For Moms: Baby & Cereal Question?

Question

I know what a doctor recommends...
This is just a courious question....At what age (weeks or months) did you actually start feeding your baby cereal?

Basically I am polling...I fed my first two children at 6 weeks and was having a conversation with my mother who said that I ate cereal at 4 weeks and my mother-in-law who fed my hubby cereal at 7 days. I was looking to see how much it varies.

Answer 1

I have 5 children, all began eating at differant times,
My son who was born 2 months premature, ate 4- 8 oz bottles every hour by the time he was 3 weeks old.
His doctor reccomended starting him on cereal at 4 weeks because he was eating too much formula.
And yes, at 17 he can still do some serious damage to my grocery bill.

My oldest daughter started cereal at around 4 months,
My 6 yr old daughter started on cereal at 5 months
My 5 yr old started cereal upon her doctors orders at 6 weeks.
My 8 month old started cereal at 2 months, because her doctor ordered it.

I go by the rule that they should begin at about 4 months, give or take, some babies are ready sooner, others later.
3 of my kids were ready way sooner than I was.
I followed my doctors advice.

Answer 2

5 months.

Just a side note, my son had EXTREMELY bad reflux. He would scream for hours after a feeding until he was about 4 months old, and was on medication for the first 6 months of his life. The doctor recommended adding some rice cereal to a bottle of breastmilk (or formula) to thicken it up, saying it should help keep it down and hurt less. WRONG, he screamed worse. I only did it twice, and then stopped. So if you're wondering if you should start cereal earlier for a reason such as reflux, I'd advise against it.

Answer 3

My daughter was about 2 months old and I started adding some to her bottle to thicken it up because she kept choking, then I found out that Enfamil already had a formula that was thickened with rice cereal. So I stopped giving it to her and just switched formulas. But she was eating like a pig, so at around 3-3 1/2 months we started spoon feeding her a little bit of cereal each day so she wouldn't eat so much because she was eating ALOT.

Answer 4

I started feeding my babies cereal at a little over 4 months...You can try feeding your baby cereal at that point, but it is mostly liquid...mix a small amount of cereal w/ double the amount of formula/breast milk, if baby still seems to have a hard time taking it in, wait a little longer and try again. If you are wanting to feed baby cereal at a younger age, I wouldn't do it unless your doctor recommends it. Good luck!!!

Answer 5

My daughter was 4 months old when I gave her her first taste of cereal (she's a happy, healthy 13 year old now). The doctors told me not to start giving her solids until she was 6 months old, but she told me she was hungry for more. She would see me eating and lick her lips or her hand would go out, so I tried her on a tiny bit and she thrived. Most babies will let you know when they need something more than just milk. And different babies do it at different times.
Good luck, love.

Answer 6

Weeks...are you kidding?

You are going to get a ton of outdated, wives' tale advice people that say 6 weeks or to put it in the bottle WRONG!!!!!!!

You should wait until 4-6 months...the APA says 6 and start with thin rice cereal as it is the easiest to digest and the least likely to cause an allergic reaction.

Answer 7

my son is 5 weeks old. I have only given him cereal in his bottle at night 2x. It doesn't seem to have a lasting effect on him. He will eat half the bottle then go to sleep. He won't sleep long and gets up in anther 2-3 hrs. I am going to stop until he gets 4 months.

Answer 8

i started when he was 4mths and with a small spoon, never feed them cereal through a bottle, theres a high chance of choking, and feeding it too early can cause stomach aches. you can mix the cereal with formula or breast milk in a bowl, get it kindof soupy and feed with a small baby spoon, make sure the baby doesnt get allergic reactions, so keep an eye out on babys reactions to different foods.

Answer 9

My son was 5 months. My twin that eats by mouth (other is tube fed) started eating at 6 months. She had reflux and since she was a preemie the doctor said to hold off on food until 6 months. Didnt seem to harm her waiting, she is my best eater.

Answer 10

In Canada it is illegal to market any baby food (except formula) to babies under the age of 6 months because it is a serious health risk:

B.25.061. (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall include on the label of a food any representation respecting the consumption of the food by an infant who is less than six months of age.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a human milk substitute or a new human milk substitute.
http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/f-27/C.R.C.-c.870/237574.html