When Is a Good Time to Feed an Infant Rice Cereal?

My daughter as a new born was an insatiable (sp?) eater. She would not stop eating by 3 weeks old she was pullin 6-8oz every 2 hrs. So I introduced rice cereal in her bottle at bed time. It is totally not suggested by doctors and they say the baby can choke if you put it in their bottle but I always held her when I fed her and didn't prop her bottle with the cereal and she did fine. Also it helped a great deal in the sleeping department she not only slept longer but was much more content in her sleep. It's all up to you. Also I started my daughter because my mother thought it was a good idea. I don't regret it and she is now 5yrs old happy and healthy. Not overweight either.

I started my son on rice cereal at 4 months... that's when he STOPPED sleeping through the night! I know a lot of people believe that rice cereal helps babies get through the night, but that was not the case for us. I would suggest giving cereal when you are ready to and not sooner because of advice from others.

Both of my kids were on rice cereal at 5 months. I tried it at 4 months but it seems too young at that point. I'd do it at 5-6 months in my opinion.

Please, really do some internet or trustworthy book research on this before you run out and start buying infant cereal.

All the trustworthy books and websites will tell you that feeding your child cereal will NOT make him/her sleep though the night longer. If your child is under 10 pounds he/she NEEDS to eat once during the night. If over that, he/she has enough weight to be able to sustain though the night without a feeding. If your child is experiencing a growth spurt, no amount of cereal will prevent them from waking up hungry.

One of the many reasons its not recommended to start feeding your child cereal so young is because of calorie (and nutrient) density. This is the amount of calories (or nutrients) per gram (or other mass unit) avaliable. For example, protiens provide 4 calories per gram, alcohol provides 7 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram. Alcohol is more calorie dense than proteins - but not as calorie dense as fat.

For babies, their stomaches are small so the more nutrient and calorie dense the food, the better. Formula and breastmilk are actually more nutrient and calorie dense than cereal (researching will tell you this also) - so your child is less likely to get hungry if he/she eats more calories. This alone is the primary reason why peds will recommend waiting until 4-6 months, but there are other reasons, too.

Studies have shown that the earlier children are fed cereal before 6 months, the better the chances your child will face overweight problems later in life. These aren't HUGE odds, but significant enough to warrant noting - let alone food allergies and digestion problems later in life. There are many many reasons why it's recommended you wait til at least 4-6 months, dr's aren't pulling a number out of their head to be jerks.

The point is, please just do some more reasearch on this before you make a decision.

My husband was started on rice at 3 weeks because he was ravenous and a short sleeper. At age 18 he was diagnosed with crohns disease and several of his personal doctors as well as multiple foundations for the study of intestinal disease are now linking the early introduction of solid foods with an increased risk of developing this disease as an adult. its a personal choice for every mother, but I will not be taking that kind of risk with my son in exchange for a few hours of extra sleep.

the reason the dr.s say not to.. is because the baby can later in life form a food alergy that u do not want. its normal for them to wake up every 2 hours to eat thats what they are supposed to do but i would wait till 3 and half or 4 months before u offer it to the child only cause the food alergy can eventually hurt their lil bellies and cause future problems with digestion.

Hi M....this is just my opinion...I am not a professional, but I would definitely consult your ped before doing this. Like other mothers said, their stomachs are too small and sensitive. The healthiest thing they can have is formula or breastmilk...there is a reason they tell you to wait until 4-6 months. I guess I don't understand the need to get her to sleep through the night so soon?? Is it for your own sleep benefit? That is just part of being a mother...getting up at night and not having much sleep those first wonderful few months. But babies need to be fed in the middle of the night..especially when they're young. Maybe the cereal before bed might give her the "satisfied" feeling, but she may actually NEED to be fed at night just to maintain her blood sugar (like I said, I'm not a professional, but there's obviously SOME reason they tell you to wait.) I would definitely consult the ped before you do this. Times are changing, and even though our mothers think they know best, the latest research can disprove a lot of what they thought was best. Our mothers used to use whiskey on our gums to help with teething..I wouldn't be caught dead doing something like that. Ask your ped.

I had also gotten a lot of people telling me that they fed their newborns rice to get them to sleep all night. I would recommend against it (as much as you want the sleep). Feeding them rice cereal this young can be the cause of having more food allergies when they get older. It doesn't always happen, but it is more likely to happen. Besides, remember our parents also put us to sleep on our tummies and it turns out that it can cause SIDS. Just because it didn't happen to their children, doesn't mean it can't happen to ours.

I think babies don't need anything other than breastmilk/formula until they're at least four months old. The most recent AAP guidelines actually say to withold solids until 6 months old. The amount of cereal that a baby would get before bed is so minimal, I don't think it actually does anything.

A little soapboxy of me, but I guess I don't understand the rush to start kids on solids. It's so much easier and less fuss when you're just breastfeeding or doing bottles. I think that one of the reasons that kids have so many more allergies is that they're starting soilds a lot sooner than their bodies are ready for them. But hey, that's just me. You'll get a different opinion from everyone you ask :)

I fed rice cereal mixed with formula to my babies starting at 6 weeks. The first one is 14 now (they recommended 6 weeks back then). The second one is going on 2 years. There was no bad effects that I could tell, but probably depends on the baby.

At the risk of raising the ire of the anti-cereal stance, I gave both of my kids a small amount of cereal in their bottles around 10 weeks. Both of my kids are big and just formula didn't seem to satisfy them long enough. And they are 4 and 2 years old now and haven't suffered any long term effects.

However, if you are doing it to get the baby to sleep longer, it may or might not work. There really is no "secret" to getting a baby to sleep longer. Some do, some don't. As the mother of two babies who were lousy sleepers the first year, I can tell you that they were sleeping all night by the time they were 15-18 months. I know that may seem like a long time away to you right now. But it goes by so quickly. As your baby girl gets older and bigger, and can eat more at a time, she will no longer wake up several times a night to eat.

But no matter what, please keep in mind that whether your baby sleeps through the night at an early age or not, it is not a reflection on how good of a mother you are.

Don't give your newborn rice cereal. It actually raises the risk of S.I.D.S. My daughter started getting cereal when she could hold her head up and roll. She was early with that so it was 3 months. I didn't wait until 4 months because she was hungry. The formula was not enough for her. If you do it before the doctors recommend, wait until 12 weeks.

My 3 1/2 month old son is in the process of being tested for reflux and until all of the test results are in his doctor has me putting rice cereal in his formula. Every baby is different but it is not making him sleep any longer at night. I started giving my older son cerealy around 6 months hoping that he would finally start sleeping through the night and it didn't work with him either. They both sleep/slept longer after having cereal by an hour or two but not through the night.

Hey M.!

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Babies stomachs are so small & sensitive at a young age, it could actually be harmful to do that (formula, with all the iron, is hard enough on a baby's stomach). I'm sure other people have done it without issue, but I wouldn't take the chance. It could cause stomach problems, constipation, etc. - all of which will likely disrupt a good night's sleep. Also - there is really no nutritional value in rice cereal, so it's just dumping empty calories into your child in the hopes of them maybe sleeping a bit longer.

Most kids sleep reasonably well at night by 4 months or so anyway, so it doesn't seem worth the risk to me. Personally, I would try other methods to get them to sleep longer - co-sleeping, consistent bedtime routine, soothers (pacifier or something like that) etc.

I may not have a very popular perspective, but maybe it will give you a different opinion at the very least.

Good luck!
J.
(mom to Chase - 3)

Moms are full of advice but most of the time they are not up-to-date on the current research and things have come a long way. We (in our family) used to jump around in the car and there was no such thing as booster seats for older kids. We all turned out fine but people just don't do that now. When to start an infant on solids tends to be a pretty controversial topic on a lot of message boards etc.

Everyone has already outlined the reasons. For me, the main reason for waiting is that I wouldn't want my baby filling up on anything other than breast milk (or formula). It's not a proven fact that a baby will sleep longer if you start solids earlier. It's not recommended for reasons already outlined. They need to fill up on breastmilk or formula. They need the nutrients in it and they need the fat for brain development. Rice cereal would be a filler. Just not a good thing to rush into, in my opinion. I woke up with my daughter every 2 hours for a long time and it is hard, but it will get better.

I am having a baby this summer and the earliest I will start cereal is 4 months and I will possibly wait longer than that.

I waited until my son was 4 months old- he went from waking up eery 3-4 hours, to waking up every 2. They say it fills them up more so they sleep longer, but it also increases their appetite (just like you- you eat a lot, it stretches out your stomach and makes you hungrier. You don't eat much- your stomach shrinks and you get less hungry.) My son wanted to eat more often after starting solids- it was hard to go frm sleeping 3-4 hors at a time to only 2. I don't recommend it, for the same rasons given by everyone else. Put your babies health first- you will miss this stage when it is over, it actually goes really fast, before you know it you will have a toddler sleeping thrugh the night. You will miss the bonding you do during those nighttime feedings. Enjoy it while you can, even it it leaves you tired. It is such a small period of your childs life- use it to ive her the best start you can.

First dont be too concerned about how she doesnt sleep all night, most babies dont start sleepingthrew the night till 9 months. Second I agree with Mandy P. I have two children both had acid reflux so they were on Infamil AR, obviously for different reasons than what you are looking for it to do. I do think that it is a safer way to have rice in there bottle then to put it there yourself. Rice is also something that you start when your daughter is more like 5 or six months old. My mom did daycare for a little boy whose mother did the rice in the bottle and it was hard to watch him try to eat the bottle, he had to work so very hard to suck the bottle with rice in it. To me its a no brainer, I would defintly try the formula with added rice before ever doing that. I think that we live in a society that expects new babies to sleep the same schedule as the parents and it has become to convienent to just do whatever it takes to get that. Not at all saying you are, just think you should use formula with rice that was designed for a baby to suck threw a bottle then to put rice thats not made for that purpose in there. Good Luck

I do'nt dig the whole 'big baby' argument either. My oldest was 8 1/2 lbs, my youngest 9lbs, and both wre only breastmilk, and very satisfied on it, until 6 months old. They were very big hungry boys and breastmilk was all they needed.

And my oldest slept 6-8 hours from 4 weeks, my youngest didn't sleep more than 4 hours unti lhe was about 8 months old. Every baby is different and really introducing solids too early can be risky, and its not worth it. Really would a little bit of mushy dehydrated rice make you sleep longer at night? Not so much.

Nurse your baby when she is hungry, enjoy these first few months, they pass way too quickly. She will sleep longer soon, just give it time, she is very very young.

There is a formula out there that is called Enfamil AR (added rice). It is generally used to help keep formula down in the stomach to prevent spit up during sleep. I used it on my twin girls starting around 2months - suggested by my ped. the formula is broken down to an extent so it isn't h*** o* the stomach unlike normal rice cereal added to formula. I gave it to them for their last feeding. They are now 6mo and are doing just fine. I think this formula is a great way to give cereal if you decide to. My girls did sleep through the night since they were just before 2 months (after the rice formula) but I am sure it definetly had more to do with how much they ate during the day and how easily they were able to comfort themselves when they woke up at night and were able to get themselves back to sleep. Good Luck. But remember babies don't usually sleep through the night until 6 months (average), so if it doesn't work, it is naturally normal and eventually you will get your sleep. My first who is now 19mo didn't sleep through the night till he was 9mo - and that wasn't even consistent.

Our dr. told us we could start cereal at 4 mos. because our son was so small and was waking up every 2 hours to eat. We tried it, and he still woke up every 2 hours to eat! He is now 11 months and we are finally down to one feeding per night, despite lots of solid foods during the day. So don't base your decision on hoping that the cereal will help baby sleep more!

doctors are against it for a reason. Babies tummies cannot handle the cereal until about that age. Its relativly new research. that is why. and it is NO garuntee that they will sleep better eating cereal. My didn't. no change at all to be honest...and i wait until 5 months to introduce rice cereal. And my son was born 9lbs 4 oz. You should really listen to your doctors before your mother

Both my son and my daughter were very good eaters they were eating out of 8oz bottles by three weeks old. So I put them on plain cereal mixed very thin with formula (or breast milk) and fed it to them in a feeder bottle which you can find and most stores that carry baby stuff. They usually had it twice a day in the morning and than at in the evening.

I really thought about doing this with my little guy because he slept so poorly. Once we did start feeding solids at 5 months, he didn't sleep through the night better anyway!
I did read something about why it's good to wait until 4-6 months, though. I read that the little alvioli-like things in the gut are spread apart in young babies. Giving them solid foods before they close up around 4-6 months can cause some intestinal problems later in life. Found this, that may explain it better http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp. I have an intestinal disease (crohn's) so thought it was worth it to wait for my little guy. There are so many diseases out there that no one know what causes them.
Waking at night is tough, but it's just part of the deal. At 4 months, you may be able to sleep train your baby to wake up only a couple of times for milk.
Best of luck.
:) M.

With my first son the doctor put him on cereal at his 6 week check up because he was drinking a bottle to frequently. I would check with the doctor just to make sure it is ok.

i agree with the other post...wait to give cereal until at least 4 months.

i gave my daughter rice cereal at bed time at around 6- 8 weeks at bed time. she did seem to sleep better. i mixed it with formula so it was fairly runny and the held her on my lap and spooned small bites in to her mouth she swallowed it just fine after a few bites and a bottle she would sleep for the night. i say it is really up to what ur gut tells u. try it if u want and if it doesnt work u can stop. i later told my doctor about it and he wasnt that upset as long as she can kinda get the pushing it back in her mouth with her tongue part she will do good. good luck i hope u find something that works

my sister inlaw advised me to feed my infant cereal as well. her kids all sleep through the night with in two weeks of age. lucky her hee hee. my first has always had problems with sleeping. I tryed what she advised and it did help. i breastfeed my second so i would just put him in bed with us till he was full again. It does help to feed your infants cereal before bed because it fills there tummys up so they arent woken up with hunger to early. the reason most doctors want you to wait is because of the nutrishion in breastmilk/formula. I wouldnt get all worried about it. Do what you feels good for you and your baby.

Whether or not to start cereal is really up to you, but please don't expect it to help your baby sleep through the night! Also, be SURE you do the research (no offense to your mom, I know our moms have some awesome advice) before you go ahead and do this. Our doctor told us never to put cereal in a bottle, to wait until he was ready to eat from a spoon. I stuck it out and exclusively breastfed until almost 6 months. My son is 9 months, eats all kinds of solids, and he doesn't sleep through the night. lol some babies are just better sleepers than others. Do the research, trust yourself, and good luck getting some sleep!

I followed my pediatrician's recommendation with both of my kids, who are now 7.5 and 12. I tend to believe the pros rather than old wives tales. Getting your children on track with good healthy eating is hard work at times, but it pays off as they get older. I have kids who love fruit, vegies, salads, milk and water. That doesn't mean they don't get junk sometimes. Bottom line - I would listen to your doctor.

I was putting rice cereal in my daughter's formula from 3 weeks of age. She just wasn't filling up. I always put a small spoonful in for each 2 ounces of formula. This helped a great deal. I know many doctors don't agree with this and some follow the strict regime of starting at 4-6 months. My doctor didn't really agree or disagree with me at all.

My mom said my brother (born in 1973) was given cereal in the hospital. Times have changed. You have to do what you think is best and to me feeding my child seemed the better thing to do.

My girls were both started on vegetables by 3 1/2 months too and did very well.

Hi M.,
I'm going to be the one who is "Pro Rice Cereal." Someone metioned this to me. She told me to put 1-2tbsp directly into the bottle. If you're breastfeeding, perhaps pump a bottle to be used right before bed. I did this with both of my children but did it the feeding before the bedtime feeing (if that makes any sense). Mostly because I wanted the bedtime feeding to be breast fed. However, I only added 1 tbsp to their bedtime bottle (which was about 6-8 ounces). You have to shake it up very good so it dissolves. I never spoon fed this to them until they were 4 months, mostly because of the gag reflex issue. I had success. Good Luck to you!

The idea behind waiting until 6 months to be fully into solids is for 2 big reasons: #1 it takes up room in their tummy that should be devoted to the whole food of breastmilk (or formula if you are using this instead). Rice cereal is a filler meant to get babie started on solids and to mix with vegetables and fruits. Your baby will not get all the nutrients they need because they will be more full of of this. #2, They have a gag reflex that will push it out until they are really ready for it. I did it here and there for my daughter but it would just shoot right out until about 6 1/2 months.

Hi M.,

It's always so hard to know what to make of advice, especially since it changes so much with time. I checked with my husband (who is a pediatrician), and he said that the reason they recommend waiting until 4-6 mos is that the real young babies have very tiny stomachs, and if you give them rice cereal, you're filling them up with something that doesn't fully meet their nutritional needs as breastmilk or formula would. So the risk is that giving them some rice cereal can make it harder for them to meet their daily nutritional needs. That said, as some other posters have mentioned, they do give some babies formula with rice cereal if the babies have severe reflux. So you can do it if you have to, but if you don't have to, it's probably better to wait.

And a personal anecdote: We tried giving our baby rice cereal before bed around 5 1/2 months. He had been sleeping a good 6-8 hours at a stretch, but that night he woke up every 2 hours! I doubt that the rice cereal made him wake up so much, but at the very least, it didn't make him sleep through the night...

Good luck with your decision, and congratulations on the birth of your baby girl!

Your doctor went to medical school for years to study (among other things) the effects of different foods on children and their systems. Your mom might seem all knowing, but do you feel all knowing? Kids don't come with a manual, so your mom is just using trial and error just like you. She got successful results on a couple kids. Doctors have studies over decades and with thousands of kids. Who sounds like they know better now?

I would advise talking to your ped as well. I know my husband started getting cereal mixed in with his formula when he was about 2 weeks old, but that was because he was ravenous and was just sucking down bottles and screaming for more.

I feed both my children cereal at a very young age. Each child is different. Becareful with rice as it tends to bind them up and then they have no BM. This is just my feelings feed them a little oatmeal cereal before bed and it really helps.

My mother told me the same thing when, my now 8month old son, was only 8 weeks old. So I called our nurse line and she said while they don't typically recommend it it's not going to hurt anything. So we did needless to say not much was actually consumed but he did start sleeping. Nine hour stretch before he woke up to nurse the back to sleep for about 3 more hours. So mom was right. Good luck