I'm confused about the rice cereal. People keep telling me different things.?

Question

My son will be 5 months next week. Right now he's mostly breastmilk fed (I pump) and a little bit of formula fed. People keep telling me different things about the rice cereal. My mom says to put it in his bottle at night, my friend says to spoon feed it, someone else said not to even give it. What am I really suposed to do. And if I put it in the bottle at night how much do I put in it? And if I spoon feed it how much?

Answer 1

Don't put it in a bottle, the baby will keep sucking and get too full and his belly will hurt really bad. I spoon fed it to my son, you can read on the box how much breastmilk/formula/water to mix in with the cereal.

Answer 2

How you go about doing this is ENTIRELY up to you, mom.

For me, when the kids were just starting to need a bit of cereal, I'd give them 1 teaspoon of cereal in their nighttime bottle. Yes, you need to cut the nipple opening a little larger to allow the cereal to flow thru, but not very much. I think they sell high-flow nipples now, and you could just get one of those. When my kids seemed old enough to want to really eat something solid, they took a tablespoon or two of cereal with formula or breastmilk... of course, half that would end up on their faces and bibs... When they'd had enough, they let me know. If they finished what I gave them and wanted more, I made a little more. Also, rice cereal was very constipating for all three of my kids. I started out with oat cereal or barley... barley is the most mild and non-constipating.

The bottom line is, no matter what most folks have done, they think that's the best way or they've read something that says you should do it a certain way. Nobody's you, though. Your job, as a mom, is to figure out what you think will work best for your baby and for you. Try it. If it doesn't work, go to plan B.

I hope this helps..

EDIT: By the way, whether or not you pay attention to the folks who say babies don't need anything but breastmilk for a whole year is also entirely up to you. I happen to think they're a judgemental group of folks... and my kids would have starved had they not had some cereal starting at 4 months or so.

Answer 3

At around 6 months of age it is safe to give a baby cereal per the American Pediatric Assoc. Never put the cereal in a bottle! That is a choking hazard as the rice cereal can thicken in places unexpectedly. Or, it can clog the nipple of the bottle and cause him to suck in air--again getting choked. And, if you have heard that giving rice cereal before bedtime makes them sleep all night---that is a wives tale. At first, only feed him a few tablespoons of cereal mixed with formula/breast milk. Be sure that it is very very thin until you can observe if he is able to work it to the back of his mouth w/o any problems. It won't be enough to fill him up, but you need to watch for allergies for about 3 days - one week. If he seems fine, you can start to feed him more. Just be certain that you don't overfeed. Sometimes, when babies are that young, they don't turn away from the spoon when they are full.

Answer 4

I teach parents about this for a living, so my information will be correct. Rice cereal can be started at 4 months, although it's suggested that you wait until 6 months. Either way, it should only be fed by a spoon. There are many reasons why it's not supposed to be put in a bottle. However if a baby has acid reflux sometimes the doctor will suggest doing that because the it's worth the risks. Mix the cereal with breast milk, formula or water. Make it thin, but not too thin so that the baby has to use it's tongue to push it to the back of his/her mouth. Start off doing this 1x a day, and then increase it 2x aday after a month or so.

Answer 5

Over the years doctor recommendations have changed. When I was a baby they suggested that you put cereal in the bottle. They don't anymore due to choking hazards. When my niece was born they told her to give cereal at 4 months now 4 years later the doctor says 6 months. I guess my point is you can start now if you want. I did at 5 months. My daughter was hungary and was interested in feeding. I spoon feed because it teaches her how to move food around in her mouth and gets her used to eating rituals. I wouldn't put it in the bottle though. Who needs the extra worry of choking. Don't we moms have enough to worry about?

Answer 6

If you son is holding his head up well, can turn his head away when he's full and it eating 32 or more ounces a day you can start him on rice cereal or you can wait a few more weeks. It is up to you at this point (unless he has any medical issues).

As far as feeding the cereal, it isn't recommended to put it in the bottle because there is a choking risk. For the first feeding, it should be mainly breastmilk - about 1 tbsp. of cereal and a couple of ounces of milk. Feed it to him slowly with a baby spoon and be ready for a lot of dribbles for awhile!

Answer 7

Dont put it in the bottle. Mix some rice cereal with a little formula and spoon feed. If after a few tries, he rejects it with his tongue, he might not be ready. If he does take it, he will let you know when he is done.

Answer 8

Placing infant cereal in a bottle is a serious choking hazard.

Breastfed babies DO NOT need cereal. Infant cereals are disgusting they are over processed and filled with oils and things to make them the right consistancy.

"Cereal is not at all necessary, particularly the baby cereals. Regular (whole grain) oatmeal is more nutritious for your baby. Many doctors recommend iron-fortified rice cereal as baby's first food because it is less likely to cause an allergic reaction and because most babies sometime after the 6th month require an additional iron source other than mother's milk. If your baby starts solids around 6 months or later, there is much less chance of allergic reaction to foods. It's debatable whether healthy breastfed babies need the extra iron (you can get baby's iron levels checked if you're worried about this). In addition, infants need lots of protein and cereal has a low protein-calorie ratio (even lower when mixed with water or fruit). Many experts (including LLL) suggest giving meat or other foods naturally rich in iron instead of foods with added iron."
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html

"The truth is, there is nothing special about these foods that makes them better to start out with. Babies don't actually even need rice cereal. So, if your baby becomes constipated after starting foods, here is what you can do."
http://askdrsears.com/faq/ci2.asp

The most logical thing to do is to baby-led introduction to solids. Spoon feeding increases the risks of choking and is not as healthy as self-feeding which allows babies completely control over how much of what to eat. Also many breastfed babies won't take infant foods, particularly cereal. They are used to getting flavours like garlic and chili from the breastmilk. Give it a read see if you agree:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html

Answer 9

alota ppl do the bottle but the bottle is a no no unless medically nessecary, it can cause choking and childhood obesity plus with cereal ur gonna end up giving less formula or breast milk so he wont be getting all the nutrients from the formula that he would be without the cereal. form a spoon is great, it teaches them how to eat form a spoon and thats all, its not nessecary to feed it to him, also techinically children can live on formul and breast milk alone for the first yr, i know a girl who did that (well for convience i think) but her child was always big and healthy. I would concider consulting ur pediatrician, no one here cna give u a medical answer and everyon will give u different opinions, ur dr knows best

Answer 10

initially, start up the newborn off with merely the cereals for now. I wouldnt start up the "jars" until eventually she is about six months. follow the cereal for now. i might want to feed her for the duration of accepted ingesting situations like b'quickly, lunch, and dinner. the reason of that is so as that she receives right into a habitual like something of the relations and establishes favourite ingesting situations. So once you've your b'quickly, also supply her her cereal. That way in time, she will be able to strengthen the social ingredient of "feeding situations". I wouldnt start up the outcome and vegetables until eventually a month after starting up her on cereal. in case you do, start up with the worst tasting vegetables b/c in case you supply her the further useful ones, she wont devour the "peas" or different no longer so sturdy vegetables. also, i imagine there have been the meats like "rooster" I undergo in options that doesnt style so sturdy both. i imagine you're meant to start up the meats before the vegetables b/c those tast even worse. If conceivable, you could mke your individual. you're doing the right ingredient merely introducing her to at least one nutrition once per week. i might want to easily follow the single type for that week and then once you know she didnt strengthen an allergy, perhaps supply her something else at dinner so she doesnt grow to be bored. Eg. supply her the cereal at b'quickly and lunch. supply her the "jar" at dinner. it doenst fairly count number what order you do it in. the significant ingredient is that she nevertheless receives her formulation.