Best Way to Start Rice Cereal

Try mixing it with formula or breast milk instead of water. I also mixed in some baby food banannas and pears. My daughter loved it.

Actually, the box of cereal will have recommendations on this. Don't put it in a bottle. I always made it just thick enough to stay on the spoon (you'll have to play with different amounts of water and cereal to get the right consistency). Start with adding rice to one meal a day (which ever one is most convenient for you). Every 3 days add it to another meal until she's getting it 3 times a day. I always fed solids after the bottle. She'll likely suck it off the spoon at first, and push it out of her mouth with her tongue, but after a few days she should get the hang of it.
Be sure to add enough time to your morning routine for this! It's a MESS and takes longer than a bottle. You don't want to start being late for work!

i would definitely talk to your daughter's doctor and get his/her opinion on the whole thing (if you haven't already). our pediatrition said to start with one meal a day and in the morning so you can see if your daughter has any negative reactions to the cereal. i just followed the directions on the box as to how much to give her. once your daughter gets accustom to eating (this took a little while), you could add in another feeding if you want. lastly, my daughter would eat the rice cereal when it was made with breastmilk but would cry and refuse to eat any made just with water.
good luck! i bet you'll get a lot of responses on this question!

My doctor told me that solids should be like "dessert". So I would breastfeed my daughter, and then add pumped breastmilk to the rice cereal. He told me to start out with the rice cereal being like soup, and as she got used to eating off a spoon then I would slowly thicken it until it was like oatmeal.

It was very messy at first as she had to get used to using her tongue to push the food to the back of her mouth to swallow, but it didn't take too long for her to figure it out!

I waited until she was six months old to start feeding her the rice cereal, but I had friends that started it sooner.
Before she was six months old, I would breastfeed her on both sides, and then if she still seemed hungry, I would make a bottle of pumped milk or formula. She would go through growth spurts for a few weeks and surprise me with how much she would drink! But then she would taper back off.

well Olivia's Dr. said that it was ok to add a little cereal to formula or your breast milk. start with a little than you can move up. if she dosent like it than you can also mix it with baby jucie. i put only a couple tea spoons of it at first than graduly build it up to what i would consider a cereal texture.My Dr. also said that she should start it at 6 months. im not sure about 4 months but i dont think it would hurt her. My nephew was put on cereal around 4 months so it should be ok. Just remember to ask her Dr. They say its best to try new thing during the day so befor she goes down for a nap in the afternoon you should try it. Oh and they make feeding bottles for cereal so it shouldnt be that hard for her to except it. Good luck with every thing and i hope this helped.

I would wait on the cereal. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not rec starting "solids" until 6 mos. I had the same problem, as my son was huge and was still hungry. I would breast feed, then offer him a bottle right after. That way, he ate until he was satiated. DONT make the same mistake as I did though..... The more I supplimented, the less time spent at the breast right? That means you have to pump more, or your milk supply will dwindle... I never got mine back fully. Lactating is a supply and demand issue, the less you nurse, the less milk you make... SO pump more if you nurse less. I wish someone had pointed that out to me because I "dried up" way too soon!
Good luck!

How much is easy. Just mix up about a tablespoon or so with breastmilk and let her eat all that she wants after she has had her bottle. You'll lots of mixed opinions about giving it with the spoon or in the bottle, which we found very confusing. We decided to let the baby decide. We gave her the benefit of the doubt and started with the spoon. If that had been too much for her we would have probably tried bottle, but our little angel loved eating out of the spoon. Make sure to get the tiny little rubber covered spoon to cover her mouth. She can eat it twice a day after her bottles. Also, make sure to increase her milk/formula supply and let her take what she wants.

First she could be going through a growing stage. You may need to feed more often for a few days. The 3oz at a pumping sounds like a lot to me. Especialy if you have just fed your little one. Keep breast feeding the more you feed the more milk you will make. Also the new thoughts for breastfed babies and rice cereal is the longer you wait the better for mom's milk supply. So do not be in a rush. Try and wait until month six or seven. Once you start cereal use the best cereal. Healthy Times brown rice cereal.