Feeding rice cereal with breastmilk in bottle?

Question

Hi,
I am planning to feed my 4 month old baby rice cereal tonight.

I am planning to mix 1 tablespoon of rice cereal with 5 oz of breastmilk. Is that proportion right?

I use Dr.Brown's bottle. Should I use a Y cut nipple? Is he too young for a Y-cut nipple?

Please advice.

Answer 1

No. No no no. Do NOT put rice cereal in a bottle, no matter how diluted it may be.

1) It's unsafe. It's a choking hazard that could kill your 4 month old.

2) It's untrue that your child will sleep longer.

3) The child will gain weight without knowing why. EATING rice cereal is important.

DO NOT PUT IT INTO A BOTTLE!!!

Answer 2

I am going against what everyone else had said. I have a young son who had bad reflux and thickening the formula I gave him with rice cereal helped. Something about the thickness helped with less spit up. It's only like a teaspoon per ounce. I used a stage 2 - stage 3 nipple depending on what flow he could handle. And this is the advice my pediatrician gave me. If you want to feed him cereal because you think he's ready for it try it in a spoon or use the y-cut nipple. I did it. He's fine and not over weight. Every baby is different. There are actually formulas that put a rice starch thikcening agent in the formula so it can't be all that bad to do it with breast milk.

Answer 3

It is not advised to feed babies cereal from a bottle.

Try feeding her a little bit of cereal from a spoon after her bottle. You can begin feeding cereal between 4 and 6 months of age.

Many people feel that feeding babies formula or solids will help them sleep through the night, however this is an old-wives tale.

Often it takes a few tries for babies to learn how to swallow solids, there may be some tongue-thrusting at first, but once he learns he will love it!

Answer 4

You should really try spoon feeding the cereal and still mix it with the milk. Its hard to get thru a nipple and can get stuck. If you make the hole in the nipple too big then they can get choked. Besides at 4 months you should really be introducing solids. You can also mix a little fruit w/ the cereal. Not too much at first to see how his tummy reacts to it. Then after that he can eat fruit veggies and meat entrees. The stage on Gerbers are very good.

Answer 5

If you can, please wait until 6mo to do cereal. There is no reason to do cereal in a bottle, if your baby is ready for solids it should be done by spoon. If you're hoping to get your baby to sleep longer, they say that is false.
Try doing it in a bowl if you can't wait 2 more months. Mix 1 tablespoon of cereal with warm breastmilk until its very runny. Touch the spoon to the baby's lips and he should suck it off the spoon. It will take some time for him to get used to the spoon, but using a spoon will help with baby's oral motor skills.

Answer 6

definately a choking hazard, as others said...before introducing solids, consult the baby's pediatrician, who will advise you on the correct amount for your baby (contrary to what many women believe, 4 months does not mean a certain amount is okay, your baby is an individual and deserves individual evaluation).

if you are doing this because you hope your baby will sleep through the night better, then here's something you should know, that I learned from a lactation consultant at the local La Leche League - formula fed babies sleep longer because their stomach's can't break down and digest the food that is put into their stomach the way that a breast fed baby can. their bodies go into a coma-like state (not a real coma, but something very similar), while fighting to digest this foreign material. introducing solids to your baby's diet before he/she is ready will do the SAME THING! Sure, your baby may sleep longer but only because she's unable to process and digest the food you've given her. If you've been breastfeeding, then you've been doing so good by your baby so far...don't mess that up now. wait for the doctor's okay, not some online stranger's, before you change your baby's diet!

Answer 7

YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT CEREAL IN A BOTTLE!

At 4 months old your child may be able to eat cereal from a spoon. Please try this recipe.

3 tablespoons breastmilk, 1 tablespoon of Rice cereal.


Use an infant spoon, if baby takes the spoon into her mouth, and does not thrust her tongue out, she is ready for infant cereal.

Please read the enclosed web page.

Answer 8

I started out the same as you.
I did 1 Tbsp to four oz.
And i also use dr brown bottles and did use a y cut nipple. It gets clogged up if you dont. And you can't make it too thick because it does get clogged up in them little holes in the part that the tube hooks to.
But trust me the cereal int he bottle wont last long. It lasted about three weeks and then the baby wasn't happy with it and started eating it out of a bowl. Now she does both and is only five months.

Answer 9

I wouldn't do it. It teaches a baby to overeat. Use a spoon for cereal and a bottle for liquids. I don't think there is a pediatrician that would advise cereal in a bottle. Here's one link, but with a google search, you'll find many saying not to do it.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html

Answer 10

Why are you going to use a bottle? If you want your child to start cereal, mix a little in a bowl with some breast milk and use a spoon. He is old enough, all mine started with a spoon at 4 months.