2006-12-21 04:37:43 · 25 answers · asked by Angel 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Doctors urge you not to. The reason that babies are not to eat cereal at that young age is not because they won't eat it, it's because their digestive system is underdeveloped. If you feed your baby this young, there is a high probability that you will clog their intestines. This is EXTREMELY painful for anyone, especially a small baby, and It is also dangerous. Some people have given there babies food this young and they were OK, but that is a small percentage. Why risk hurting your child, and sending them to the emergency room? A child who cannot hold its own head and neck up will choke on the food, call Gerber if you don't belive me. If your child cannot sit up in a highchair on their own, that is a good sign their too young. My child was very eager to eat early as well, but I waited until the doctor gave the go ahead at 4 months. Thats early for a child, but no real risk for medical problems. Please wait, don't be too eager..they grow up fast enough. I hope you follow my advice, for your baby's sake.
Good luck dear.
2006-12-21 04:53:15 · answer #1 · answered by Starr 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Too Soon for Solids
Why you should hold off on feeding your baby rice cereal and jarred food By Anita Sethi, Ph.D.
You've heard that the American Academy of Pediatrics says 4 to 6 months is the optimal age to start solids. But your 3-month-old is cranky and hard to soothe, and your mother-in-law insists he must be starving. Some reasons to hold the rice cereal for now:
• Starting cereal before 4 months (or after 7 months) may put your baby at a higher risk for Type 1 diabetes.
• Your baby's odds of developing eczema and allergies may be higher if you offer solids before 6 months, particularly if there is a family history of allergies.
• At this age, he still pushes his tongue forward when he swallows, which can make solid-food feedings a frustrating experience for both of you.
• You are more likely to overfeed solids than liquids. A newborn has few ways of communicating, and it's easier to read his signals at the breast or bottle.
• Giving him solid foods now will decrease the amount of breast milk or formula he drinks, which could leave him shortchanged on nutrition.
• No matter what Grandma says, solids won't help him sleep through the night.
Babytalk, August 2006
2006-12-21 05:12:25 · answer #2 · answered by januarypyrovamp 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO! Not at all! No matter what people say about feeding it right at birth or at a few weeks old it is never healthy to feed a newborn cereal THAT SOON. Not until your doctor tells you it is ok, usually around 4 months, is it ever safe or healthy to feed a baby cereal. A baby does not know if he/she is ready to eat it, there is no way he could act like he is ready.
2006-12-21 07:07:29 · answer #3 · answered by J. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO! 4-6 months is best, though current (pediatric) thinking is more toward 6 months. Start slowly. It seems best to start with the less allergenic rice baby cereal, then move to stage one baby foods, introducing one flavor at a time each week to look for signs of allergy.
They are ready if they can sit up with or without help, hold their head up all the time without help, and have lost the tongue thrust reflex.
They should be getting all calories from breastmilk until starting preferably baby rice cereal made very watery at first with breast milk or formula. Make it thicker as baby learns how to eat off from a spoon.
NEVER feed cereal in a bottle!! Obesity is a concern as well as having to suck too hard and disgestive issues in infants too young to begin cereal.
2006-12-21 05:12:15 · answer #4 · answered by tcdrtw 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is it a good idea? No.
Are there people who have given their newborns cereal and found that their babies were fine with it? Sure. They were lucky.
A baby's guts are, quite simply, not mature at your baby's age. Is it possible that he could continue to eat cereal and you would see no obvious problems or negative reactions? Yes, it is. But that doesn't mean it isn't causing harm, that he's not having difficulty digesting the cereal, etc. In addition, the prevailing thought is that the earlier you start your baby on solids, the higher the chance that your baby will have or develop food allergies; the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends waiting until your baby is at least 6 months, rather than the "4-6 months" previously recommended.
Now: what is your baby doing that makes you think he's ready for it? Also remember: even if your baby seems to be giving you outward signs that he's ready, that does NOT mean that his digestive system is ready.
Some common signs that a baby is ready for solids:
* loss of tongue-thrust reflux
* ability to signal that he's full or no longer interested -- ie by turning away, pushing spoons away, etc.
*ability to hold head up unassisted
* ability to SIT UP unassisted
* baby's birth weight has doubled
Things like interest in food and sleep issues are highly debatable. For one thing, they're babies: they like to put things in their mouths, period. As for sleep issues: baby's have lots of growth spurts when suddenly they will be demanding more "food," and more often...that "food" should continue to be breastmilk and/or formula.
If one of the "signs" your baby is giving you is the desire to "eat" constantly, that's something to bring up with your pediatrician, as it's a very common sign of reflux, which many if not most babies have to some degree.
2006-12-21 05:10:12 · answer #5 · answered by ljb 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Newborns really should not be eating cereal or any other baby foods until they are around four to six months old. Young babies would not benefit from solid foods for many reasons. To start, they are not developmentally ready to deal with swallowing solids. A baby is unable to move solid food from the front to the back of the mouth for swallowing. Instead he tends to gag due to the extrusion reflex with which he is born. Young babies cannot break down the complex molecules in many proteins, fats and carbohydrates, so solid food may pass right through, or worse, cause unnecessary GI distress. Also, because babies are not able to digest the cereal properly they can become constipated.
2006-12-21 04:51:29 · answer #6 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You know your baby better than any one else! If there is one thing constructive anyone has ever said to me as a new parent it was that. At 5 weeks I started giving my son just a little rice cereal in a bottle of expressed milk in the evenings and while he still didn't sleep all the way through the night he did sleep sounder and for longer intervals. I discussed this with the pediatrician and he said as long as he is handling it well there is no problem. Even with exclusively breastfeeding I had him on solids at 4 months and he has never had any digestion, blood sugar or weight problems (even on the cereal he was always only on the 20th percentile on his weight.) My son has always been one of the happiest most content babies you could imagine(and still is) He is 11 months old today and feeds himself his entire meals (fruits, veggies, soft cheese, etc.) He's on the 100th percentile on height now and 30th for weight so I think introducing solids early actually helped him, and he has never once been sick. But it is your baby and you can read his cues, if he hasn't had issues in the stomach area you may want to give it a shot.
2006-12-21 05:16:48 · answer #7 · answered by webbheadjr 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
NO!!!!!! All the documentation I have been reading about it states very clearly that you are just setting yourself up for trouble if you introduce solids before 6 months.
The baby can not digest the food at thispoint and you could end up with a very gassy and bloated baby. Also, it could increase the risk of them having food allergies later in life.
Babies go through growth spurts when they need to eat more...the first one is usually around 3 months.
You may think the signs are that he wants more, but it could just be gas or growing pains. Just becuase a baby cries doesn't always mean they are hungry. Check out the book :
What to expect : the toddler years by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff, Sandee Eisenberg Hathaway. It will help with baby questions from birth through the first year and with your body and relationship questions....it's everything you need to know! The authors have written a whole series of books from pregnancy through all the school years….. they are the best!
2006-12-21 04:46:36 · answer #8 · answered by jachooz 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well I had twins and both were in the NICU for about 2 weeks, and my daughter had feeding problems. Won't bore you w/ the details, but I tried to breastfeed both of them and they wouldn't take it and wasn't getting enough, they weren't gaining any weight. So I was told to stop by my DR. Around 3/4 months old my daughter was always hungry so we started her on baby peaches then because they both weren't sleeping thru the night we gave them baby cereal. For about a month they were both doing fine on it, and then WHAM. My daughter was having a problem going to the bathroom. We had to take her to the DR and he has start all over again. Only giving her formula and then gradually introduce baby food and if I wanted to give her baby cereal do not use RICE. Ever since I have always have had a problem w/ my daughter going to the bathroom. My son had no problems on it. So good luck w/ it and do what you think is best and just watch them carefully on it and if you see anything that looks odd or they are acting odd on it call your Peditrician.
2006-12-21 05:01:51 · answer #9 · answered by ant h 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
no you shouldn't be feeding an 8 week old cereal. it can cause problems with the digestive system. a child really shouldn't have nothing but milk for the first year but it is recommended that you wait to feed solids until 4 -6 months.
2006-12-21 04:41:25 · answer #10 · answered by cajuncutie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋