When Is It Time to Feed Your Baby Rice Cereal?

Hello A.---I am a mother of 2 girls one is 6 and the other is 8 months. Both of my girls started cereal very very young. My 6 year old was 4 weeks and my 8 month old was 2 weeks. I think that it is BEST to give her the cereal out of a spoon not really thick, b/c when she gets full she will not eat anymore, and if taking it from a bottle she will drink until it is gone or until she falls asleep. Feeding from a spoon she will not get really really fat.......my 8 month old will not even eat baby food anymore. When I go to open it she starts crying........she wants real food

I started giving my daughter cereal when she was about two weeks because she spit up a lot. I only started her out with a teaspoon but it really helped. It had no negative side effects on her. It also made her feel so much better

Hey A.. I am new to this group. I started my baby boy on rice cereal when he was 2 months. His Pediatrican recomended it for his spitting up. One tablespoon for every ounce. It might not come through the bottle good. I just poked a little hole in the nipple. A little hole just big enough for it to come through.

Our ped. let us put Brittany on Rice Cereal at 4 months. Just try it a couple of times. If she doesn't learn quickly to not push the food out of her mouth then she may not be ready. If she has a cold or congestion then wait to start solids till she's better. You probably should wait until her 4 month check-up just to verify with her doctor that its okay to start. See if she'll hold more milk in one sitting and maybe she wont need to eat so often. Our doctor told us if she is eating more than 30oz/24hrs then its time for solids.

Happy Feeding!

I had my baby a month early and he couldnt keep his milk down so the doc told me to put 1 tsp per oz of milk in his bott and that helped alot and also he started sleepin all night at 2 months.. Good luck..

Well With my first child, I waited I believe until she was 4 mths, then with my middle one it was a couple days old, and then with my 3rd one I waited till 2 weeks..Rice cereal dont really bother them, or from my exp. it didnt bother them.. 5 oz every 2 hrs is alot for a 4 mth old. I can see 5 oz every 3-4 hrs even, but more than likely the baby is wanting something more so, she pretty much stays hungary,, Good luck to u!

I got permission to feed my daughter rice cereal at 2 weeks because i was nursing her and she would drain my milk and still be hungry.It is best to ask your babys doctor.Some recommend it at 4 months some dont want you to do it till 6 months.

My pediatrician told me not to start cereal until 6 months. However, my daughter had really bad reflux and some experienced moms told me that the more solid formula/cereal mix could help keep the formula down better than just plain formula. I started giving her just a tiny bit of cereal in her bottle at about 3 months and bumped it up a bit at a time about every 2 weeks until it was cereal consistency. At 4 months she is not going to be able to eat off a spoon but you could add just a bit to her bottle to start out. When you get it to a consistency that it's too thick to come through the bottle nipple you can either try feeding with a spoon or with an infa-feeder but don't use the infa-feeder for too much past 6 months or you will have to fight her to eat with a spoon. good luck!

Hello~ I have 2 young boys and I started feeding them cereal around 4 months. They are both healthy and doing fine. I think you should feel it out, you know her the best. If she is always super hungry then start at 4 months. If not you can wait. But dont wait too long (past 6 months). Remember also they have a growth spurt around 6 months so that causes then to be really hungry also.Good luck~C.

Hi, A.
I was like you. First time mom and all. Reading everything listening to everyones advice etc.... When I had my son Sept 2005. He was 5 days old and we had to take him to the emergency room. Sacred Heart childrens they started mixing rice cereal with his formula to help with the problems he was having. I spoke to several dr.'s there and other places. More than not they told me that alot of moms mix their babies formula with cereal it help them sleep longer at night. So I kept mixing his food after his 4 day stay. I am trying to get him off his bottle now but when he does take it, I still mix it. If I don't, then he will not drink it. I hope this helps you.

My husband is a doctor and I am a speech therapist who specializes in feeding issues. We also have an 8 month old. We both think that 4 months is an appropriate time to start cereal. You shouldn't give it before then. Don't let the cereal fill her up, she gets her nutrition from milk. I always give my liitle girl her milk first and then cereal. Cereal really doesn't have a lot of nutrition in it. The purpose of it is to teach the baby how to eat off of a spoon, so when six months comes and it's time to get food they know what to do. Hope this helps!

MY DR RECOMMENED 4 MONTHS.. DON'T LET IT REPLACE THE NORMAL FEEDINGS THOUGH. I KNOW SOME WILL SAY NOT UNTIL6 MONTHS BUT IT IS UP TO YOUR DR. MINE SAID RIC CEREL AND FRUITS WEWRE FINE 2 TIMES DAILY.. GIVES HIM VARIETY AND HE LOVES IT

i have 2 kids one is 2 aqnd a half and the other is 11 months i started feeding both of them ceral at 4 months and they turned out just fine

Hello A.,

I gave my little girl some cereal when she was about a couple of months old. It wasn't that she was having problems she just seemed to be getting up all the time at night because she was hungry. I really didn't want to because my peditrician told me not to. I am a first time mom too and try to do everything by the book. But my mom and mother-in law told me to do it and they did it with thier kids so I tried it. It did help some. I think the big reason why they don't want you to give it so young is food allergies. I wouldn't do very much maybe a couple of teaspoons to start out with maybe in her bottle. Hope this helps. Thanks, C.

A.,

It's scary being a 1st time mom. My suggestion to you would be to ask your doctor. My ped. started my son at 3 months old with just a tsp of rice cereal in a bottle at night to help him sleep through the night. At 4 months, the milk just wasn't enough, and I started him on cereal in the morning, with dr.'s approval, of course. He really like the cereal when I mixed it with apple juice (diluted with water so the acid didn't hurt his tummy), again, only after dr. approval.

See a pattern? I always asked the dr. My mom and mother in law said it would be okay, but I didn't believe them. After all, what did they know about babies, they'd only raised 3 each...lol. Good luck. And have a very merry Christmas
K.

A.,

If your baby is hungry even drinking 5 oz of formula every 2 hours.. your baby needs to be on cereal now. I'm not trying to say you are a bad mother. That is equalent to 10 ozs in 4 hours. My oldest child, now age 4, was drinking that much at 3 wks old. Our ped was against me giving him rice cereal sooo early. But he was crying because he was hungry and wouldn't sleep very long. We put him on rice cereal when he was 3 wks old. He hasn't had any allergies to anything. My youngest, now 2 1/2 was almost the same way. I started him on rice cereal when he was 5 wks old. He was allergic to Plums/Prunes, but other than that he is healthy. Peds will tell you case book information, but if you will ask your Ped "if this is your baby, would you start him/her on rice cereal or let him go hungry?" Ped will tell you that they would feed their baby. Mine did! Just think of it this way, if you were hungry and only doctors said you could have milk, wouldn't you change to something a little more solid like apple sauce??? Thats what the rice cereal in the milk will be like. Start adding a teaspoon of cereal to each 8 oz (or 1/2 teaspoon in a 4 oz) bottle and then work her up each week. I say each week because it will give her body time to adjust to getting something solid. A teaspoon in a 8 oz bottle will not be thick enough for the nipple to be modified yet. but once you start getting it thicker, you will have to change nipples or even go to a feeder set (walmart has them in the baby section. comes with a feeder bottle and another feeder that will adjust baby to a spoon with handles to help baby learn to hold bottle.)

Good luck hun.. email (____@____.com) or message me thru here if you want to. -A., mother of 2, ages 4 and 2 1/2

That's great that the doctor gave you the go ahead. My boys were such big babies, they were having a little bit of rice cereal at 3 months. Both my sons didnt stay on it very long before I was told to go ahead with the baby food. Of course, my boys didnt like that too much and they were both eating table food at like 9 months.

Hey A.! When my kids were babies, they had trouble holding formula. Also, I tried to breast feed, but it didn't work out, even with a lactaid specialist help. Since they couldn't hold formula I had to figure out something to make it better, seein I had also tried soy formula and the other stuff (I forget what it is called) The Dr.'s I think do say don't feed them too early, but my youngest son I fed the cereal, rice and oat cereal, from almost the time he was born, and my oldest, got it from about two months, or course I thinned it with formula and I fed it through a sup cup. Neither of them had any problems. I still don't see it affected them, one being 10 and the other 7. One is skinny and the other a little chunky. So I don't think it affects their wieght when they get older either.

Hello A., I have three boys from 4 years to 10 months. I have always read ( and confirmed with the doctors) that babies should start on cereal between 4 and 6 months. Any earlier or later could cause them to have problems with allergies later in life. I have also heard from some doctors not to put cereal in the bottle, but I did have one that said it was OK. I guess that is a decision only you can make. Either way, I would check with her doctor before starting anything new for now. It can be interesting and fun when your baby starts eating more things! I wish you the best of luck, and keep doing what feels right for you and Kaylee.

G.

A.,

I am also a first time mom. I did a lot of research and also talked with my pediatrician, which I recommend that you do as well. In general, doctors say that infants should start eating solids sometime between 4-6 months of age. If you give them food before this time, they are at a greater risk of developing food allergies, plus their digestive systems are not ready before that age. You should also take a few clues from your baby. Can she sit up with assistance? This is important so that she won't get choked. Can she keep food in her mouth or does her tongue still push everything out? This is a reflex that gradually disappears, when it disappears is a sign that baby is ready for solids. Does she seem interested when you eat food? Curiosity in food is an indication that she may be ready for cereal. If you and your doctor feel that the time is right, you should probably start her out on rice cereal. Feed her from a spoon! Don't add the cereal to the bottle. Adding cereal to the bottle doesn't allow the baby to know when she is full. Mix about 1 tablespoon of the rice cereal with about 4 or 5 tablespoons of formula or breast milk. Do this once a day until you can tell if your baby is going to respond well. If she acts like she doesn't want it or isn't ready, wait a week or so and try again. Also, give only one type of single ingredient cereal for 4-5 days. This is so that you can see if she is going to have any sort of food allergy or reaction such as a rash, gassiness, ect. Doctors recommend starting with rice cereal because it is easiest to digest and less likely to cause an allergic reaction. Rice cereal can be constipating though. So, if that happens you can switch to the oatmeal cereal after about 4 days of the rice. Your baby may only eat a teaspoon or so the first few times, so don't get too discouraged. If she responds well to one feeding a day, then try bumping it up to two feedings a day. At about 6 months old, it is ok to move up to the normal baby food, beginning with the yellow vegetables, then the green vegetables, then the fruit. My little girl has just turned 6 months old, and she is eating about 2 tablespoons of oatmeal cereal at breakfast, then 2 mor at dinner along with 1/2 a container of sweet potatoes baby food. She is still drinking around 30 ounces of formula a day as well. The formula is still the most important part of a baby's diet at this age.

Good Luck!

From what I've heard, it is good to hold off on food as long as possible. But it sounds like to me that Kaylee isn't filling up on just bottles. My question to you is...is she strictly on breast milk or are you supplementing with formula?

If she is still on breast milk, try supplementing with formula first. But if she is formula fed and if she seems hungry and her bottles aren't satisfying her like they used to, then it is probably time to introduce rice cereal into her diet. I would start with adding one tsp of ceareal once a day either in her bottle or spoon and see how she tolerates it. Then go from there.

My son,who is now 15 months, started cereal at about 4 months. He had bad reflux, so it helped keep the bottles down. He, unlike my daughter, was ready for real food at an early age--we started him on solids not too long after the cereal because he was just starving.
My daughter, who is now 3 yrs, didn't have an interest in anything but the bottle until about 7 months so we started her on solids after 8 months. Neither one of my children have food allergies (that are known) and they are very very very good eaters.

I would advise you to consult your pediatrician. He can give you more tips and advice on how and how much cereal to introduce to your baby.

I hope this helps. If I can help any more. Please let me know!

If your baby is paying attention to you when youe are eating that is a really good sign that she is ready to eat. My son is 4 months old but he started cereal at about 3 months and 3 weeks. Before he started it he eat every two hours, maybe longer at night but not much. And know he goes a little longer between feedings. I just think he loves his breast milk. But you really need to go with your intuition. If you think it is time than start! Good luck!

My daughter was right at 4 months when my doctor gave us the ok to start her on cereal and stage 1 fruits and veggies. When your child starts looking at your food and wanting to eat it, it's time to start them on cereal. However do it in a high chair, don't put the cereal in her bottle ever. Using a spoon and giving them a chance to "chew" it and swallow helps them to become good eaters. It'll definitly be messy to start out with but get your camera out because it's a hoot to watch their first reactions. My daughter is now almost 8 months and is already doing finger foods. Hope this helps.

Hey A.-
I'm a first time mom as well. And we went through the roughtest parts 600 miles away from all our family. The best thing I learned is that you know what is best for your baby. I started my little girl at 4 months (actually a few days shy) with 1 tsp of rice cereal about mid-morning, then moved up to twice a day. She started baby foods at about 5 months. If she takes to it well the first time, no reaction or anything, she'll be fine. But remember! Whatever you decide, don't let anyone make you feel bad for it!!! You know your little girl, not them!!! Let us know how it goes!

My son was eating every two hours and for a working mom that is a nightmare!!! My mom suggested that I start putting a little cereal in his formula at night and see how that worked. At about 3 months I started and he got full and slept most of the night. By the time he was 4 months old he was taking about 5 oz of formula with a cereal, just enough to kind of thicken but not so thick that he could not get it through the nipple , and he started sleeping 8 full hours a night. That was a relief!!! I did not want to give it to him throughout the day because I was afraid he might gain too much weight. Now keep in mind that was 11 years ago, but not that much has changed with babies, surely!

Our pediatrician stated that giving a baby cereal before 4 months can increase the chance of getting diabetes, however, I have know several people to put cereal in the milk and I have even heard another doctor state that it can't harm them, as long as most of their nutrience comes from milk. I followed my doctors suggestions just because he is my doc (KPA Wiesgarber).

hello i'm the Proud parent of my baby (Ra'nijah). she's only 3 weeks old she will be 1 month next saturday. she wakes up Every 2 hours at nite hungry an she eats 3 ounces an sum time 4. i'm wondering the same thing is it ok to give my baby rice cerel in her formula rite now. to make her sleep better at night!

I started all 3 of my kids on rice cereal when they was 2 weeks old. I started it in their 1st bottle of the day and waited a week, then went to a mid-day bottle and waited a week, then to the nite time bottle. It never hurt them and teir eating patterens where not a problem whe they got older, then again I started bland table foods when they was 6months old, and let me tell you they are healthy big eaters to this day. My 12 y'o is 5'4" and 130lbs, my 11 y/o is 5"2" and 120lbs, and my 6 y/o is 54 inches and 52 lbs. I believed in feeding my babies if they was hungry. But if you are going to add cereal to her bottles, make sure you either use a nipple that has the cross shape in it or poke a bigger hole in a few of hers so she can drink it easily.

i started to feed both of my babies rice cereal at 2 wks b/c they had acid reflux and the weren't gaining enough weight. it doesn't matter. u can ask ur doctor and see what he/she says to do.

i am a mother to two little boys. they are 2& 1/2 and 9 months.
i am married for three years and 4 months

I would start now. I have 3 and I started them all around 3 months. And also try to feed with a spoon and just sit her in the carrier or a little bouncer. But make sure its just plain rice cereal. When she gets used to that then you can add in some baby food fruit. I hope this helps. Oh, a little advice, every child is different so the info that is out there on the net and from the doctors are just statistics. You decide when she is ready for stuff. If you listen to the doctors, she wouldnt eat baby food until 8 months, by then she'll be starving.

:)