest that kind of stuff, which can cause all the problems you've mentioned AND internal bleeding.

If it were my child, I would remain milk only until at least 5 months.

Poor thing...