When to start Rice Cereal for baby??

Question

My pediatrician told me to add a tsb of rice cereal to my 1 month old baby so he could keep the food down because he be trhwoing up a lot. Is it ok to feed baby cereal so early??

Answer 1

First off there is no difference between using Enfamil AR and adding rice to formula. They only difference is it takes more time to add it yourself. I don't care if you're WIC know it all or a nutrucianist or whatever I work with doctors that deal with reflux patients (usually preemies) everyday and I know what they tell the parents. The thickening of formula does help becuase it helps the food stick to the ribs thus decreasing the reflux episodes. Reflux is usually due to the cardiac (pyloric) sphincter not being developed. I had three of them with this problem and add rice to all of their bottles. It helped 100% and there were no problems. My sister decided to use the Enfamil AR with her kids because she thougth it was too much of a pain to do it the other way. There are many, many, many doctors that tell the parents to do this. I have even seen babies in the NICU being fed their first bottle with rice added to it in some cases. I'd say when you consider the fact that all doctors say something different it's because none of them really know what is good and what is bad because every baby is different. Most of the stuff they tell you not to do today our parents and grandparents did and there was no problem, just like over the next 10 or 15 years what you are being told to do now will be WRONG WRONG WRONG then. I've dealt with WIC nutritionists and I don't really feel they are the most reliable source, not when you can get the same amount of knowledge they have off of a website. My son was still gaining weight but his reflux was still considered severe after a series of test had been done. It still can be severe even though the baby is gaining weight. Bottom line is you do what you think your baby needs. I've seen a lot babies on rice added to their formula at only a couple of weeks, like I said right out of the NICU. I have, however, seen many children in surgery that have had severe esophagus damage due to reflux that was not managed properly, this includes thickening the formula and sometimes also medication. My son could not be on any medication so all we were able to do was thicken the formula. The Enfamil AR does tend to be a thicker than just adding the rice to the formula so I would try both and see which one your baby prefers. My son hated the Enfamil AR but my sisters kids loved it. Depends on the baby.

Answer 2

Your pediatrician told you that???? No, rice cereal should not be given until at the very minimum 4 months of age. How on earth does putting rice cereal make your baby keep his food down more? Babies who throw up after meals generally have a reflux issue, this is when the sphinctor to the stomach called the pyloric sphincter isn't quite developed fully. This is not uncommon in newborns and can sometimes take up to a year to catch up in development. Babies with refulx need to be fed smaller doses of formula more frequently throughout the day (if formula feeding) they should also feed semi seated up and kept seated up as the digest. Easy if they are in a bouncer seat, or in your arms. Sometimes in rarer conditions, the sphinctor to the babies intestines hasnt' quite developed, you can usually tell that this is the case when babies will feed properly take the whole bottle then spit up almost the entire of the contents of the bottle shortly after, but not right away. This is more serious and needs to be corrected by surgery. Anyway, long story short I still don't see how feeding your baby cereal is going to correct a spit up issue and because she's so young she's going to end up crampy and colicy because of the introduction of solids. I'd get a second opionion asap. Not to knock your doctor or anything, but something just doesn't sound right.

Answer 3

Well, normally the advice is to wait until 6mos of age or later to prevent allergies, as discussed by others here. It is, however, medically indicated to add small amounts, as you've been instructed, in order the thicken the formula in cases were infants have GE reflux or other disorders in which they can't keep liquids down. A thicker product is more likely to settle in the stomach rather than to easily move up the esophagus causing vomiting. You're the parent here, and it is up to you and your MD to weigh the benefits versus the risks. The benefit is obviously to reduce the vomiting, allowing your baby to maintain adequate intake and weight gain. The risk is that of the baby having mutiple allergies later. I personally think it is a small risk, as you're not feeding him the cereal in large quantities as a nutritional supplement. It's a small amount, only enough for thickening. And not all babies will have this reaction anyway. If the vomiting is enough to affect his weight gain, keeping it lower than norm, I would go ahead with the cereal. It's a medically sound choice.

Answer 4

my baby started eating rice cereal at 3 and a half months because she started needing feeds every two hours or less and never slept, but I added this to her formula, which means I had to make the hole bigger on the teat, but she also had a strong neck which she was holding up straight- apparently this is a must. So I am not really sure what stage your baby is at but i'd say it's a little too young try changing the formula it may not be right for it. Also spitting up a little is quite normal, if its way too much well different formula.

Answer 5

Generally, you shouldn't give a baby rice cereal before the age of six months. However, if the baby suffers from extreme reflux, and they're not keeping food down, it is recommended, as it's easier for babies to keep thicker food down. You have to decide if the benefits outway the risks.

Here is an article on the risks:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html

The short version of the risks are:
-Food allergies
-At this age, their sucking and swallowing actions aren't fully developed, so a small number of children can inhale rice cereal into their lungs, causing pulmonary problems.
-It teaches them to overeat, increasing the risk of obesity in later life.

Because of the aforementioned risks, it is usually a no-no. You need to look at your son's reflux. Is he throwing up enough that he is losing a significant amount of weight? Is he becoming malnourished? These are things that can lead to hospitalisation. In this case, if these are very real risks, rice cereal would probably be preferable to hospitalisation due to malnutrition.

If he is throwing up, but is still gaining weight, and it is more of an inconvenience rather than a danger, here are a few tips that might help him keep his food down:
-Keep him as vertical as possible during and after feeds. This will help the food go down a bit better. The easiest and most comfortable way to do this (for me at least) is to sit with the baby in your lap, facing away from you, with his back against your stomach, and feed him from behind This way you're like a human reclining chair, and can go up and down as needed.

-Keep feeds short and frequent. For example, Instead of 150ml every four hours, try 75mls every two hours. Babies are more likely to throw up if they have a full stomach.

-Are you able to breastfeed at all? Breastmilk digests quicker than formula, so this would increase the chance of some nutrients at least getting into him before he throws up. Bottle feeding expressed milk would probably be better, as they can be kept vertical while still receiving breastmilk.

I know a lot of people have been saying absolutely no way. I am normally one of those people, I think it's usually totally unnecessary to have any solids before six months, and I'm not going to be feeding this baby rice cereal at all. But if you look at the websites that talk about the dangers of rice cereal, nearly all will say that it's only recommended in cases of severe reflux.

Answer 6

Yes it is... it thickens the milk up and helps the baby to digest it if he/she is having problems keeping it down... and every baby is unique!! Some babies are fine on milk until 3 or 4 months... some longer and some for less time! You will be able to tell whether your baby is ready for rice cereal as usually they will keep less and less milk down... and sometimes they will get hungry quicker, and need their milk thickened slightly. You know your baby best so do what you feel comfortable with. Good luck, and congratulations on the birth of your son a month ago!! xxx

Answer 7

In general, a baby should have only breast milk or formula for the first 6 months. Introducing food earlier can result in constipation, and put them at higer risk for food allergies later in life. My daughter threw up after every feeding for 10 months and I just dealt with it. Her tummy was sensitive, and she couldnt even hold down cereal. I weaned her from nursing at a year old, and by that time her body had caught up and she can eat anything she wants now. Ultimately, you should listen to your pediatrician, but if you arent sure of something they say, its a good idea to do some research.

When you DO start introducing foods, start with single grain cereal. It is scientifically proven that it can take up to 13 introductions of a food for a child to take to it, so hang in there. Once they are good with cereal, start introducing a new, non-gassy vegetable every 2 weeks. Only introduce one food every two weeks so you can watch for allergic reactions. Do NOT start with fruit or your child may not take to veggies after that. When you introduce juice, it should be 1/2 water for the first year, and NOT at every feeding. After a year old, your child can drink whole milk instead of formula, but its debatable on wether giving a human milk that was meant for a baby cow, and then dramatically altered by humans is really a healthy choice. But thats up to you. Good luck, and congrats on your sweet little one. Hang in there with the spitting up.

Answer 8

try enfamil a.r., our son did the same thing but this helped 100%. dont give the rice cereal to the baby because it really wont help, its too hard for the young baby to digest so early and can cause digestive problems in the future. just wait untill your baby is 4 ot 6 months old before introducing the rice cereal. i strongly suggest the diffrent formula.

Answer 9

No don't feed him any type of solid food until the baby is far after the 6 month mark, I was watching Dr. Phil the other day with my husband, and that was one of the topics discussed, look it up if you must, its not good for your babys digestive system. Don't listen to that doctor. Your baby maybe lactose intolorent, try non milk formula, seek a second opinion!

Answer 10

I've never heard of that before. I've always been told not to start cereal till 4 months because their tummies are not developed enough to digest the solids. Why don't you ask the doc about changing formulas. I know alot of old people always told me to do that. I think they did that back in the day. But it makes since about their tummies.