Starting Rice Cereal - Branford,CT

I think the cereal thing is just a myth. A baby sleeps through the night when they are ready! Just keep trying with the cereal and any new food you introduce. My 2 kids did not like everything the first time they tried it. Just remember not to put the cereal in the bottle, she could choke! Just try to be patient with the sleeping thing. It will happen. My son and daughter did not sleep through the night until they were 5 months old! Good luck!

You doing the right thing do not give her cereal in her bottle its not very good. If you breastfeed and give her formula too she should be good at night. good luck read up on it ok

Though many people swear that it helps, giving babies cereal or other solids to increase length of sleep has never stood up to clinical trials. I'm afraid that around 4 months is when many babies who slept through the night will start waking because of a growth spurt and of a burst of brain development. My advice, forget the cereal and accept the fact that your baby will go through stages of sleep. She may be hungry and at this age, eating is more important that sleeping through the night.

LOL, I started all 3 of my kids on cereal when they were 4- 6 weeks old. They had a tablespoon before bed. All 3 slept through the night. I never had a problem with my kids sleeping. We just made sure they had full tummies before they went to sleep. Voila!
Everyone raises their kids differently, I personally needed my sleep. Good luck!

This is a myth that many older women will tell you and also some bad pediatricians. If you read any current books though it will tell you that there is no evidence that this helps and in fact due to the age of your child can actually cause more problems because her digestive system may not be ready for it.

I would not suggest it. We tried it once or twice too and found out the same thing.

L.,

Food is not a guarantor of sleep. It helps sometimes. Evidently not for your daughter.

I would be looking in a different area - possibly gerd/reflux issues. Sleeping on an incline or in a car seat or swing might help.

More than likely, she has started teething. Does she constantly have her fingers in her mouth? Is she drooling a lot? Go for the gum relief first (she'll likely hate it, my son did) before going for Tylenol. She can't have Motrin until 6 months, I believe.

Also, does she listen to music as she sleeps?

Why does she have formula during the day, if I might ask?

Good Luck!
M.

MYTH!!!!! Neither of my kids slept any better having cereal. Even when they started it as a meal, it didn't help. I know other mom's who say the same thing. It did not help their kids sleep through the night. Depending on her age it could just be a growth spurt. If she didn't like it wait a couple weeks to reintroduce it. My daughter didn't really care for it until she was over 6 mos.

You should talk to your dr. My dr. said that putting cereal in a bottle promotes ear infections. How much they eat really has no effect on how well they sleep. Could she be teething?

It's a myth! Also, babies eat solids during the first year for practice only, all of their nutrition comes from bm/formula. Putting cereal in the bottle doesn't teach baby how to eat- so it's pointless anyway. It could also clog the nipple. Just increase bm/formula during the day to fill baby up.

I am against people putting cereal in their babies bottles. Cereal should be started after 5 months and with a spoon so it can teach the baby how to eat. When they are younger their little systems dont handle it well. Use a single grain rice ceral with DHA mixed with formula or breast milk when you think she is ready. Increasing the amount of formula or breastmilk before bed could help her sleep better at night. Good Luck!!

Nope wont work....I would be careful starting cereal at that age to. I know they say 4-6 months. But, there bodies are still growing. If I was going to do cereal, I would do it in the am and see how it went. The last thing you want at night is an upset baby with any digestive problems. Mine also has allergies as well, so I would be careful. I would increase the bottle or the breast in the pm and see if that helps, but they can still wake in the night for a meal. Mine does at 15 months every once in a while Good luck.

Hi L. A,

your daughter just perhaps change sleep pattern. I have a 5 month old who just does not like to sleep for most part of the night. I have tried the cereal as suggested but it did not work. I think at night the rice cereal is just to heavy on her stomach. This work for some babies, if they are full they would sleep more and others it just does not work. Try to put her down and pat her back and rock her untill she falls asleep. this will require some extra effort by you.
at night my daughter plays with her hand and likes when i play with her. I let her get tired and she often falls asleep. you can begin to established a sleep pattern with her now, if it does not work, leave her she will come around later.

Believe it or not, the waking probably has nothing to do with feeding. She is probably starting to teeth. My now 7 month old, did that for a week and then went back to sleeping through again. Just don't get into the bad habit of feeding her when she wakes at night, if she really doesn't need it, because then she will come to expect it and you will be feeding her when she really doesn't need it. I only add rice to my 7 month olds bottles to help keep the food down (she has severe reflux), otherwise I do agree that it is a myth.

Hi! My baby who is 7 months tomorrow did not like rice ceral. I tried it only with breast milk. I heard always not to put rice ceral in a bottle. I started him on quinoa since he is half Peruvian and chopped it with my breast milk and because he was almost 6 months when he started solids I put the quinoa into the baby food and now we do not do that he is on solida foods, goat's milk, and I am still nursing him. I heard room temperature chamille tea with very little water is good for babies to get to sleep.

HaHaha! People use to tell me the same thing! It is amyth (atleast I think so) All it did was give my little guy gas and an upset stomach. However at 4 months our ped. said he was showing many signs of "I'm ready for real food" so we started him at night with 1 Tbl of rice cereal. It took a little time but he got use to it and now loves it!

Hi L.,

This happened to me too. My daughter (now 11 months) was sleeping through the night then all of the sudden was waking through the night again. I believe it was due to teething. (I have 3 daughters - so I had been through this before). As for the cereal, at 4 months she is not used to this new thing being introduced. try it a few times she will eventually start to take it. Its a new texture in her mouth. So be patient. As for it helping her sleep better, I never found that to be true. Before you know it a tooth will pop up and she will be sleeping again :). In the meantime, just take some deep breaths and enjoy this time you get to spend with her during the night alone. Cherish it as she will grow so fast. Good luck!

It's a total myth. And it actually makes some kids sleep worse. Technically, the AAP doesn't recommend starting solids until 6 months, because until then kids don't have the digestive enzymes for anything other than milk. So if your baby is getting indigestion from the cereal, that could make things even worse.
At any rate, good luck!

Scientifically, babies digestive system is not ready for solid food until they are 6 months. Try giving more feedings during the day. And maybe the sleep problem is due to her teething.(?) Don't get her in the habit of eating during the night or you will have more problems on your hand in the future.
Good luck and in a blink of an eye she will be out of this stage and onto another one!
Take care.

It won't help her sleep! She's not sleeping well now due to one of three possibilities:

1. She may be sick. Perhaps an ear infection?

2. She may be teething. Even if she doesn't get actual teeth soon, those buds hurt!

3. She may be learning to roll over. Those milestones are ROUGH! (Especially on mamas!) My son learned to roll onto his stomach at 4 1/2 months. I spent 2 weeks rolling him back at least 10 times a night, because he would wake up screaming! UGH. :)

None of these things will be helped by rice cereal in the bottle, and in fact- that's really only good for helping with some babies' reflux issues. Doctors don't recommend it otherwise.

Your little girl is probably just an early bird- I bet she's getting ready to knock your socks off with some new ability! :) It's hard to sleep when cool stuff's about to happen...

feed her a little... it may help. good luck

Myth. Rice cereal is entirely carbohydrate which our bodies digest very quickly. It doesn't make sense that it would fill you up better than breastmilk or formula which are noth high in protein and fat.

Hi L.,
Something I read that proved true was that the key in feeding and sleep is to make sure that the baby is well fed during the day - you can't make up for lost/small meals by overfeeding at night (it just won't work). What you chose to feed your baby largely depends on her readiness for it. Obviously some babies' digestive system is ready for cereal thickened milk at 4 months while other babies' are not.
If she's teething, baby oragel did do wonders for me but it was a trick to get it on the gum where the tooth was coming in. It is a local anesthetic (if you put it on yourself you will see it works instantly, it's acidic in taste so sharp shooting is recommended :)
Good luck,
M.

Our doc says it's a myth! My son has slept (pretty much) through the night since he was three months old, but didn't start eating cereals until very recently (almost 8 months). His tummy just wasn't ready for it!

If she doesn't like it, then don't continue with it! You want her experiences with big girl food to be positive.

totally a myth. At least according to my pediatrician.
Babies sleep is not determined on how full their tummys are. My baby was sleeping through the night (8pmish to 6 amish) at least one month before i started him on rice cereal. what it did help was with his evening time fussiness. When i started him on rice cereral, and later fruits and veggies, he was much happier in the evening.

Its a Myth. First babies shouldnt be given solids until after 6 months. Second, babies shouldnt be given cereal in a bottle because its a choking hazard. And third, rice cereal is constipating and NOT a good first food as its processed and lacking nutrients. Hope that helps! :)

Hi L., Your baby may be waking up due to teething and not hunger. Many children start teething just before 4 months. We all need our sleep but babies will sometimes wake up and just need soothing. My best, Grandma Mary

Hi L.,

If you can, I would make the last feeding before she goes to bed be formula and not breastmilk. Just switch one of the feedings around and see if that works. My 4 month old was on breastmilk as well and would wake up every morning around 3:30am for the breast until I put her to bed with formula. After that, she has been sleeping through the night.

Hope this helps,
T.