When should you start juice for a baby?

Question

He has already doubled his birth weight, at only 13 weeks. The Dr recommended starting sprinkles of rice cereal, because of his size. He is as long as a 5 month old and weighs 16.5 pounds. He tolerates the cereal, but I forgot to ask about juice. Just want some feedback on other moms out there with BIG BABIES!!

Answer 1

I am really surprised your doctor recommended starting cereal. The size of a baby really has nothing to do with when his body is ready for solids. But the cereal has all the nutrients and such, so as long as your baby tolerates it, I am sure it will be fine. As for juice -- I would avoid it until he is ready for a sippy cup. Juice is really empty calories, and at least until he is 6 months old, he doesn't need anything other than breast milk or formula. Good luck!

Answer 2

My doctor gave me the ok to begin my baby on cereal, fruits & veges and juice at 4 months. He recommended white grape juice because he said it is easier to digest. He also said to only give it to my baby once a day. I also have the book What to expect the First Year and it has a lot of useful information like this in it. You should pick it up. It has done me a world of good!

Answer 3

My son is a big boy, he is 18 months now. I would wait until he is at least six months. It has alot of sugar in it and I only used it when he wouldn't go to the bathroom!! It could do damage to the teeth he has, even if he doesn't have teeth yet alot of sugar can still do damage to them before they are out. I didn't give mine juice until he was almost a year old, but I think that you can start a little bit when they are at least six months, just water it down alot. I hope this helps, we had to put cereal in his bottle when he was about two months because he was so hungry, he would wake up every one to two hours and eat at least four oz.

Answer 4

I say skip the juice for as long as you can. My children are 5 and 2 and dont get juice very often and if they do its maybe like 2 ounces mixed with lots of water. Our doctor said that it has too much natural sugar and that many parents let their kids fill up on juice thinking its healthy when its really not. Juice has no fiber, nothing good other than a little vit C.

Answer 5

A baby should be at least 9 months before having juice. And he/she should start out w/ only 1 cup/day. 3 mos is way too young to have juice or cereal. It can cause stomach aches, digestive problems, & bowel problems. My son grew fast too, but I keep to the "books" on what he ingested and he never had a problem.

Answer 6

Juice should be given unsweetened and watered down, mostly water only at 6 months or more. At 13 weeks, he doesn't even need cereal really, but I'm not your doctor.

Answer 7

13 weeks is too young for juice. Even though he's big, his digestive system isn't ready for the sugars in fruits and juices. Stick with breastmilk only, and slowly introduce rice cereal (but don't force it on him).

When the doctor says so, start him on vegetables before fruits....then, you can incorporate fruits and fruit juice. Remember, there's no rush as long as he's being properly nourished with breast milk.

Answer 8

You should start the juice when your baby's doctor says so. Just call his doctor and ask.

For any one parent to tell you this would not be a good idea because, like pregnancy, every baby is different.

Answer 9

Do not start him on juice. Even "all natural" juice is packed with sugar. Not only can this cause him to gain weight, but it can damage his teeth once they start coming in. Water, water, water. Not only can it damage his baby teeth, but it can also damage his permanent teeth before they even start coming in. If you do decided to give him juice, I would dilute it with water.