Is it safe to give my 3m old son rice cereal?

Question

Hi, my son is 3m and over 14 pounds he was pretty big when he was born. We have a really hard time with sleeping not only druing the day but also at night he falls at sleep pretty good but he is up every three hours and during the day he sleeps meaby an hour (both naps).Can you please tell me some triks I can use.I heard about giving him some rice cereal.? And could you please tell me how much I should give him? He get about 4oz. every 3hours.
Thank you for a answer

Answer 1

My oldest daughter was born at 6 lbs 4 oz, and 23 inches long. From her very first feeding she took 8 ounces. AND she would eat 8 ounces every 6 hours from that time on.

By the time she was one month old she weighed 13 lbs.

By the time she was two months old she weighed 18 lbs.

At six weeks she was no longer satisfied with her 8 ounce bottles, which she was taking 4 hours apart by then. So I put her on rice cereal. I made it super runny using her formula as the liquid, and then mixed it really well so that it would be smooth. The cereal was thin enough to run off the spoon. Then I fed this to her with a baby spoon. She took 4 ounces of this rice/formula mix for a first feeding (plus her 8 ounce bottle), and slept for 8 hours. Since I had given it to her before bedtime, this was just fine by me.

My suggestion to you would be to increase his feedings to first 6 ounces, and then 8 ounces before you think of putting your little guy onto rice cereal. But when it comes time that this is no longer satisfying him (especially overnight), THEN make him really runny rice cereal and feed it to him with a spoon.

Answer 2

I can only tell you what my experience has been with my 3m old son. He had been drinking 6-8 oz. every three hours since he was about 2m old. He just wasn't satisfied after an 8 oz. bottle, so I fed him some rice cereal out of a bowl. I just started with a tablespoon of the cereal and mixed in water or formula or bm until it was really runny. It would run into his mouth off the spoon. I would give him some of his cereal and then feed him his bottle and keep alternating until the cereal was gone. I could tell that my son was ready for more cereal when he would finish the tablespoon, drink the 8 oz. bottle and still want more. So, now he is eating two tablespoons of cereal and I mix it with less liquid, so it is a little bit thicker. He won't drink the entire bottle. He leaves maybe an ounce. So, I figure he is feeling content and full. He still eats every 3 hours from 6 a.m. until around 8 p.m. He will then sleep from 8 p.m. until his 6 a.m. bottle. He was sleeping through the night right around 2m, even before I started giving him cereal. I was putting the cereal in his bottle, but the bigger hole in the nipple was causing him to drink too fast and suck in too much air. He would then spit up, have gas, or get the hiccups, so I stopped putting the cereal in his bottle and he is one happy boy. By the way, he weighed 8lbs,3oz. at birth. I hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 3

I know what all the studies say...wait to introduce baby to solids until 6 months. But somtimes you look into the past for your answer. In the past children started eating by three months. With my children I have always started putting a little rice cereal in the bottle, you will need nipples with bigger holes, but it helps them sleep so much better. Don't need to worry about making them fat, both my children are right on track! Also, keep an eye on constipation, rice cereal can give some children hard stools.

Another thing you may want to try is increasing the amount at bedtime. By three months my daughter was drinking 6 oz at every feeding...just not as often as some. At three months right now, my son is drinking 6-8 oz at bedtime and 4 oz the rest of the feedings.

Answer 4

Start small. Begin with rice cereal (very liquidy off a spoon) until he gets the hang of it. Always start new food in the morning. this way you can see if he has a food allergy in the beinning of the day. Then I'd switch to a bit in the morning then at night. You will get him to sleep long stretches in the evening. Consult a dr. His poop will change and then you have to change cereals every two weeks to try others. Rice can be too binding. Good luck.

Answer 5

I know it's not what you want to hear but every three hours at night sounds about right. :)

You can try giving him more formula/breastmilk. At night, before bed, see if you can get him to cluster feed. Instead of giving him his regular 4 oz every three hours, try giving him a 4oz bottle at say 5pm, another 2-4oz at 6pm, another couple at 7pm and then put him to bed at 7:30pm (the schedule would follow whatever routine and bedtime you use). He may not eat it all but offer it to him and see what he does. This made my son sleep for four hours when he was that young.

Other tips I've heard is give him a "dream feed." This is where you go in to him right before you go to sleep, say 11pm. You don't wake him up but you take him out of his crib and give him a bottle, I would try 4oz. It could backfire, meaning it may wake him up and you may have a hard time getting him back down, but it could make him skip his first wake-up feed so you have a longer stretch of sleep.

As for the cereal, I wouldn't give it to him at 3 months. You can ask your pediatrician but everything I've ever read or heard says no solids before 4 months at the very earliest. If you do give him cereal, don't put it in his bottle. According to my ped this is a surefire way to overfeed.

Good luck -- I hope you get a full night sleep soon!

Answer 6

A child is psychologically read for soilds at 2 months of age. However its an old wives tale that it will help them sleep through the night. That is a developmental mildstone. He will digest the cereal and feel hunger and wake to eat. Go ahead and feed him the cereal my son was put on it just before he was 3 months {his dr said to do it} and was born 5 weeks early. It wont hurt him just make sure he's still getting enough formula/breastmilk whichever your doing. And 4 ounces every 3 hours is normal for his size..Here is the thing to remember if he's growing, having dirty diapers {stool and pee and it doesnt decrease} and your dr isnt concerned you shouldnt be

Answer 7

I bought a bigger nipple size & added cereal to the bottle at first, but if he acts hungry & is smacking his lips I would go ahead & at least try to feed him cereal, he is a big boy & big kids want heartier food. Give him 4 ounces of white grape juice a day so he doesn't get constipated, white grape is easier on the tummy. I would give him a couple of tbl spoons in between bottle feedings, so that it gets processed by bedtime. Good luck, hopefully your critter will start sleeping through the night.

Answer 8

YESSSSSSSSSs..........give your son rice cereal in his bottle. Put enough rice in the bottle that it is quite liquid, so he can suck the rice with the milk. You will be AMAZED at how well rice will fill him up. He will sleep thru the nights on the rice. Put an ounce of rice with 4 ounces of formula, shake it up and serve :) My second son was 10lb 5oz at birth and he came home drinking 8oz of Enfamil every 3 hours........I had a toddler at home as well as I was getting tired so..........the second night I had my second son home I gave him rice cereal with his formula and what a happy baby he was. The milk did not satisfy him but with the rice added it worked like a charm !!! Good Luck!!!
Blessings, Donna

Answer 9

You can give him rice cereal....it will not hurt him(although it may constipate him) But do not be surprised if it does not make him sleep any better at night. For some children that does work but for 2 out of 3 of my girls it did not.....they were still up at their regular time wanting something to eat.

Answer 10

the new studies released in 06 now reccomend waiting untill6 mnths to introduce ANY food including Rice cereal
because of their digestive tracks at that young age I would reccomend to just keep giving the milk