is it safe to give a 4 week old baby rice cereal?

Answer 1

yes just add milk or water, because it is obvious plain milk is not filling him or her up

Answer 2

Good God no!

The AAP does NOT recommend giving baby ANYTHING other than breastmilk or formula for the first 4 to 6 MONTHS. (Preferably closer to 6 mos.) A 4 week old baby does not have the enzymes present in his stomache to digest cereal. Starting solids too early can lead to diabetes, allergies, asthma, obesity, etc.

The idea that cereal will help a baby sleep longer is an old wive's tale. What you may end up with is an uncomfortable, constipated baby who can't sleep at all!

When you do start solids, between 4-6 mos of age, it should be on a spoon and NOT in a bottle. Cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard. The point of feeding solids is to teach a baby to eat from a spoon and get them used to different tastes and textures. Feeding cereal in a bottle defeats that purpose. Even then, breastmilk or fomula should continue to make up at least 75% of the child's diet for the entire first year. Solids in the first year are really more for fun and practice than for nutrition.

Answer 3

Nooo, it's completely unnecessary. Babies that age aren't ready to digest such foods. It is recommended to wait at least 6 months, but 7 or 8 is even better. They are unable to absorb the nutrients out of solid food at that age. They need all the vitamins from breastmilk or formula as it's easy to digest. Not to mention that they need the fat from milk for brain development. There is no fat in rice cereal. Please don't rush this, if babies were meant to eat solid food, woman wouldn't make milk and babies would be born with a full set of teeth. If your baby isn't satisfied with milk, it's probably not getting enough, or there is a different problem. Try giving more milk, not cereal.

My baby is 6 1/2 months and I still havn't started her on rice cereal. I've tried but she isn't ready. There are signs that show they are ready. They should be able to sit up, show an interest in food when they see you eating, open their mouth for a spoon, the tongue thrust reflex should be gone (that's the reflex that automatically pushes food out of their mouth)

Here are some interesting and helpful websites:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=7658275&dopt=Abstract

http://www.2coolbaby.com/Documents/brstsolid.htm

Answer 4

First you need to talk with your babies doctor to make sure that is okay. Second if your doctor did not say so then you shouldnt because your baby dosent need it! Your baby is only 4 weeks breast milk or formula is all that your baby needs now! Giving your baby rice cereal can create some problems with choking or weight.

Answer 5

good lord, NO! a four week old isn't ready for baby cereal! you have to wait at least until 3 and a half months, and thats ONLY if the doctor gives you the go-ahead! filling up on cereal will make baby eat less formula and they will miss out on a lot of the important things they need for development!

Answer 6

No
Babys that small can't digest rice cereal at 4 weeks old. Certainly not milk either. If your not nursing then ask the Dr which formula you can switch to.

Answer 7

It is not so much that it is dangerous, as it is strong!!
That is much to advanced for such a young tummy to digest!!
you will just end up with on cranky little baby and a lot of colic(gas) you should keep him/her on a formula only diet, and wait until about age 4 months before you start even trying to introduce any type of solids!! and even then, you should start off with something easy like strained veggies(rice is hard to digest)try apple sauce or mashed bananas(at around 4 months) and dont cut out the milk completely, you can switch to whole milk instead of formula but if you are breast feeding, keep on the breast milk until around 6 months!(solids or not) good luck and god bless!

Answer 8

If you want your child to become a diabetic than yeah go for it... Hasn't anyone ever told you or at least in the magazines ... that your suppose to wait until they are four months old... It's not going to get your baby to sleep thur the night any faster by giving her rice cereal.

Answer 9

We started giving my grandson a little oatmeal cereal in his bottle at 6 weeks old. Just put a couple of teaspoons in a full bottle of formula. You just need enough to slightly thicken it and I do mean slightly. I asked a nurse when it would be okay to start doing this, I did not tell her we were already doing it, and she said she gave her daughter cereal starting at 6 weeks. My grandson did not have any problems what so ever. The reason we did this was because after he drank his bottle, he still acted like he was hungry. Just remember to put just enough to slighty thicken it and that is all.

Answer 10

No, The infant can choke on it. I have a 5 week old myself and his pediatrician advised me not to give him rice cereal until he is at least 3 months old.

Answer 11

NO!! Please do not give your baby food at 4 months, are you crazy? At that age, babies are not able to digest the food, they need to be fed milk (breast milk or formula)...you need to wait for the baby to be 4 or 5 months to feed it cereal. Also, children that start eating food at an early age also tend to develop allergies when they are older...please wait for your baby to be older.