How should you feed and infant oatmeal at 4 months, in a bottle or with a spoon?

Answer 1

You shouldnt. 4 months is too young for oatmeal.

Babies shouldnt start solids until at LEAST 6 months... and you should start with fresh fruits and veggies... good eating habits start now!

(infants don't produce much of the enzyme, amylase, that digests grains... its not a very good food to start with)

Answer 2

All the experts agree on this one...use a spoon. There are a couple different reasons not to put cereal in a bottle. One is because it is a choking hazard. The other is because your baby will have a harder time regulating how much food he is getting. If your baby would typically drink 6 ounces of breast milk or formula and be satisfied, he would still try to drink 6 ounces of milk with cereal in it and be overfull without knowing it.

The other recommendation is to wait until your baby is 6 months old before starting solid foods. Many parents feel their baby is hungry and start sooner. When you decide it is the right time for your baby here are some things I have found work best. Offer a bottle before offering the food because at this age your baby still needs to get his nutrition from breast milk or formula. Then, feed your baby in a sitting position (cereal or whatever pureed food you choose) from a spoon. Some babies prefer the food to be a thick liquid consistency while others prefer it thicker. He may push some of the food out with his tongue until he learns how to swallow. Your baby will let you know when he is full by either turning away, keeping his mouth closed, or getting fussy. Enjoy these first few feedings. They are a lot of fun.

Answer 3

I think that this is totally up to you but.........I prefer the spoon for several reasons.
First it helps the baby get used to eating from the spoon.
Also the bottle gets clogged with the cereal and then everyone says to make the nipple opening bigger and I feel this gives them the food too quickly .
As a mom of three and a grandma of nine I would also suggest that you start with barley cereal....the oatmeal constipates and is harder to digest....again you may be told to also start a juice or fruit to help with this but ....I feel this is too soon and could cause allergic reactions and then you will not know from what(cereal,fruit,or juice)
When you do start with the spoon the cereal consistency should be watery. You should make a bottle and use the formula out of there and then what is left over is to be offered afterward.
I hope this info helps you a little and I hope that you discussed this with your pediatrician

Answer 4

Neither. The most recent scientific research about the development of infant digestive tracts shows that babies are not ready for solids before 6 months of age (see links below for more information).

When you do start solids, it should always be with a spoon, never in a bottle. Putting cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard and puts babies at risk of obesity later in life (see links).

Answer 5

When my daughter was less than 2 weeks old my DOCTOR told me to put cereal in her bottle ( it was rice though) because she choked on her milk until she would turn blue almost. The dr. explained it as the flapper in her throat didn't close properly so the milk would come up. The small amount of rice thickened it so it would stay down. And as for the health dept. and wic people, they told me that I was force feeding her, but when a peditrician tells you to do it, I think they know more than some person from the health dept. If you are feeding the baby cereal just because he is hungary, definately use a spoon. I just get tired of people acting like putting cereal in a bottle in a sin.

Answer 6

we gave our baby first oatmeal at 4 months. we followed the directi0ns on the box for first feeding and this made it very liquidy, which was perfect. We gave it to the baby with a COATED spoon. He was reaching for the spoon to help feed himself a few days later. After a few days with the first feeding instructions, we added more oatmeal so it was a bit thicker. It should not be too thick anyway.
Have fun!!!

Answer 7

Use a spoon, putting cereal in a botttle could be a choking hazard. Your child will take the cereal with the spoon. Good luck and have fun.
Just remeber it is common for them to roll some of the cereal back on their tongue. Take a picture so you can remember the first spoon feeding.

Answer 8

You can do either. You need to make the nipple wider by either using a hot needle or clipped into an X with a sharp scissors. Some bottle manufacturers actually produce a wider nipple opening as well.

Oh, some of the posters will go on and on about how it is a problem, but remember that your pediatrician grew up on whole milk with infant cereal mixed into EVERY SINGLE BOTTLE just like everybody else you know over the age of 25! It is a nonproblem for most children.

Answer 9

Someone once told me that too. To get me son full, so he would sleep longer at night. I talked to me Dr. and he said, when you put food in a bottle and your child just swallows it down they are not learning to move their tongue. They need to push the food around in their mouths, against the top and the side so they can learn to chew. Just swallowing down it goes so fast into the stomach the infant will not learn to feel for their full signal. You start out with really thin cereal, like rice cereal (it has a less grainy texture) and slow make it think as the baby learns to take it in and swallows it. A lot of the first 10-15 attempts, it seems like more appears on the baby, then in their tummy's. They eventually get better and they are more prepared to handle more solid food when you move to fruits and veggies later on. Slowly adjust the thickness as the baby gets better at eating it. If baby gags on it, it may still be to thick. Water it down with formula and keep trying.

Answer 10

I wouldn't start off with oatmeal; I've started my kids with rice cereal. At 2 months I thickened their formula (in a bottle) with about a tablespoon or two of cereal. Then starting at 3 months I introduced very thin rice cereal with a little applesauce on a spoon. They will only take a couple spoonsful at first.
Good luck!

Answer 11

You can do either. Four months is not too early to start introducing a spoon. If you do mix the cereal and formula in a bottle make sure you have the correct nipple and mix according to instructions. I mixed cereal with formula when my daughter was an infant.