baby cereal?

Question

I was wondering if i teaspoon in 4 ounces of formula was just enough to make it a little bit thicker not too much. My baby is 1 month old but she wakes up every 2 hours and eats 4 ounces. I am in need of some desperate sleep and she is not sleeping during the day very much. I have heard different opinions about giveing her cereal already but it's my choice.

everytime I feed her she takes a little nap and I mean little like 30minutes or less. Everytime I got to put her down she wakes up. My baby is only 1 month old and she doesn't take 2-3 hour long naps. She eats all the time every 2 hours day and night. She is on Soy formula. Her doctor told me to try the enfamil AR but I am on WIC and WIC doesn't cover enfamil brand anymore. Does Similac have anything close to that? She spits up alot so that is also a reason why I was giving her creal already.

Answer 1

Just a word of advice, it doesn't always make them sleep longer. Also cereal is not as nutritious as formula or breast milk. In a couple months she will start sleeping during the night. See if you can have someone watch her for a few hours while you take a nap.

Answer 2

I think that even WIC will tell you that giving your baby cereal at such a young age is a bad idea.

However, I know many woman who have done this, and infact my mother did it with my little sister. I can't say if it helped or not, because I don't think it did. Their little tummies just can't digest the cereal at the young of an age, they still need formula. Giving them foods like cereal can make them colicky, and cause them other problems too.

I would check with your pediatritian and your WIC Office to see what more you can do.

I'm not sure if this is accurate or not...but I think babies eat about every 2 hours, and I think it is about 4 ounces or so. They don't have sleep patterns like adults, you aren't going ot get a new born baby to sleep for 4 or even 8 hours at a time. ANd yes...a month old is still considered (atleast to me) as a new born.

But I would reccomend talking to your babies pediatrcian.

Answer 3

You shouldn't start her on baby cereal until at least 4 months. A one month old having to wake up every 2 hours in the night is normal. However, you need your sleep and having a 1 month old not sleep during the day is not normal. She should sleep after each meal which should be provided every 2-3 hours. Babies are growing very fast, especially at this age and have very small stomachs and fast metabolisms. Keep feeding them until they sleep. Hold and cuddle them for a while and while they are sleeping, sleep with them in your bed. That may be comforting to them. In the mean time don't be afraid to ask for help from relatives or friends.
Also she could be gasy or lactose intolerant. Buy formulas that subtract the lactose. Get your sleep, your body has been through a lot. Do you breast feed? that takes a lot of time patience and sacrifice. But my one that I did breastfeed, she turned out very healthy and likes to eat healthy foods. The rest are just junk food eaters and it takes an arm and a leg to get them to eat their veggies.

Answer 4

Your baby is doing what she is designed to do. At 1 month of age she SHOULD be waking up often during the night to eat...

So, I wouldn't suggest adding cereal to her bottle. It might backfire on you and cause her more digestive upset instead of helping her sleep (which has been largely disproven to be true anyhow).

Instead of doing the cereal thing with such a young baby... First try calling a friend or relative that can come over and babysit for a few hours while you get some much needed rest! No risk of harm to baby, big bonus for mom!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 5

I suggest that you try her on 6 ounces of formula per feeding instead of 4 ounces. She may just need a little more formula in her tummy. If this doesn't work then contact your doctor and see what he/she says. Starting babies on more solid foods without a doctors consent can be dangerous and could cause food allergies later in life. Good luck honey and just try to get some sleep.

Answer 6

please dont feed your baby anything but milk at this young stage. I know some people say they did earlier than 4 months and that thier babies turned out "fine" but if you want to do whats best by your baby please just keep feeding formula at this stage. unless your doctor gives you the all clear. which I doubt youll find one who will.
I see you say youre not covered for the extra, but I think you should try and find some way of making it into your budget, you shouldnt feed your baby some drink that may upset her just because you cant afford a darer one. if she should have the darer one, then adding cereal to it is not going to stop the spilling up.

you should aslo try other methods of getting her to sleep longer, do you still swaddle her (wrap her tight in blankets like they did at the hospital? does she cry alot? if she does you should see if she has reflux or colic, I had a very grumpy baby and took her to an osteopath (natural massage) who did a cranial massage, it really helped.

I hope she starts to sleep longer soon.

Danielle

Answer 7

You should really wait to give them cereal until at least 4-6 mo old, but check with the pediatrician. When you do start, you can put just a tsp or so in the 4oz formula...that will help to "hold them over" till the next feeding. But always check with the doc first!

Answer 8

there is formula with cereal in it and it is called enfamil with AR thought this is for baby's with reflux or ones who spit up a lot. my son was on that but switched to soy based do to a sensitivity know under a doctors care i add cereal to the bottle he also has reflux. thought you should not do this with out telling your doctor but your the mom and moms always know best for there own children it is equal amounts of cereal and formula my son takes 60 oz of formula so that is 6 tsp of cereal. also try giving her a oz or 1/2 oz more formula she may need more know my son was having growth spurts and we moved him up a oz.


don't listen to what people may say about this being wrong like i said under a doctors care some baby's are put on cereal in there bottles before 4 months my son started getting it at 8 weeks.

Answer 9

Can she drink more than 4 oz of formula at a time? Some kids drink 8 oz. Also, with the cereal thing, my kids weren't interested in cereal until I put a sprinkle of sugar in it, or a baby spoon of green beans or applesauce.

We used to wake our kids up right before we wanted to go to sleep. That way, the child is fed and changed, and hopefully will sleep a few hours. And we got the most sleep.

Answer 10

babies cannot digest cereal properly before the age of 4 months..i still cannot understand why parents still do this anyway! good lord!

we tried the 'cereal in a bottle' thing when my daughter was 5 months old...it didn't help w/her sleep. babies (esp as young as yours) WILL GET UP every 2-4 hours to eat...that's what they do!