Is it okay to feed my son who is 3 3/4 months old rice cereal?

Question

He will be 4 months december 30th, do you only feed once at night? does it matter whether you mix it with straight water or formula? In the bottle or in the bowl?

would you reccommend this? he also wakes now twice a night which doesn't seem bad at all, not sure if this matters.

Answer 1

Its ok to start feeding him a bit earlier I started feeding my son earlier too 'cause he had such a big appetite . . . . . and still does :)

you should mix it with formula or breast milk, and try and do it in a bowl to get your son used to eating with spoons.

Answer 2

Yes, it is okay to feed a 3 3/4 month old baby rice cereal. You can mix it in a bowl or in the bottle but you would have to get a nipple with a larger hole in it. The baby seems to like it better if you mix it with formula. I have had five children and I found that the baby will let you know when he/she needs more to eat than formula by waking up more often for feedings and acting like he/she is still hungry after being given a bottle. By 3 months, most of my children had already been on rice or oatmeal cereal and were starting on fruit. You need to introduce each food for about four days to a week before giving it another food. For example: Try the rice cereal for a few days, then try baby oatmeal. If that seems to satisfy the baby then just keep the cereal regimen until the baby needs more. If the baby seems to need more, then start introducing fruits, one at a time, such as bananas first, then maybe apricots, etc. You do this to make sure he/she is not allergic to any food. If the baby gets a rash around the mouth or bottom then stop giving the food you tried and try another one. You can retry the food later to see if the baby has a reaction then. Sometimes doctors give a regimen of feeding a child but your baby may need more than formula faster than that regimen. I think that the baby waking twice at night shows that it is time for "real food"...(rice cereal at least).

Answer 3

Doctors recommend waiting until the 4 month mark, but you are really close. You should never give anything but pure liquid through a bottle, so certainly spoon feed him. Mixing with formula or water is fine, it should be pretty runny. The biggest question I would ask is does your baby seem ready for food? Does he watch you eat, smack his lips or get excited when he sees you with food? Does he hold his head up well? If you think he is ready, go ahead and give it a try. Start off feeding him once a day (many moms think it helps then sleep through the night, but a lot of the research says that it doesn't), only give him rice cereal for about a month, then you can start trying some baby foods. Now I want another baby, haha.

Answer 4

You should ask your doctor first, but generally babies can start eating rice cereal once they are not getting full enough on their formula or breast milk. You can feed him a little bit a couple of times a day, but you won't get much into him at first because he will spit most of it out. You can use water or formula or even juice to mix it and it is up to you weather you do it in the bottle or in the bowl, but if you use the bottle make it very thin at first, like a tablespoon of rice ceral in an 8 oz bottle, if you make it too thick it won't go through the nipple. After he gets used to it and you start to make it thicker if you are still using a bottle you will have to make the hole in the nipple a tiny bit larger or nothing will come out.

Answer 5

Just a shot though but my daughter has reflux. We started off with cereal every feeding until we got her to quit spitting up so bad. then went to every other feeding, to the night one and now only do it on days when she is spiiting up and try to do as minimally as possible. We did notice that constipation made the reflux worse. My doctor recommended a little karo syrup in her bottle or a half and half mixture of juice(apple, pear or prune) Now we don't need it every day. But her doctor is very flexible. Reflux can get better at any time. If it isn't reflux not sure that i was of any help. Except yes the cereal can be constipating.

Answer 6

Yes it is fine to start him on rice cereal.....I would feed twice a day...once in the morning and once at night....mix with formula....in bowl

Answer 7

Wait until he's at least four months... they recommend even 6 months. Read the directions... some call for water, some for formula/breastmilk. Feed your baby from a bowl, and small spoon... if he won't take it, he's not ready yet. They have to get past the point where they stick their tongue out when you put food in it. Just wait a week or two and try again.
There's no need to rush.

Answer 8

feeding him rice cereal is ok. Mine was eating it at that age twice a day. I breastfeed for 4 months and got sick and had to stop. But I mixed the cereal with breast milk or baby's bottled water. My daughter has always been an eater. She was eating table food by 6 months.

You may want to run it by your pediatrician as well.

Answer 9

i started feeding my daughter rice cereal at bout the same age and have never looked back.she was continually waking up at night hungry until i started feeding her.I started off once a day and built up on that.i tried to give her the cereal in a bottle but she wouldnt drink it so i made it up with formula and mixed a little bit of pureed apple with it and she loved it.Just offer bub a bottle first and if bub is still hungry then give him the cereal so that he doesnt miss out on his milk

Answer 10

I think it's ok to add baby cereal to his bottle because my baby is 3 months and we was doing that when he was a month old and it kept him sleep. But i would put in only 1tsp. My baby is starting drink 6-8 ounces of milk so he be good for the whole night. Water would not hurt the baby, but I wouldn't give him too much.

Answer 11

this is what I've done with my kids.....A LITTLE bit of rice cereal in the bottle w/ formula and once/twice a day I spoon fed some cereal mixed with water