My baby is 8 weeks old? Whats wrong with putting cereal (rice) in his bottle at night?

Answer 1

1) Your baby's digestive system may not be mature enough to handle it well. This doesn't mean that your baby will vomit or show other obvious signs -- in other words, it may all appear well and good, but this does not mean it isn't a digestive problem.

2) There is absolutely zero evidence that adding cereal to bottles helps a baby sleep through the night. Some moms claim adding cereal to the bottle helped their baby sleep through the night, and more moms will tell you it didn't. The credible professionals will tell you that there's no evidence and that, to the contrary, the evidence is that sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone: a baby will sleep through when that individual baby is ready to. Some babies sleep through the night at 2 months....some at a year. (Also, "sleeping through the night" for these purposes doesn't mean sleeping for 10 hours; in fact, "sleeping through the night" means sleeping for five consecutive hours.)

Doctors sometimes recommend adding rice cereal to bottles...to help infants with GERD (gastroesophogeal reflux disease). Absent a doctor's directive, I would never ever advise giving rice cereal to a baby so young. (For what it's worth, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other professionals have revised the guidlines on starting solids, and now recommend waiting until a baby is at least 6 months old -- all of a baby's nutritional needs are satisfied by breastmilk/formula, and studies suggest that starting foods early increases the risk of food allergies and diabetes.)

Answer 2

Many things. First off if you visit any Mom's resource website, or read the posts on here, cereal in a bottle does not mean your baby will sleep through the night. 3/4 of all babies sleep through the night at 3 months, wether or not they eat solids. Also, your baby is waking up to eat because it NEEDS the food at this age. Look at how fast your baby is growing! That requires a lot of nutrients- the kind in formula/breastmilk, not the empty calories in rice. Your baby's digestive system does not have the enzymes it needs to digest cereal yet, and he doesn't have enough saliva to help digest food. Your baby is not developmentally ready because his throat muscles and tongue will not be ready until about 4 months. Your baby can't tell you he's full yet and you could unintentionally force feed him, which can lead to obesity later in life. Also, my pediatrician told me the #1 reason babies under 4 months are brought in to the office is due to constipation from having cereal too early. A lot of older women will tell you that they did it, but the formulas did not contain all of the nutrients they have in them now and Dr.'s back then suggested additional food. Yes, it stinks to have to get up at night, but soon he will sleep through the night and you will feel normal again. And without having risked your baby's health to do it! Hang in there!

Answer 3

He can't digest it properly yet. He doesn't have the stomache enzymes needed to digest anything besides breastmilk or formula at this age.

The AAP says NOTHING but breastmilk or formula until around 6 mos of age.

Starting solid foods (which includes cereal) too early can lead to obesity, allergies and diabetes.

Cereal shouldn't be fed in a bottle when the child does start solids, but instead off a spoon. Part of the point is teaching them a different way to eat. Putting it in a bottle doesn't serve that purpose. Plus, it's a choking hazard in a bottle.

Solid foods are mostly for fun and practice once they are started around 6 mos anyway.

Answer 4

First of all, your 8 week old is not old enough to digest rice cereal. It is NORMAL for babies to NOT sleep throught the night. Putting rice cereal in your babies bottle that young will cause more problems, such as, a upset tummy with lots of gas (that will keep you up longer at night than just getting up to feed your baby when they are hungry). Cherish every moment you have to hold that precious baby. My son is now 16 months old and I would give anything to be back getting up at night and feeding him. Time flies with little ones. Enjoy it while you can.

Answer 5

I hope to God you are kidding.

Number one, babies don't need any solids (including cereal mixed into milk) until at least 6 months old. Second, putting cereal in a bottle is very dangerous. They can inhale the particles and choke. Thirdly, it's teaching a baby to overeat. Do you want an obese child?

Please read this.

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

It really scares me how people believe what other people tell them instead of listening to their doctors or reading the most recent articles from online resources like babycenter.com. What our parents and grandparents did is not always for the best! My mom used to give me honey on a pacifier. Well, we all know now that you aren't supposed to give honey to babies. My Mother-in-Law's doctor told her to start feeding my husband meat at around 2 months old. MEAT! Not baby food, but crushed-up meat. Now, we know that is totally inappropriate.

Do yourself a favor and start reading some parenting magazines or something.

Answer 6

It is dangerous to give a baby less than 4 months old anything but breastmilk or formula because of their immature digestive systems. If you give a baby cereal or other food items it could damage their digestive system. Ask your baby's doctor for more information. If you are tired of getting up to feed the baby in the middle of the night you can try to get the baby to sleep through the night. I recommend using the book "On Becoming Baby Wise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam it really is a life saver.

Answer 7

the myth that rice will help a baby sleep longer if you put it in their bottles is a LIE!my son wouldnt sleep any longer with rice in his bottle.he was about 3 months before he started sleeping through the night and he doesnt have to have rice in it!also,rice makes fat babies..it really doesnt do anything for them or make them go longer in between feeding in my experiance..also hes only 8 weeks..their digestive tract cant really handle that right now!give it a little more time..my doc suggested it at around 3 months!good luck

Answer 8

if your baby is digesting the cereal ok and its not making him sick, dont worry about what other people say... some say that thier little tummies cant handle it but that is only the case with some babies.. i think if you just put one of the formula scoopfulls (no more) into a bottle of at least four ounces, or no more than two scoops for an eight ounce bottle, that should be ok... but as i said that is only if he is digesting it ok... you might want to try to add some of the fruity baby food with it within the next couple of weeks, just a little bit.. this not only will help with the digestion but the new taste will keep the baby from getting bored with the normal ol taste of just plain cereal... As far as what these other people are saying about increased allergies, and obesity... that may be true with some cases but not all the time... i have three very healthy little boys who all started on rice cereal at a month old... they are very active and are eat very healthy... you can blame obesity on this or you can blame it on unattentive lazy parents who dont make and take the time to actually play with thier kids and monitor thier diet... i prefer the latter... and as far as someone saying that you should listen to your doctor instead of other people, that may very well be good advice... but my friends father has been a pediatrician for over twenty years and he says that i did nothing wrong and that i should be proud that i have very healthy kids... and I am... i believe its all a matter of how much patience you have as a parent and how comfortable you want your child to be... good luck...

Answer 9

We began giving JD rice cereal in his bottles at like 3 weeks old. He eats alot and wasn't getting full. He's 12 months old now and still eats alot. He's a mess ... But anyways, I used the scoop from the formula. JD ate like a 4 oz bottle, I'd add a scoop and a half of rice. Just depends! Good Luck! :o) **www.happysahm.com**

Answer 10

i'm so sure all these people answering your question have never done anything wrong raising their baby. sure...
that was sarcasm. you know what. i've given all of my babies rice cereal in their bottle since they were 3 weeks old and they all came out just fine. with my oldest, middle and youngest child, not one has come out obese, allergic to food, had a hard time pooping, nothing bad happened. the only thing i can fathom that is wrong with giving your baby rice cereal in a bottle is that he may, slightly may, not be able to swallow it so may begin to spit it out or even aspirate it. that's far fetched to me though. i wouldn't worry about what the "facts" are on giving a baby who's not ready for rice cereal. do what you think is best for your baby and you will be happy you did.