Rice Cereal - Cedar Hill,TX

Parents used to give rice cereal early and they used to give it in a bottle, but neither are recommended any more. The reason not to give it in a bottle is that it is a choking hazard. The reason not to give it until 4-6 months is that it may lead to more allergies, gas, etc. I would stop giving it to him in a bottle, but if he's been receiving rice cereal for a while now without ill effect, you can probably keep giving him a little with a spoon, if you want.

My doctor put my daughter on cereal (rice/oatmeal alternate) at 6 weeks because she wasn't sleeping at night and my milk didn't seem to satisfy her. I gave it to her in an 'infa-feeder' .... she did great!

My baby is almost 3 mos and I have start the rice cereal and it really has not helped him sleep anymore than he was, however I am wondering if it will help with his spitting up.

L.,

You are correct. No matter how tempting, don't give your baby any more rice cereal. It could cause problems in later life (obesity, diabetes, allergies). I'm sure you are exhausted, but hang in there and continue with not giving your baby rice cereal in the bottle. Yes, wait until your baby is 6 months old until you give him cereal. For the first 6 months, it should only be breastmilk and/or formula. Good luck!

Hi, L.. My son was a BIG baby and we gave him rice in his bottle at 2 months. He did fine. All babies are different. Trust your instincts (I know they may still be developing since this is still so new). If your gut says no, don't. If it doesn't, ask for advice and go from there. You're doing very well!

sounds like the recommendations have changed since my kids were little, I gave my now 8 and 9 yr old rice cereal at 10-12 weeks, they say it would help with the spiting up and the sleeping... my oldest ate like a little piglet, and spit up a lot, my second had projectile spit up and the rice cereal gave him constipation so we gave so we switched to oatmeal, which he liked and ate... but still projectile spit up till he was 12 months (all 3 of mine spit till 12 months), they are both skinny kids with no issues that came from it and I gave them as much cereal as I could fit i their bottle, more than a tablespoon for sure. My Dr was fine with the cereal added. I think it was helpful for our kids, either in Breast milk or formula. (my third wanted nothing to do with added cereal) but talk to your pedi. and go with what he says, don't beat your self up either way

When to introduce solids depends on the child and the family history of things like food allergies, excema & hay fever. If there's a history of things like that, generally peds will advise waiting until 6 months. Also keep in mind that the child has something to do with all of this. Some show signs of readiness at 4 months and others, like mine, don't show any interest until closer to 8 months. This is why it is recommended that you do not put cereal into a bottle unless there's a really good reason. It just depends. Here's some good info: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032000.asp and http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Feeding/Mythbuster-...

hi L., as far as feeding your infant, babies go through growth spurts at 3 weeks, 6 week, 3 months, 6months. they seem to be more hungry at this time. it will pass. as far as cereal in the bottle, it's not necessary and sets your child up for future obesity. our babies don't need extra calories or food until 5 to 6 months. babies start to drool at 3 months of age to prepare their months for food digestion as they get older. good luck.

I have also heard lots of different things. If you are giving rice cereal before 6 months, I would do under the guide of your pediatrician. Milk is super important for the babies first year, so you don't want their little tummy to be filled up with rice cereal and not the milk. There really is no need for a baby at this age to have rice cereal unless your pedi mentioned it for some reason that I am not aware. However, typically it is used as a first food b/c it is soft on a babies digestive system and most babies are not allergy prone to rice cereal. Plus is it a good practice food. However, it really shouldn't be used a supplement or food. Think of it as a snack. I didn't start rice cereal until 5 monts or so and it was pretty minimal. Never from a bottle. Good luck!!

I started giving my daughter rice cereal in her bottle when she was just 3 weeks old. She never had a problem with it and slept longer through the night (about an extra 2hours). But I would talk to your doctor, alot of what's out there are just general guidlines, and not every child fits into what they are talking about.

L. -- My daughter -- now 6 y/o -- was given rice ceral at 6 wks - 8 wks old. I was going back to work and needed her to sleep longer at night. What you are giving your baby won't hurt him. If you feel comfortable doing it, I think it's fine. BTW, I'm 8 wks from delivering my 2nd child and plan on doing the same thing with him.

There are lots of reasons they say not to put cereal in a bottle, but I haven't heard the thing about 6 months. Our pediatrician says 4, but we wait until closer to 5.

Allergies aren't a concern with rice cereal because, from what I understand, no one is allergic to it. I don't know how true that is, but I know our pediatrician said the reason we start with that is because of how even the most sensitive kids can have it.

My daughter was about 3 and a half months old when i started giving her rice cereal. I would but about a tsp of cereal per 5 ounces also. But her pediatrician and my WIC nurse told me 2 totally different things. Her dr said it was ok because it helped to thicken the milk because I was breast feeding and I was full of milk but with her appatite it wasn"t enough. She was on formula for a little over a month when I started. But you just have to be careful with giving you son to much cereal. What I had to do was 2 days on and 1 day off.

My husband and I were just discussing this! Our doctor recommend that we introduce rice cereal at 4 months, and never in a bottle. It can be a choking hazard. "They" say that if you give it to them in the bottle he/she will sleep better, but this is not true. Introducing any kind of solids before it's necessary can lead to weight problems as well. You should give it to him with a spoon so he'll learn how to use his tongue to swallow instead of using the sucking reflex.
All this said, do what you feel your baby needs and is right for him. Everything people say is just a guideline or recommendation.

I gave my oldest son who is now 14 a tblspoon of cereal of different kinds in his bottle when he was about 1 1/2 months old mainly because a normal bottle of formula wasn't cutting it for him and it help him sleep better at night. He would go through formula like nobodys business. I couldn't breastfeed with him because of this as well. I just didn't have sufficient enough milk for him so I quit and went to a bottle when he was about a month. His Dr. at the time told me this was fine that it just helped him get a fuller tummy faster and that as long as he was processing it properly (pooping ok) that it should be no problem. Well surprises be that little tidbid of info from the Dr. saved me a lot of money since formula isn't cheap even back then it was $5 a can. So if it seems that he is eating a lot more formula just ask your dr if you could continue and that your son is able to handle it ok. Good luck my son was 7'6" 19 1/4 long and now is 6'ft and 140 at 14 lol they grow up quick so enjoy it! I have another boy who is 12 and growing just as fast.

i give my daughter one tbsp in the bottle at 2 months for reflux problems

My peditrician gave me the ok to give 1 of my boys cereal at 6 weeks and yes I added it to his bottle. It helped with him spitting up so much.

That is SO NOT true about your child being obese because of starting cereal earlier than 4 months. My son is 9 years old and is no were close to being obese.

I've read the same thing about not putting it in the bottle, but I know so many people who have done this that it can't be all that bad. My son's pedi told me to do it when he was about a month old to try to lessen the amount he spit up. Also, I have never heard of anyone who was allergic to rice cereal and most pedi advise starting it at 4 months. I would always ask the baby's doctor before starting anything new.

Most peds will tell you to start solids (rice cereal) between 4 and 6 months, depending on when they are ready. When they start it is not for nutritional value or even for the food content, but just to get use to eating solids. Since babies get all the nutrients they need from either breastmilk or formula, there is no need to give them rice cereal in their bottle unless the doctor says to do it for some medical reason. Doctors say not to put it in bottles b/c the point of giving babies the rice cereal is so they get use to eating solids and eating from a spoon. I started my daughter on rice cereal at about 4 months. She was completely off baby food and eating table food around 9 to 10 months.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests not giving babies anything but breastmilk or formula until they are 4-6 months old with newer recommendations really suggesting 6 months old. However, I have heard of doctors suggesting the cereal in a bottle thing to help with refux. In my opinion, unless your doctor suggested it, don't do it. The old wives tale of feeding a baby to make him sleep all night is just an old wives tale.

Your son's pediatrician will let you know when you need to start rice cereal as well as baby food. I'm also a first time mom and my son is 5 months old and at his 4 month appointment we were told that we could offer him rice cereal and NOT to put it in a bottle. The purpose of introducing the rice cereal is so that they get familiar with a spoon and the possibility of allergies are less with rice cereal. Also we were told that adding rice cereal doesn't make them sleep through the night, so in the cases were babies have slept through the night it could just be a coincidence. I would hold off and ask your son's pediatrician what he/she thinks when you go for his 4 month appointment.

Congrats on your baby!

L.,

All of my kids were brought up on rice cereal as well. And yes, I put it in their bottle. None are obese - as a matter of fact they are all healthy and very active. Limited quantities will not hurt PLUS it helps them sleep at night. good luck to you

All 5 of my babies were introduced to RICE cereal by the age of 6 weeks. NONE of my children are obese. All were healthy. Rice cereal is the least offensive of all the grains. If there is an allergy, there's less chance it will be rice than any other grain. There are a lot of theories out there about what causes this or that. I think nobody knows for sure. Much of mothering is a gut feelings and a lot of prayer. Bless you!

L....NO cereal until they are about 4-6 months old. Their little systems are not ready for such things other than milk. And you really should never use rice cereal because it isn't good for them...use oatmeal or brown rice.

Most people will tell you not to give your baby cereal before 6 months or until your pediatrician tells you. However, I did give my baby boy cereal in his formula when he was a out 5 months old and he tolerated just fine. It is completely up to you and what you feel comfortable with. I even started spoon feeding him a small teaspoon of applesauce with some cereal as well.

I am a mother of three and a RN, I think whar you are doing is fine. My first child (now 8), had reflux and spit up constantly. When he was about 2-3 mos old I started giving him formula with rice cereal. I'm not sure if they still make it, but I used Enfamil A.R., which was enfamil with added rice. Every baby is different and despite what everyone else says is right or wrong, do whar works best for your child! Btw, a lot of pedi's recomend starting tgive rice cereal at 4 mos. anyway, so you are just a little early on that. Only reason I would say not to is if your child isn't gaining enough weight. That is because youdont want them to fill up on something with little fat and calories because thY would only add to the problem. Hope this helps.

i brought my granddaughter home from the hospital a 2 month preemie. i started with a small amount of rice cereal in her ormula at bedtime from the get. by her 6 month checkup, her doctor said she was caught up, could not tell she was a preemie. as your babie gets older mix formula and rice cereal in a bowl and spoon eed him. he will thrive. ciara is almost 4 years now and someone saw her wth her grandpa at a store and ask why she was not in school,my husband responded with sheis only 3.