can rice cereal be given to babies less than 4 months?

Question

feeding guide week to week or month to month. average formula consumption, cereal etc.

Answer 1

you should never give a baby under 4 months rice cereal, because it can upset their digestive system.

Age: Birth to 4 months
Feeding behavior
• Rooting reflex helps your baby turn toward a nipple to find nourishment
What to feed
• Breast milk or formula ONLY
Feeding Tips
• Your baby's digestive tract is still developing, which is why solid food is off limits for now.

Age: 4 to 6 months
Signs of readiness for solid food
Your baby probably won't do all these things — they're just clues to watch for.
• Can hold head up
• Sits well in highchair
• Makes chewing motions
• Shows significant weight gain (birth weight has doubled)
• Shows interest in food
• Can close mouth around a spoon
• Can move food from front to back of mouth
• Can move tongue back and forth, but is losing tendency to push food out with tongue
• Seems hungry after 8 to 10 feedings of breast milk or 40 oz. of formula in a day
• Is teething
What to feed
• Breast milk or formula, PLUS
• Semi-liquid iron-fortified rice cereal, THEN
• Other grain cereals like oats or barley
Feeding tips
• If your baby won't eat the cereal on the first try, offer it again in a few days.

Age: 6 to 8 months
Signs of readiness for solid food
• Same as 4 to 6 months
What to feed
• Breast milk or formula, PLUS
• Iron-fortified cereals (rice, barley, oats)
• Pureed or strained fruits (banana, pears, applesauce, peaches)
• Pureed or strained vegetables (avocado, well-cooked carrots, squash, and sweet potato)
Feeding Tips
• Introduce new foods one at a time, with at least three days in between to make sure your baby's not allergic.

Answer 2

First of all, remember this above all the rest; babies do NOT come with a book of instructions! So all of the 'feeding guide week to week/momth to month, average formula consumption, cereal etc.' is all a bunch of B.S.
You give a baby rice cereal when they won't sleep longer than 2 hours before their next feeding. Purchase a special 'rubber coated baby spoon', mix about a half of one teaspoon of rice cereal and feed it to the baby. I did this with my first one (at 3 weeks), according to the doctor, because he wasn't getting everything he needed from me nursing him. He needed just a little bit more and then he slept 4 hours before his next feeding.
You do what ever you think your child needs. You should be feeding him/her baby food now. You begin with half of a jar or until he/her won't eat anymore then you gradually give him/her more (as the weeks go by) until he/her can eat everything in the jar. A little variety would also be good; meats, veggies and desserts. Follow this up with juices and then milk/formula right before he/her goes to sleep again.
If your feeding the baby too much - the doctor will tell you or you will see all of the rolls of fat. You just do NOT want the baby to gain too much weight too fast.

Answer 3

i started giving my children solid foods at about 3 - 3 1/2 months, they were big babies and weren't getting what they needed from milk alone. when i started i found the powder / dried stuff was yuk - my babies never liked it. we tried the tins and that was great, i'd sart with just a small spoonful or two for a few days, just to get them used to it. and don't worry too muuch if the pooh changes, both of my babies did, just give them some cooled boiled water and that will help. another point is that food shouldn't replace milk at this age, they still get all of what they need from milk - we used fresh formula to mix the powdered stuff so they weren't missing out on there milk - so it is important that they get the bottle first and the food after. hope this helps and happy weaning...

Answer 4

This is info copied from Kellymom.com :) It says breastfed because it is mainly a breastfeeding site, but I copied it because it mentioned cereal, juice, etc. too! :)


"The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization
UNICEF
US Department of Health & Human Services
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Dietetic Association
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Health Canada
"

Answer 5

I gave my kids cereal at 3 months, they were fine!

Answer 6

i have known girls to give there babys cereal at that age but i waited till the doctor gave me the okay and i never did like other girls and put it in th bottle i spoon fed him and now he is 1yr and is trying to feed himslf with a spoon

Answer 7

They are not meant to be given to baby before 4 months, I did however give my son a bit when he was 3 months because he was soooooooo hungry. It wont hurt!

Answer 8

I gave it to all three of my kids once they were 1 mo. Not to thick, you want it to be able to still get through the nipple. They were sleeping through the night after that and my ped had no problem with it.

Answer 9

yeap not to thick do i gave it to my 3 and it was ok