Baby rice in his bottle?

Question

I have an 8 month old baby boy who eats solids in the day and then wakes for one or two bottles in the night, which I would love to get him out of the habit of waking up for! I have been advised to put either baby rice or rusks in his bottle, but is this a good idea and how much baby rice/rusk would I put in an 8 oz bottle of formula? Thanks

Answer 1

People tell you to put Rice Cereal in the bottle because it's suppose to fill them up more so they won't wake as much as night time. I disagree with this. I think the bottle should only be for formula.

Feed your child a bowl of Rice Cereal before his bed time.
A nice warm soothing bath.
You should start to ferberize your child.

If your baby wakes up in the middle of the night turn the baby monitor off and let him cry it out. After awhile of you doing this and not coming in to him then he will get use to falling back to sleep on his own.

Answer 2

It is never a good idea to put anything other than milk or water (liquid) in a baby bottle. Why not try feeding him from a spoon instead before he goes to bed.
Use one rusk with warm formula milk to a smooth not runny consistancy.
Or, make up the baby rice, as advised on the packet, and let him eat that.
If a baby is full before they go to sleep they will usually sleep the night through. If, however, they are hungry they will wake.

Answer 3

I was given exactly the same kind of advice but it didnt work. I think different babies take to different things. He will soon grow out of waking up during the night alot and maybe only wake up for some water during the night.

My daughter is now 14 months and she sleeps all the way through. I kept hoping that she would do that alot because I went back to work full time. It was hard work but Im now loving my sleep.

My advice to you would be try what ever remedy you feel could help your baby sleep through the night. Try the rusk or baby rice. If it doesnt work then patience is a virtue and the longer you wait and when it happens you will learn to take advantage of gaining that extra sleep.

Answer 4

My midwife advised me to put a rusk in my daughters bottle - i just put hot water over the rusk until it went squddgy, mashed it up and added a bit more water if needed. It really helped my little girl get out of the habit of waking as she was full for bed. I generally did it after he bath, ready to settle down before she went to sleep. I only ever used on to an 8oz formula - with the water added it takes it upto 10oz but that should be ok.

Answer 5

Well I know of people that did put rice in their baby's bottle. They did do it to help them sleep through the night, or if the baby was hungry ALOT! I would try to just put like a teaspoon to 1/2 tablespoon. You don't want to put too much then the baby can't get any milk from the bottle. Good luck. My baby's almost old enough. My doctor wants to wait til about 6 months to start on cereal and she's 5 months.

Answer 6

This is NOT a good idea, as alot of people have said babies can choke on it, it clogs up the bottles and is generally not a good idea, he'll become dependent on it and you'll be even worse off. I cut out the night time bottles at 12 weeks by replacing the milk with water, babies soon learn to take more milk during the day as they know they'll only get water at night, soon they drop the need for anything at night.. tips from the contented little baby book, it works. good luck

Answer 7

Pediatricians advise against putting cereal in the baby's bottle. The child can choke or spit up in his sleep and suffocate. Most parents do this because they want sleep and old school methods tell them to put rice cereal in the bottle. My advice is to feed your child before putting him to bed and giving him a warm bath and then warm formula to put him to sleep. If he stays asleep until from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am, it's a good thing. Children are not expected to go long periods of time without food. Remember they are not like us , they have tiny stomachs and need to eat often.

Answer 8

NO DON'T put anything apart from formula milk in his bottle, recent studies have linked adding to bottles is a big factor in cot death.
If your baby is waking in the night due to hunger, feed him some supper like weetabix or something high in fibre this keeps them going longer. Also you could try giving him a dream feed, put him to bed at normal time and then when you go to bed take him out of his cot not waking him up and give him his bottle, babies can still drink when they are asleep, then put him back to bed.
Also is your baby on three meals a day yet, if not put him on them.
Good luck

Answer 9

For my 16 month old I make him smoothies right before he goes to bed. He didn't start sleeping through the night until about 5 months ago and that is when I started it. I just added a banana and some milk and blend it together. He loves it. Sometimes I add alittle oatmeal and/or applesauce about a 1-2 table spoons

But all children are different I didn't have to do that for my seven year old he has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months old.

Answer 10

NEVER NEVER put cereal in the bottle!!!!!!! Im a registered dietitian and this can cause many problems and the main one being that it is a choking hazard. It can also increase the risk of your child becoming obese in the future. ALWAYS feed cereal from the spoon. Having to wake up in the middle of the night is better than putting your childs health on the line. You could try feeding water when he wakes up at night that may help.