Starting Solids - San Mateo,CA

Hi, I am a mother of three girls, the youngest is 9 months. I definitely would start giving them a little cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula, but I wouldn't do it in a bottle. The idea is to introduce the spoon and eating, not to stuff them. I would sit them in their high chairs and start out with a bit at dinner time or in the morning. It is such an amazing time, enjoy!!!

I remember years ago doing this, putting some into a bottle, and now that I have grandchildren they dont recommend it anymore.(dont really know that they did then either) but as I was educated by my daughter it is more beneficial to get them to learn how to chew and swallow. hope this info helps
also I have twin daughters 13 years(frat)and my older daughter has twin daughters 14 mo. as well (identical) good luck and enjoy they are such blessings

I really recommend reading Super baby food by Ruth Yaron, hope you find it as helpful as I did!
Good luck:)

I've always heard negatives on doing this ... I think the only reason people do this is that they are trying to get younger babies to sleep better so putting the cereal in the bottle gives them a more substantial meal.

At 5 months, you want to start teaching them how to eat off of a spoon -- that's the skill they need to learn, not how to "eat" out of a bottle. Believe it or not, you will be working to get them off the bottle in just about 7 months per most pediatricians (hard to believe, I know) so it doesn't make sense to give them another reason to hang on to it.

With twins it's hard, but you get better at it quickly. I initially fed them sitting in their infant car seats before buying two high chairs... one or spoonfuls for one, one or two spoonfuls for the other. You'll get the hang of it really quickly.

Take lots of pictures! The mess will be very cute and funny later on. ;o)

not bottle, they could choke. time to do high chair & spoon-with formula great! take pics-will be so cute to look back @ how tiny they first were sitting in high chairs. good luck-have fun!

My 7 1/2 month son starting to eat rice cereal two months ago. At first the cereal would just come right out as he didn't know how to swallow it or take it in. I gave in and gave it in the bottle but continued to try to give him the spoon as well. Finally, little by litte, he eats with the spoon. It will take patience but she will get there! Good luck and congratulations!

I never did due to every website, book, doctor, etc highly suggesting we not for the same reasons a previous response stated. Only milk/formula in bottles.

To make cereal more interesting, I add 1/2 a jar of fruit like banana or apple sauce. He ate it & still eats it right up!

Good luck!

5 months is the perfect time to start rice cereal but i would give it to her by spoon, just make it really runny at first. my daughter at 5 months gobbled it up but my son took 2-3 weeks to like it. good luck!

I think the common advice these days is nothing but milk or formula in the bottle. We started with Gerber oatmeal cereal (oatmeal vs. rice because the rice cereal seems to mess with some babies' pooping and the ped. said either one is fine). We started it around 5 months and started it thinned with a lot of formula, then gradually made it thicker and thicker and now (7 months) serve it at the consistency of "adult" oatmeal and have always given it to her with a spoon.

Let the games begin!

Dear N.,
Congrats on your twins!
My neice has twin boys so I know it's harder trying to do everything double time, but you might want to re-think putting cereals and things in a bottle. I have a very good friend who did this. She pureed his food, made him smoothies, everything was done with a bottle. Not only did she have to eventually try to ween him from milk and juice from the bottle, she had the hardest time getting him to eat ANYTHING if it wasn't in a bottle. At the age where most kids can pick up cheerios or little pieces of fruit and put them in their mouths, he wouldn't do it and in fact his bottle had to be held for him. He wouldn't even pick up a glob of his own 1st birthday cake by himself. He had no clue what to even do. He's an adult and fine now, but there were habits that were had for him to break.
My advice is to save the bottle for bottle type stuff and introduce foods with a spoon. I think it makes it a lot easier for them to be able to experiment with feeding themselves and get the hang of it.

I wish you the best!

When starting solids, it's not about the bottle, it's about learning to manage ffoods in your mouth and the idea of using a spoon might mean more work, it is messy, BUT it's about fostering oral develpment. No to the idea of cereal in the bottle, unless you MD recomends it for a medical reason like reflux. One new food every 5-7 days to make sure they aren't allergic and always mix the ceareal with milk, be it formula or breast milk.

i currently for for nutritional community wic program and wic recommends first foods around 6months of age, or untill cues are visible that infant can sit straight without much support.
infant rice cereal is a first food mixed with water breast milk or formula.Never recomended in a bottle due to choking hazards and infant not learning how to swallow food correctly. wic recommends next food to be a single veggie for about 1week (try a few before starting the sweet stuff) fruits. eventually you can mix veggies or fruits with eachother. allergy is always possible with new foods so no need to rush..

Just to add to what almost everyone else has already said ... no to putting solids in a bottle ... when you start by using the spoon to feed them solids, and when you use a straight cup rather than a sippy to start them drinking from a cup (this will likely be a couple more months down the road) you will see that your girls will become proficient at eating by themselve much earlier than if you use the "crutch" of feeding solids from a bottle or liquids from a sippy. I also have said this before, but am going to repeat it again regarding sippy cups: dentists are saying sippy cups are terrible for your child's mouth and the proper development of their teeth. I can take my four daycare children (ages 2, going on 3, 4, and going on 6) into any restaurant in town and be asssured that I won't be totally embarassed by their eating behavior and ability to handle their utensils and food, because all of them started from the beginning with a spoon and drinking straight from a regular cup. The ones we use in daycare are real glass too, and the only ones I can remember getting broken in the past two years are two that I happened to knock off the counter onto the floor as I was loading the dishwasher.

It might be a good time for your girls. Not sure how well the cereal will do in the bottle. I was told to make a bigger hole in the nipple so it wouldn't clog it. I waited until he could sit up and gave it to him w/a spoon mixed w/formula and water making it very runny so he wouldn't choke.

I gave my kids rice cereal in a bottle before bedtime and they were fine. My granddaughter born May 4th started eating it last month and is fine. Only give that to her for at least a week watching for any changes rashes etc as you will have to do each time you introduce a new food.

Hi N.,

First, I would like to congratulate you on your twin girls...and on you being able to handle them! It must take a lot of work:)

Second, a little about myself...I am a 25 year old mother and wife. My oldest is 4 and my youngest is 7 months. My children are both little girls, but my oldest is a complete tomboy:). My youngest was born with a cleft lip/palate. She had just had her first surgery this past August...we have many more to go through, and it is a hard process(emotionally).

Anywho, about you little ones...Yes, it is fine to start soilds. In fact, you could have started her on rice cereal at 4 months. Do not be scared to try new things with your girls...just use common sense 1st. So far, I give my little one, Rice and Oatmeal Cereal, Apple Sauce, Bananas, Green Beans, Sweet potatoes, Pears, Carrots, Chicken, Bread, Corn Bread, Puff Snacks, and egg. She shows no signs of allergic reaction...and you should never try 2 new things together because if she is allergic to something...you will not know what it is...always wait at least 3-4 days until introducing something new. My little one LOVES to sit in her high chair and eat while I am eating, cleaning the kitchen, and/or making food.

Oh, and I do put my daughters food in her bottle...NOT because I am lazy, only becasue it is easier for her to eat it that way because of her cleft palate. I do feed it to her on a spoon as well, but once she starts getting fustrated and it starts to come out her nose, I stop and put it in her bottle. She eats it up! She loves to grab her food and put it in her mouth...so she does a lot of that with the puffs and breads!

I hope this helps you! Good Luck, A. S.

Hi N.-
I have two thoughts on this- the first is to ask your pediatrician if your daughter is ready. That being said, My sister did not give her son solids until he was almost 1 year old. My sisters in law gave their children solids anywhere from 4-5 months old. I can't say that any child is better or worse for it. They are all extremely healthy, and all 3 moms did it differently. I don't think it would hurt your baby as long as you stick to the one new food at a time rule, but I would def ask the doctor just to verify before starting.
-E. M

I see that you've had plenty of responses, so I will keep mine brief. I have three kids (now 15,13, 8). Each was born in a different state, so each had a different pediatrician. (Then there was my mom, spouting what she remembered from my pediatrician.) What i learned from this is that each one has their opinions, not the hard and fast laws your start to think they are, and unless it's some real medical issues, your mommy-intuition should always rule.

I have always been told that cereal in a bottle is the wrong way to introduce solids. We just started our 4.5 mo old on solids and are giving her a rice cereal mixed thin with breastmilk (you could always use formula of course) and feeding it to her on a baby spoon. I would check with your pediatrician to see what their recommendation is, though. Good luck!

My Doc had said not to give cereal by bottle because it makes "Lazy eaters". When I said this to my Mom, she laughed and asked "What's a Lazy eater? Is it bad?" I never knew the answer. I started both my boys on rice cereal by spoon when they were four months old. I must say that I tried rice cereal mixed in formula and hated the taste of it. I just mixed in water. Later I added some banana or other flavor. It's all about what each individual child likes and will eat. Try it!

My son is over 3 so it has been some time since I researched the exact same question but I remember the answer is no. You do not want to add the cereal to the bottle because you are not teaching the child to eat and you are only adding extra calories to the bottle. Does she need to put on weight? Check with your dr. but the answer to me was no.

Is there a specific reason why you want to introduce solids in a bottle? Everything I've ever read advises against it. It's about teaching them to eat solid food and letting them develop the skills to do it. It may be challenging to feed two at one time, but maybe twice as fun, too?! It's quite a messy business, but it's also a lot of fun! Congratulations on your darling girls' newest milestone!

N.,

First, congratulations on becoming a Mom!

When thi subject comes up in my Gymboree classes, I always relay the advice that I got from my pediatrician when my kids were little. Introducing solids is more about the social experience and less about the nutrition so he didn't recommend doing rice cereal in a bottle. His other comment was "put on a raincoat and have a good time because initially, more will come out than go in." Kids need to learn how to handle the solids - it's not obvious to them at first how to eat it.

I hope that helps a little bit.

J. F.

I would really wait until 6 months.

Hello N.,

Baby doll might be ready. It doesn't hurt to try the rice cereal. Make it more watery than solid and see how she does then thicken it up as you go. Eventually you'll be adding fruit (either jarred fruit or mashed up fresh fruit)to it and she'll really enjoy it. I have a 26 month old and a 6 month old. I started to give them the rice cereal at about 4 months and now they're pro's. My 6 month old eats pretty much everything I eat, I do the bird feeding techniq, I chew it first then give it to her to try, especially when were out eating and I forgot to pack her little gerber or cereal stuff. (though don't feed her the crappy fast food stuff)Good luck!

i started my son on single grain rice cereal at about 4 months old, it did him dandy!! he started sleeping thru the night...

My son was born May 29th, and he has been reaching for our food for several weeks now. My husband finally convinced me to give him rice cereal, and he LOVES it! (Interestingly, he wasn't a fan of the runny, mostly breast milk or formula first feeding that they recommend. Once I thickened it up, he ate like a champ!) He is still mostly breastfed, but he hasn't had any negative repercussions from introducing one or two meals a day of the cereal. Also, my doctor asked me if we had started him on rice cereal yet when I went to his 4 mos. appointment, and he told me that I could start anytime. I say, if they seem to be ready for it, give it a try! My little man started sleeping even better, possibly because his tummy stayed full longer... Good luck! :)

Good Morning N.,

My daughter is 4mo. old and has reflux. We have been giving her rice cereal & formula for about 2mo. (per our Dr.) I think that would be fine, if you started it. Just make sure you poke a bigger hole (not to big) in the nipple for the rice cereal or born free nipples have ones for this. You will also see a change in their poops. :)Or...even on a spoon they will get the hang of it.

Good luck

As someone who is not a health-care professional yet attends a lot of health conferences because I have a health-centered business, there is quite a bit of concern that rice cereal itself may pre-dispose a child for diabetes later in life. Of course, when an independent study comes out that says that, the cereal companies create "studies" that say the opposite. Before feeding rice cereal, I would check out www.mercola.com; it is free to become a member and you may want to subscribe to his free newsletter if you do not already.