Question about adding cereal to formula?

Question

First of all im one of those people that believes in no cereal until 4-6 months of age. My childs Dr. said that I need to start adding some in now because of his reflux. He tried to get me to do it last month but I refused. My son has been on prilosec for 2months and it works a little. He is now 13 weeks old. Im not sure how to mix it. The Dr. said to mix in enough to make it noticibly thicker. I put 2 tbsp in 4oz this morning and my son ate it up like there was no tommorow! He then kept staring at the empty bottle and cooed at it for like 15min! I don't think I made it thick enough but im scared to make it too thick. Can someone tell me how to start this right?

His Dr. said to put it in the bottle and just to make the hole bigger.

By the way Amanda.... I refused because I know that starting cereal too early has long term effects on the baby's digestive system. The medication used short term has no negative impact on the baby. The reflux should resolve when he is about 6months old. Im a nurse myself and am only trying to do what I believe is best for my baby.

Answer 1

Please listen to your doctor because he is absolutely right. My son was diagnosed with acid reflux at two months and could not keep the plain milk down at all and sometimes he wouldn't even drink it. I was getting worried because he was only 5lbs. 13oz. at birth and he started to lose more weight. His doctor suggested adding plain rice cereal to his milk so that it is thick and his milk suddenly stayed down. The thing is once he started eating cereal with his milk he didn't want to stop and I had to start adding more and more but it's fine. It won't hurt the babier. It will just make them a little thicker. Once he made four months I now add the jar food (rice cereal mixed with applesauce) to his bottles because plain cereal is no longer enough to satisfy him. But after I started giving him cereal it cut down on his reflux problems and I didn't have to start him on the medicine so I say go for it and good luck!!!

Answer 2

I'm not sure about the reflux, but I started adding rice cereal in my daughter's bottles when she was 2 months old because she would eat a 4 ounce bottle of formula and be hungry again in about an hour. Her doctor said that it would not cause any digestive problems later on. Now that she is 5 months old I still put it in her bottles but I also give her some mixed in a bowl with baby food.

Answer 3

My daughter had reflux as well. She couldn't digest the cereal at such a young age (we started adding her cereal around 1 month of age), and would constantly cry when we gave it to her in her breastmilk. I had to switch to a thicker formula (added rice starch) called Enfamil A.R. on the advice of her pediatrician. That formula has worked wonders! She is now 4 months old and her reflux has improved greatly with this and we are now weening her off the medication. If you are going to add the cereal to the formula your child is currently on, I was told to add 1 tablespoon for every couple ounces..... Good luck!

Answer 4

My son had something like this when he was a baby. We had the Exorcist baby. We started out by switching him from regular bottles to the ones with the bags, the less air works wonders. We started him on cereal at about 4 months one of easiest things to do when feeding him cereal is to get a feeding bottle( if they still sell them) this is specially designed for cereal, we had one for my son it works great. If you still put it in his bottle you should just play with the amount of cereal until it has thickened the milk to the Constancy that your little one can handle, but don't make it so thick that it clogs the bottle. Hope this helps

Answer 5

I'm very surprised your doctor would tell you that. I have never heard a doctor say its okay to put cereal in a bottle. It can cause chocking etc. What you should do is make the cereal as a meal. The right way with pre made formula! Start feeding him a little at a time. Good luck w/that

Answer 6

at 13 weeks your child will not have the ability to eat cereal from a spoon and bowl. i started to give my daughter cereal at 3 months because milk was not enough to satisfy her. you dont want to make it too thick as it might consipate him i would say if the amount you put in his bottle made him happy and helped with the reflux i would stay with that. then around 4 to 5 months make it thicker and try to spoon feed him. good luck

Answer 7

When my little one was 4 months old we began putting cereal in his bottle & we did it only once a day - we were giving him three 8 oz bottles. We would put two tablespoons of rice cereal in the 8 oz bottle. We poked a small hole in the center of the nipple and it was fine. I understand your concern...I was the same way - I didn't want to feed him anything but formula until he was 6 months, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

Answer 8

You're really not supposed to put it in a bottle at all. Try another doctor's opinion on giving him cereal for the reflux. But, yes. You're supposed to mix it in a bowl as directed on the box.

Answer 9

Wow - 13 weeks is really early, but if your doc says go for it, maybe try mixing a bit of formula to the cereal in a bowl. Then feed it to him with a baby spoon. Since he is so newborn, I wouldn't suggest adding more to his bottle - he may choke.

Answer 10

I would do no more than 3-4 tbsp per 4 oz since it is more substantial than regular formula and if he eats too much at once it may aggravate the reflux. Also babies who have more than formula tend to fall sleep faster and sleep more soundly because they stay full longer.