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Our Brand New ACCELERATED Fat Loss Diet!My baby will be 4 months old this Saturday and I was wondering when it's ok for me to start him on rice cereal. I tried once mix the rice cereal with formula like it said on the box but he couldn't ever get anything out of the bottle because of the clumps of cereal. I was just wondering when it would be ok for me to start him on a thicker form of the rice cereal and try it on a spoon. We don't take him back to the doctor for about 2 more weeks. I guess I could just wait until then to find out what the doctor thinks. I was just wondering what other people did or did other people put their babies on other foods during this time? It's just that I feed him about 6 ounces ever 3 hours right now and a lot of times he'll be hungry every 2 but I can bump up the amount of formula each time because then he just spits up so I'm not sure what I should do.
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21 responses so far ↓
1 JJ123 // Jun 27, 2008
Well first of all, you shouldn't put cereal in a bottle. You should always feed with a spoon. If he's not ready for a spoon, then he's not ready for cereal. You should always check with your doc b4 starting solids, but I started my daughter on rice cereal at 4 months. We started veggies at 5 1/2 months, then fruits, then meats. My daughter wasn't too keen on the rice cereal tho, so her doc suggested trying oatmeal and she loved it. But I wouldn't definitely try the rice first.
2 lesmith // Jun 27, 2008
I started my baby on rice cereal at 4 months but only after my doctor ok-ed it. He was ready b/c he has great head control and was no longer totally satisifed with milk and appeared interested when my husband I were eating. I always recommend the spoon over putting it in the bottle.
3 Tam // Jun 27, 2008
You can start him on rice cereal if you want to. I wouldn't make it to thick because it could be a choking hazard with a baby just starting solids. I started my daughter on rice cereal at 5 months old.
4 kansas chick // Jun 27, 2008
Most drs say wait till after 5 months to start food i put cereal in my sons bottle i bought the special nipples that are X cut they work great some drs are against giving it in the bottle i would wait till you take him back to the dr it is just 2 more weeks
5 imissmynewgrandaughter // Jun 27, 2008
My Dr had me start the kids on rice cereal at two weeks. They ate it off a baby spoon, not from a bottle! You made it WAY to thick when you tried. Dr's now days say wait til 6 months, I think that's just silly. Like I said all three of mine were started at 2 weeks and never had any digestive problems or allergies!
6 HappilyAlbertan // Jun 27, 2008
7 mystic_eye_cda // Jun 27, 2008
All mammals are protected by the same thing -they can't physically eat food until they are physiologically ready to digest it. For humans this means picking up the food, placing it in their mouth, gumming it, moving it back with their tongue, and swallowing it. The most obvious of course it the tongue thrust that newborns have -this reflex actively keeps food out of their body until they can digest it. But the other steps all have safeguards as well.
For healthy, full term infants the ability to eat food develops around 6-9 months. In recent years there have been numerous studies looking at the risks of certain things (allergies, asthma, anemia, etc) in relation to when solids are started and almost all have shown that the lowest risks are when solids are started between 6-9 months.
However it should also be noted that babies with allergies may refuse solids for up to a year, and that breastmilk is nutritionally complete for at least the first year of life despite earlier statements that it is not. An unpleasant feeling in the mouth is often a first sign of allergy and may cause babies to spit out rather than swallow allergenic foods. This is a very useful safeguard that should not be overridden.
http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html
During the previous generation or two, when bottle-feeding became very popular, rice cereal was often put into the bottle at a very early age. What were the results?
Most children seemed to thrive. A small number of children, though, did not tolerate the addition, because their sucking and swallowing actions were not yet fully coordinated. They inhaled small amounts of the rice cereal into their lungs, which led to pulmonary problems.
I’m much more concerned about a subtler issue. Babies are born with a wonderful mechanism for knowing how much food they need. During the early months, they take their cues from the volume of what they drink. Adding cereal derails this mechanism. It forces them to take in deceptively large amounts of calories. It teaches them to overeat.
By starting with a spoon, resting between bites, and stopping when your child lets you know he’s full, you will be laying an excellent foundation for good eating habits throughout his life.
A major study looking for the causes of obesity found that short-circuiting young children’s self-regulation of how much they eat is a major cause of later obesity.1 Cereal in the bottle does just that.
Babies that are fed this way may appear to be unaffected – but those few weeks of added convenience may result in a lifetime of struggles with weight. This common practice may have contributed to our being the most obese generation in history.
And it doesn’t even work. Scientists at the Cleveland Clinic studied the effect of cereal on sleep and found that adding the cereal did nothing at all to speed up the age of sleeping through the night. That first uninterrupted 6-hour stretch of sleep came no earlier in those who took cereal early.2
People swear otherwise. I suspect the reason is that kids do fall asleep a bit more quickly, and some babies may even go a bit longer between feedings. There is no scientific evidence, though, to support the claim that cereal in the bottle will help an infant increase total sleep or decrease crying.3
Drawing on the wisdom of experience and the latest scientific knowledge, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against adding cereal to the bottle. It may be tempting after your 16th straight sleep-deprived night to cut a bigger hole in the feeding nipple to add rice cereal. But it won’t offer lasting help, and it may be giving your baby a lasting gift that both of you will regret.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids...
The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):
* World Health Organization
* UNICEF
* US Department of Health & Human Services
* American Academy of Pediatrics
* American Academy of Family Physicians
* American Dietetic Association
* Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
* Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
* Health Canada
Why Delay Solids?
http://kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/del...
http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/fit18.asp
No, you should wait until he is six months old, unless he is not gaining weight and your doctor advises you to start earlier. This subject keeps coming up, and the answer is still the same: the current recommendations (I didn’t make these up) are to wait until six months before starting solids. Starting foods too early can result in digestive or allergy problems later in life. We have learned that the old guidelines of 4 months are just too soon, and I am willing to bet that in ten years we will be recommending later than 6 months. But for now, the six month guideline seems reasonable. Click here, or here, to read previous FAQ's on starting solids or learn more by reading our Starting Solid Foods article.
WHY WAIT? 6 REASONS
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032000...
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintro...
It appears that a baby's general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it.
Pureed baby food is 'unnatural'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/676279...
She said children should be fed only with breast or formula milk for six months, then weaned onto solids to improve control over how much they ate.
This could prevent babies becoming picky about food.
[...]
Solids best
After six months, Mrs Rapley said babies were capable of taking food into their mouths and chewing it.
Therefore, feeding them pureed food at this time could delay the development of chewing skills.
Instead, she said, they should be given milk and solid pieces of food which they could chew.
Mrs Rapley argued that babies fed pureed food had little control over how much food they ate, thus rendering them vulnerable to constipation, and running a risk that they would react by becoming fussy eaters later in life.
She blamed the food industry for convincing parents that they should give children pureed food.
She said: "Sound scientific research and government advice now agree that there is no longer any window of a baby's development in which they need something more than milk and less than solids."
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintro...
The babies who participated in the research were allowed to begin at four months. But they were not able to feed themselves before six months. Some of the younger babies picked food up and took it to their mouths; some even chewed it, but none swallowed it. Their own development decided for them when the time was right. Part of the reason for this study was to show (based on a theory of self-feeding) that babies are not ready for solid food before six months. It seems that we have spent all these years working out that six months is the right age and babies have known it all along!
It seems reasonable to predict that if parents choose to provide babies with the opportunity to pick up and eat solid food from birth they will still not be able to do it until around six months. The principle is the same as putting a newborn baby on the floor to play: he is being provided with the opportunity to walk but will not do so until about one year – because his own development stops him. But: everything depends on the baby being in control. Food must not be put into his mouth for him. Since it is very tempting to do this, it is probably safer to recommend that babies should not be given the opportunity to eat solid food before six months.
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintro...
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have learnt to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get the food into his mouth in the first place. On the other hand, the action used to suck food off a spoon tends to take the food straight to the back of the mouth, causing the baby to gag. This means that spoon feeding has its own potential to lead to choking – and makes one wonder about the safety of giving lumpy foods off a spoon.
Why not cereal?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9646449/page...
Take rice cereal, for example. Under conventional American wisdom, it's the best first food. But Butte says iron-rich meat — often one of the last foods American parents introduce — would be a better choice.
Dr. David Ludwig of Children's Hospital Boston, a specialist in pediatric nutrition, says some studies suggest rice and other highly processed grain cereals actually could be among the worst foods for infants.
"These foods are in a certain sense no different from adding sugar to formula. They digest very rapidly in the body into sugar, raising blood sugar and insulin levels" and could contribute to later health problems, including obesity, he says.
The lack of variety in the American approach also could be a problem. Exposing infants to more foods may help them adapt to different foods later, which Ludwig says may be key to getting older children to eat healthier.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids...
Cereal is not at all necessary, particularly the baby cereals. Regular (whole grain) oatmeal is more nutritious for your baby.
http://www.askdrsear
8 lillilou // Jun 27, 2008
They say 6 months, becuase biologically it takes that long for the digestive system to develop. So its not really based on hunger. While some babies do develop biological things faster, like get teeth, I know that when I eat too much, like a big steak, its hard on my digestive system, and I feel miserable.
9 sizesmith // Jun 27, 2008
The nurse at the nutritional courses say 6 months old. My first son (now age 19), was hungry and I put a teaspoon of cereal in each bottle, which was enough to "stick to his ribs". My 2nd son (now age 9 months) I started at a few days short of 5 months, sitting in a high chair in a semi-reclined position, and did it on a spoon. The safe thing to do is wait until they are old enough to eat the cereal off a spoon. At first they will make faces, but keep trying. Mixing it thin, with a little formula instead of water makes the taste more like his/her formula, therefore it will taste more "normal" to them. It sounds like your baby is ready for cereal, based on my mothering, and working at a daycare that had 72 kids in it below the age of 5. And, BTW, my youngest son slept through the night for the first time the day we fed him cereal, yeah!!!!!
10 ♥Sweet Cheeks♥ // Jun 27, 2008
You need to mix it really well and get a bigger sized nipple so it can flow out of the bottle a little bit easier.
11 Pippin // Jun 27, 2008
4 months is the absolute earliest to even consider starting solids, and unless baby clearly needs more than her milk (is nursing VERY often and is not satisfied, or is drinking more than 40-50 ounces of formula a day — and is also physiologically ready for solids [can sit up well with support and eat from a spoon]), I would wait until closer to 6 months, which is the usual recommendation.
If you do opt to start now (or whenever you start) you ALWAYS feed it with a spoon, from a bowl. You do not give solid foods from a bottle at all. (I'm sure you misread the box if you thought it said to put in in the bottle.) If baby can't eat from a spoon (if he pushes the spoon out with his tongue, or spits the food out) he isn't ready for solids, and you should stop for a couple of weeks.
When you start solids, it doesn't matter what you start with. You can give rice cereal (mixed fairly thick in a bowl — if it has to be soupy, baby isn't ready) if it's convenient and baby likes it. You could also start with oatmeal or barley, or with jarred food. If you wait until 6-7 months, you can often start with table foods. Rice cereal is a traditional first food, but there is no medical or nutrtional reason you have to start with it. It's no easier to digest or less allergenic than peas or peaches. (It became a standard 'first food' back when most babies were fed home-made formula, and so needed the iron in the cereal — and when most babies were started very young, so the watery cereal could be force-fed to a baby who wasn't really ready for solids. Today, most babies get commercial formula or breastmilk, which contains ample iron. And a baby old enough to eat, and need solids, can eat foods with more taste and texture.)
12 gotoyourroomnow // Jun 27, 2008
First of all, don't put rice cereal in a bottle! It goes in a bowl. You mix it with formula or breast milk (or water) until it is nice and watery. Then you sit the baby up and give a small spoonful to him with a baby spoon. This is food, remember - not a drink! He WILL spit it back at you at first, because he is learning the new motion of moving food with his tongue to the back of his throat. But he will get it with practice.
Also, 4 months is okay to begin feeding cereal, but it sounds like your baby is getting plenty of milk already! Be sure you are not overfeeding him. Sometimes spitting up is from reflux, but sometimes it is from overfeeding. Ask your doctor about it when you go.
I have four children and started them all on rice cereal between 5-6 months. There's no rush to start solid foods. It's often more for mom's convenience than baby's need!
Good luck to you!
13 honeybsong // Jun 27, 2008
My oldest son was like this. I felt he was ready for a little rice cereal at 4 months because he had an appetite like your baby's! I know that doctors don't recommend putting the cereal in a bottle, so what I did was made the formula/rice cereal mixture (which at first was mostly liquid), and still fed it to him with a spoon anyways. That way he was able to get used to a spoon, but I didn't need to put it in a bottle. Of course, it was like soup it was so thinned with the formula, but as he got used to it and the spoon, I could make it a little thicker, and a little thicker, until he was able to eat the thicker rice cereal well. The trick is to feed them the rice cereal maybe after his bottle or before you know he will be hungry so that way he will be willing to be patient with you feeding him with the spoon, and give him time to get used to it. Hope that helps!
14 jazzygram // Jun 27, 2008
i think you should wait and talk to you doctor,he or she will advise you on the start date some babys could have food allergys, as for cereal being thick and clumpy ,, add more formula to thin down, hope this helps ,,
15 Bradys Mommy // Jun 27, 2008
I had to start my son at two months. I had to put it in a bottle, butput a fast flow nipple on it. The doctor said it was fine, I also started my son on solids at 3 months. The doctor said that was fine to. Try mixing the cereal with alot of formula and give it to him with a small baby spoon. If your worried call your doctor I am sure he will tell you that its ok.
16 Emmas_mommy // Jun 27, 2008
It won't hurt him at all.. I've been putting rice cereal in my daugters' bottle since about 6 weeks. Milk didn't get her full, and I wasn't going to let her starve! I make 6 oz. of formula, and use the same scooper and put 3 scoops.. 2 oz.= 1 scoop. It thinkens it up but is still soupy for them to drink. And make sure you take a knife and make 2 little slits in the nipple so he can get it out. Stick the knife where the hole is and cut a 90 degree angle, so it looks like _|
He'll get full, not be so grouchy from being hungry, and sleep a lot better!
You can also try giving him a little jar of baby fruits through a feeder. Fruits aren't as harsh as the actual foods.
17 jen // Jun 27, 2008
Cereal is ok to start around 4 months. It sounds like he may be ready. If you want to do it through the bottle you'll need to by nipples with bigger hole to allow the cereal to come through. You can just spoon feed him–it'll be messy and take awhile in the beginning, but he'll soon get the hang of it.
Also, I use to mix cereal with the fruit and veges–made it a little thicker and a little easier to keep the food in the mouth rather than dripping dow her face.
18 rainwriterm // Jun 27, 2008
Your baby sounds normal and healthy, which means that he doesn't need rice cereal. Yes, it's bland, so it won't kill him, but he is eating well and growing well, which means there is no reason to give it. It's fine that he is eating 6 ounces every 3 hours. Most big babies do the same. It doesn't mean that he needs cereal. Hunger is a sign of needing nutrition, which rice cereal isn't.
Wait until he is able to self feed and then let him eat. There's no reason a healthy baby should be started on solids before then.
19 Lucians Mommy // Jun 27, 2008
That is a really good question. It is so difficule these days…you hear so many different opinions…rules…there is almost TOO much information available to all of us new parents…I think it can be overwhelming.
Sooo, much has changed over the years. I was born in the 70's and my parents…as well as my husbands (70's baby too)…started us on rice cereal in the bottle at a few weeks old. It was just the thing to do…they were told to take a sterilized needle and stick it through a regular nipple to widen the hole. We have heard about that from our parents (all 4 sets..bith parents divorced and remarried) since the day he was born. He was 10.2 and 22" at birth…April 4th of this year.
Today…they do not recommend starting cereals until 4-6 months of age because of possible allergies…or predisposing your child to allergies. You baby is old enough though. My son is 11 weeks old (today) and already weighs 15.8 pounds and is 26 inches long…my pediatrician said we would address cereal at his TWO month visit…which will actuall be at the end of the month when he is THREE months old.. Right now he is eating 38-44 ounces of formula a day. We started (the other day) giving him some rice cereal (a little with a spoon and a little in the bottle, mixed according to the package 1 TBSP cereal to 5 TBSP formula) just before bed. It doesn't seem to be filling him up anymore though…so we will continue that regimen until his visit.
My advice…make a quick call to your doctor or pediatrician. They get calls every day…that is part of what your payment goes to when you are in the office…two weeks is a long time to wait if your little one is so hungry. It sounds to me like he is ready…but double check with your ped.
Good Luck
20 wifeymommy // Jun 27, 2008
I have 6 kids. EVERY one of them were on rice cereal in a bottle with formula.
Just a couple of tablespoons mix it up WELL. Use a wider nipple. Squeeze it to make sure he can get something out of it.
If he can't get anything out of it it will make him more mad than he already is!!
21 andrews mommy // Jun 27, 2008
you can try it. if he is showing some signs of being ready:
Age: 4 to 6 months
Signs of readiness for solid food
Your baby probably won't do all these things — they're just clues to watch for.
• Can hold head up
• Sits well in highchair
• Makes chewing motions
• Shows significant weight gain (birth weight has doubled)
• Shows interest in food
• Can close mouth around a spoon
• Can move food from front to back of mouth
• Can move tongue back and forth, but is losing tendency to push food out with tongue
• Seems hungry after 8 to 10 feedings of breast milk or 40 oz. of formula in a day
• Is teething
What to feed
• Breast milk or formula, PLUS
• Semi-liquid iron-fortified rice cereal, THEN
• Other grain cereals like oats or barley
How much per day
• Begin with about 1 teaspoon dry rice cereal mixed with 4 to 5 teaspoons breast milk or formula (it'll be very runny).
• Gradually thicken consistency and increase to 1 tablespoon dry cereal mixed with breast milk or formula, twice a day.
Feeding tips
• If your baby won't eat the cereal on the first try, offer it again in a few days.
I tried giving my son rice cereal at four months, and he hated it. no matter how i gave it to him (in his bottle or off a spoon) so i skipped rice cereal and started him on stage one baby food at 4 months old
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