When is it a good time to start your baby on cereal and baby food?

Question

When is it a good time to start your newborn on cereal and baby food? My 4 month old is still eating every 3-4 hours, 6oz at each feeding. He is hungry!!! He is perfectly healthy and not overweight. I have begun giving hi, cereal in his bottle and it seems to hold him up for about 4-5 hours. Is it okay to start him on veggies?

He was a preemie too!! He refused to nurse after going back in to the hospital (he was in NICU for a while so I didn't get to nurse until he got home).

I'm a new mom so any advice is much appreciated!!

Answer 1

My doctor recommends that once your child is consuming more than 40 oz. of formula a day to start them out on rice cereal a few times a day. Once they have had the rice for a week start them on barley, and after barley for a week, oatmeal. This way you are gradually adding consistency and substance. Once they have been on oatmeal for about a week then you can start them on either a fruit or veggie ( I chose to get peas over with first). After they have had the one for a few days you can start introducing a new flavor every few days, but no more than three a week. Oh, and just an FYI my daughter HATED cereal at first, and after talking to other mothers found out that it is pretty common, so don't surprised if he gags and rejects it the first few time he tries it. He will like the barley and the oatmeal much better, I know Delaney did. Also when you get to baby food try alternating adding a veggie and then a fruit. I think it gives them a little more motivation to try new things when they know not everything tastes like peas and green beans.

Answer 2

They used to say you could start them on cereal as early as 4 months old. But now they know that giving babies anything other than milk before 6 months old greatly increases their chances of diabetes, obesity, digestive disorders, and other things.
The rice cereal is especially bad because it is LOADED with carbs.
Unfortunetely, there are still doctors out there who do not keep up with the current knowledge and tell parents to go ahead earlier than what we now know is healthy.
Besides, it doesn't sound like he is overeating at all. My baby drank 8oz at a feeding every 3 hours when she was 2 months old! And I didn't give her anything other than breastmilk until she was 8 1/2 months old. I skipped the rice cereal altogether (loaded with carbs, has no nutritional value except for the chemically added "nutrients", plus it is so highly processed). I gave her avocado and bananas to start with.
NEVER put cereal in a babies bottle. You really shouldn't ever put anything in their bottle except for milk (use a sippy for juice or whatever) but putting the rice cereal in their bottle is especially bad.
Since he was a premie I would be especially careful. Solids are so hard on their little digestive systems anyway, and being a premie, your son's is even less developed than other babies his age.

Don't worry, what he's eating ounce wise is completely healthy! Stop with the cereal in the bottle, but other that that you're doing a great job momma!

Answer 3

My daughter is about to be 5 months and I started feeding her a tablespoon of cereal three weeks ago and started two different things last week, apple sauce and peas. I did each one for 3 days to see how she did on them and a day break in between. I do not think that this is a source of a meal I think it is more for learning. She too is eating 6oz every 3 hours. She was BFed only the first 2.5 months but I had to return to work and now gets formula.

The real thing is you are the one that knows your child and if he is still hungry try moving him up to 8oz and giving him a little bit of cereal. They are suppose to be eating 2.5 times their weight

Answer 4

I have been told by doctors and such not to give baby cereal in the bottle b/c they can choke, but to spoon feed it. I don't think your son is eating too much milk, my 8 month old is eating the same as he is. Since you have started cereal, continue that for another month or two. About 6 months introduce your fruits and veggies. some baby favorites are sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots. My daughter loves applesauce and prunes too. Don't worry if they don't seem to like it at first, give them a few tries over a couple of days to get used to the new taste and textures. Good luck!

Answer 5

Hes 4 months, he should be eating rice cereal from a spoon, never put it in the bottle, not a good idea. Mix some in a dish with formula or breast milk. Start veggies at 6 months.

Answer 6

people are probably fixin to start being rude .. but my pediatrician gave me the go ahead ... my sons been on cereal since he was 2 months old. he got to where he would eat 6 oz every 2 hours so the pediatrician told me to put it in his bottle .. which i only gave him a teaspoon in 3 bottles a day .. and it helped majorly. hes now starting to eat it out of a spoon though .. but i still put it in his bottles sometimes at night. it dont help him with sleeping longer anymore. he just turned 4 months old and ive had him on baby food for about 3 weeks. again the pediatrician gave me the go ahead because they say it doesnt matter their age. if they`re a supported sitter and can control their head well .. u can start them on fruits and veggies. favorites of babies are anything sweet. my son HATED squash. so we wont be trying that again. lOl not anytime soon atleast.

Answer 7

Usually around 4 months to give cereal and 6 months for baby food. Talk to your pediatrician to make sure since he was a preemie.

Answer 8

I just started to fed my four month old cereal. He weighs around 18 pounds and can sit up with a little help. I also fed him every couple of hours between 6-8 ounces. To be safe you might want to make a quick call to your baby doctor . Watch out for allergies, things like little rashes or pimples on their face or body. I fed my older kids cereal in their bottles and I didn't this one because he got a little rash on his face. He did not seem to miss it all and he still managed to sleep through the night with out it. All of my babies were big babies too. I think if you start to fed your baby solids you won't need to put cereal in their bottle any more because it might make the baby too heavy.

Answer 9

My pediatrician had us feeding both our girls(now ages 2yrs and 14 mos.)table food by 6 months. At their 3 mos check ups their doc said to start cereal and then every 3-4 days introduce a new jar of baby food,(stage one). There are different opinions on which to start first, veggies or fruits. Some say go w/ fruit, so they get a taste for foods, others,(like me) say go w/ veggies first, so they don't get used to sweeter foods and not want veggies later. If he is hungry, I say start him. It sounds like cereal is helping to keep him full, next logical step would be baby food.

Answer 10

If he is that hungry, I would start with the cereal a little thicker and trying to spoon feed him. If he can't swallow, then that will nip that idea in the bud and stay with what you are doing. He also might just be going through a growth spurt and that would make him more hungry than usual. Usually, they tell you not to start until 6 months on cereal, but if he is ready, the ability to swallow will tell you.