Baby Cereal in Formula

I'm going to tell you what I did. I'm not saying it is right or wrong... I did what I thought was best and I'd do it again...
My #1 went 5 weeks on just formula. He was eating 5 or 6 8oz bottles a day... I fed him rice cereal with his last bottle at night. I needed sleep! He liked it thicker - personally I thought it was gross. I started with the cereal soupy... he spit it out. I made it thicker like oatmeal and he LOVED it!
With my daughter, she got cereal at a week. My husband was out of the country and I was TIRED. She liked it soupier, but that was probably because she was younger.
They slept. They were full.
They were happy.
I started veggies at about 8 weeks with my #1.
We started with orange veggies and went from there. We did fruit well after veggies... fruit is sweet - they all like fruit!

FYI: My sister - now grown and happy and healthy - was fed cereal upon her arrival home from the hospital.

YMMV
LBC

I suggest against it. There is nothing wrong with feeding her more than 4 ounces, but it's not good on their stomaches and can lead to major major stomach issues to start adding in cereal. The only thing that should ever go in a bottle is formula. Juice, cows milk and water aren't needed until they are old enough to drink from a sippy cup in MOST cases. Therefore, should not ever be given in a bottle either. Only formula. My son and neice both ate more than 4 ounces a feeding at this age. You are allowed to feed them more if they are not done eating yet when the formula is out.

Talk to your pediatrician first. Cereal should be spoon fed only except in cases of reflux or GERD where it is necessary to add it to a bottle to help the child keep it down. Even then, it should only be done per a pediatrician's orders.

Please don't do it!! Our pediatrician is heavily against it, and it doesn't work anyways. It really is just an old wives' tale. If the formula isn't filling her up then give her more formula.

My son ate alot, I just did what the doctor told me, so I didn't overload his digestive system and I was assured he wasn't hungry because I was still feeding him 2-3 hours. Call you're daughters pediatrician and ask what is okay and what is not okay for her little tummy at 1 month old. People always have suggestions and opinions, but I always went to the one who went through tons of schooling to help take care of my son, his pediatrician.

Check with your pediatrician before introducing cereal. There are several reasons it could be harmful:

There is a greater likelihood of digestive problems, including developing allergies to grains. (Grain allergies are terribly inconvenient to work around as a child gets older.)

The child may consume less high-protein breast milk or formula. This may slow normal growth and development. Cereals offer the baby much less overall nutrition than milk or formula.

The higher carbohydrate load in cereal can cause children to gain too much weight, potentially setting them up for health problems later on.

The former belief that the cereal takes longer to digest and allows a baby to sleep longer has been proven to be untrue.

There may be reflux problems, gas, or other reasons your little girl is seeming hungry. Suckling comforts babies, even if they don't need more milk. But she might actually need more food – babies are all individuals, and averages are only that – averages.

Please don't feed her anything unusual without informed advice.

Nope! Don't do it. Her tummy is not developed enough at O. month!

Feed her additional ounces ( 5 oz. or 6 oz.) or feed her every 2 hours or whenever she is hungry!

I would really ask your doctor first if her little digestive system is developed enough for the baby cereal. If your daughter is breastfed, the 2-3 hour time span is completely normal.

me and my sister both started our babies out on cereal in the formula when our children were about 1 - 3 months old ( we both have 3 kids each). Each child responed differently. But it will not hurt her, but babies are like lil puppies, they will eat wether they are hungry or not, and if they have a belly ache, they will eat, which in turns makes thier lil bellies hurt more..i learned that lesson with my first child. of coarse, i didn't realize it until my 2nd child was born :( Good Luck..God Bless..and Congradulations!!!

NOOOOOO dont put that cereal in. eating 4 oz every to or 3 hours is completely normal. Cereal should not be introduced to her until she is about 4 months old. your baby is just learning how to drink milk. she is perfectly fine. If anything I would try to offer her 5oz of milk and try to stretch it to every 3 to 4 hours.

At a month old, you can probably go longer in between feedings (4 hours) and feed her a larger quantity. (Maybe start out with a 6 oz bottle and see how much of it she wants - just don't obsess over the number of ounces she eats at each feeding, as it will change all the time as she hits growth spurts etc.) I wouldn't do rice cereal at this age. If she always seems hungry, then she's "snacking" during her meal times and not getting a big, full meal, so she is hungry sooner.

they are not able to digest solids, including cereal, till at least4 months.

Milk is enough, and has been enough, for centuries. Newborns just eat a lot, every few hours. It gets better around 8-12 weeks.

all 3 of my kids .the most recent being a year ago had reflux and i put cereal in all of their bottles at 1 month..they are just fine..also you could try just a half a tsp in every other bottle..just play with it til you find a happy spot!

I agree with talking to your pediatrician first. I know everybody used to do this, but there is all kinds of new medical information on why NOT to do it that we have now, that people just didn't know before. Do you let her eat her fill each feeding, and feed as often as she wants? My son ate quite a bit more than 3-4 oz at a month old at each feeding. I would make sure to keep offering her an ounce or two more at at time until she refuses to eat more.

I would check with your dr. first. But I do not suggest it at a month. For some babies it is okay but for others it is not. I personally would increase the ounces of milk. I think that was about the stage that my kids would hit a growth spirt and need two more ounces at the feeding. BUT don't forget the baby is only a month old and this is only temperary. The magical week seems to be when they hit 6 weeks old and they sleep longer and of course you will get more sleep. Also don't forget to call friends for help. That is what they are there for.

She's too young I think. I started my first daughter at 2 months, but things have changed since then. She might just be going through a growth spurt and will go back to normal soon. If not,I would call your pedi and see what they say before you do anything like that.

Go here:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

Especially read up on the "open gut" information. DO NOT give your baby solids before 6months, and NEVER EVER EVER add a solid to formula or breast milk.
You say milk...do you mean you are breastfeeding and you're guessing how much she takes, pumping and bottle feeding an exact amount, or actually using formula, not milk? Babies usually take more from a bottle than the breast, so if you are pumping, go back to the breast instead, she may just be looking for bonding and not actually be hungry again :)

A one-month-old SHOULD be taking 3-4 ounces every 2-3 hours. Sounds like your baby is totally average. Anyone who feeds their baby solids before 6 months is setting their child up for life-long digestive and allergy issues:( It's been proven for years, I don't know why women insist they know better than science...

My baby went through a growth spurt and was hungry all the time at that age. I was always afraid of giving her the cereal for fear that her digestive system wasn't strong enough yet. I just fed her extra formula and eventually she evened out. Even when she did start on cereal the ped told me only one bottle at night, only 4 ounces at the most (to start).