Is 3 months too early to start cereal for my little girl?

Answer 1

umm I think so...and you should really ask the doctor.

Answer 2

I am a pediatric nurse working for 6 MD's and 4 CPNP's. Our office doesn't recommend starting cereal until 4 months - I believe this is what is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Starting cereal earlier can increase the chance of allergies to other foods and medicines. Although, it is recommended to thicken formula with rice cereal for babies suffering with reflux before 4 months. Also, if the baby does not have reflux, cereal should be mixed in a bowl and fed with a spoon - not a bottle.

Answer 3

The APA recommends waiting until 6 months, however, at 4 months I started mine on little bites of rice cereal, just for practice and within weeks they were trying new things. Ask your Dr., but I would wait a month or two and remember to start with cereal (baby rice) first. Also, even if you try at three months, you will notice your baby will not physically be able to even take the food in by spoon and swallow well.

Answer 4

Most cereal is not a very good start of the day. Sorry to say but the carton it came in has more nutritional value.

If you have to you can feed a bit but more as a taster than as food. Let it soak properly before feeding. Full cereal breakfast you can give after 6 months. Before that your baby's digestive system is just not ready to cope with 'large' amounts of fiber.

Answer 5

Talk to your Dr. and get their perspective on this as well, and also go with your gut (within reason). Generally as parents we know our children best. The recommendations change thru the years as to when to start solids, etc. (Now they are saying wait later because allergies can (supposedly) be triggered by starting too early.) If I remember correctly my first child started baby food at 4 months (so probably cereal around 3-4 months), and with my second, they said to wait until 6 months due to the allergy thing. I went ahead and gave him baby food anyway because he seemed ready for it and he was fine, no allergies and is nearly 3.

Again, do what seems best to you, within reason of course, and talk to your Dr.

Answer 6

Yes, 3 months is WAY too early to start solid foods. The AAP recommends waiting until 6 months to start solids. Starting solid foods too early can increase the chance that your child will have allergies, diabetes and become obese. ALL that your child needs for the first 6 months is breastmilk or formula. And after that, breastmilk or formula should continue to be the MAIN source of nutrition for the ENTIRE first year with solids mostly being for fun and practice. PLEASE don't give a baby this young solid foods. They can't digest it and it's really not good for them.

Answer 7

Putting cereal in an infant bottle is detrimental to their health. The American Academy of Pediatrics is very against this. However some people are selfish parents and put it in the baby's bottle to make them sleep. However, in the studies conducted there was no evidence of this working.

Baby Bottles and Cereal
I have heard different reviews about putting cereal in the bottle of an infant. Is it safe?








" You’ve heard about it from friends, parents, and in-laws. You’ve seen it in Internet chat rooms and discussion boards:

“You’re so tired! You should put some cereal in your daughter’s bottle – then she’ll sleep through the night.”

“He’ll nap better.”

“Your son looks too skinny. You’re not feeding him enough. Add some cereal to the bottle – that’ll do the trick.”

“He still acts hungry? Try putting some cereal in the bottle. He’ll be much less fussy.”

“Spoon feeding is a hassle. Put it off as long as you can. Cereal in the bottle is quick, convenient, makes them sleep longer and cry less – what more could you want?”

Your pediatrician says this is not wise (except as a treatment for reflux). Dietitians and nutritionists concur. Introducing solids before 4 months might cause food allergies. Your well-wishers discount these recommendations because cereal in the bottle worked wonders for their children!

Throughout most of human history children were exclusively breast fed for the early months. 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."

Answer 8

My son started eating cereal when he was 3 months old, and my doctor said it was fine. It all depends on the baby. Just make sure you feed it to her with a spoon and not through a bottle.

Answer 9

Yes, their little immune systems are still forming. By introducing cereal this soon, you could unintentionally cause an allergic reaction, and sensitivity to foods containing wheat, or rice, depending what the cereal is made from.

Answer 10

cereals at 6 months

Answer 11

If you are breastfeeding the baby, do so exclusively until the age of 6 months, if the baby is on breastmilk, then wait til she is 4 months before starting her on cereals