is it okay to give my baby rice cereal at 9 weeks?

Question

My baby is 9 weeks old and this lady that works in walmart said i should already be giving him alittle bit of cereal mixed with his milk... but my mom says noway.... i kinda want to though cause it might make him sleep better but it doesnt really matter to me cause he already sleeps 6-8 hrs straight a night but what should i do? is it okay to give him this early or should i wait?

Answer 1

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nothing but breast milk or formula (ugh!) for the first 6 months. Not only will your baby tend to become obese, but there is much higher risk of developing food allergies if the baby is introduced to solids too early.

Answer 2

In this case...mom knows best! I would wait if your baby is not throwing up a lot and acting satisfied after each feeding because it is not typically good to feed a young infant any type of cereal, because their delicate little bodies can not yet digest it properly. Most pediatricians will not recommend cereal until 6 months and then they most likely they will suggest rice before oatmeal. If you get to the point that your baby isn't getting satisfied by it's bottles or having problems with throwing up a lot...and you feel like you need to do something there are alternatives (but check with your pediatrician first). There is some stuff you can get from the pharmacies (Walgreens, Walmart, etc.) called Thicket. It is used to thicken the formula/milk and is safe for the most delicate babies.

Answer 3

Never take advice from someone who works at WALMART! It's not safe to give a baby who is 9 wks old rice cereal. Sure they may sleep through the night but you are eventually going to clog up their bowels and either cause a ruptured instestine which could cause DEATH or you are going to just severely constipate then and undernourish them for the sake of a few more hours of sleep. I know it's tempting because newborns are up so much but bear with him....it won't last forever. By 3 months he'll sleep longer stretches of time. You don't need to risk his health and safety.

Answer 4

You should not start giving a baby cereal or baby food until your baby can hold his/her head up and can sit with support. This happens around 4-5 months but if you are breastfeeding, they don't recommend you feed your baby anything until 6 months.

Listen to your mother because you don't know the walmart lady and your mom has gone through this before!

Answer 5

if milk isn't gratifying start up out with including a sprint rice cereal to her bottle to be sure she isn't allergic in simple terms use a small volume, then day after today attempt slightly extra of an volume. she won't be waiting for a spoon yet, yet once you're able to you additionally could make a larger hollow interior the nipple of her bottle to make feeding a sprint much less complicated. My sister started on rice cereal while she replaced into 2 weeks previous and one in all my brothers replaced into on it at one week previous, my mom stated i replaced into approximately 6 months previous, yet i replaced into her first... yet another brother replaced into 3 months previous yet he replaced right into a preemie and stayed int the well being center the 1st month and a nil.5 on the exterior, and the different brother replaced right into some month previous, so sure it particularly is secure

Answer 6

Lucky for you, the woman at Walmart was correct.
My first was 3 weeks old when I asked the doctor about his sleeping habits. The doctor, a really old fashioned man, told me "go buy one of those rubber coated childrens spoon, buy some baby rice cereal, mix a tiny bit of cereal with some milk, feed it to the baby and he will sleep like a log. Right now, he's just not quite full enough to sleep the length of time he should be sleeping". I did this and boom - he slept 6 hours and problem solved.
I hate to go against your mother on this - but I did this and it works.

Answer 7

i asked this exact same question 3 days ago at my sons pediatrician. he's 6 wks old and inquired as to when it was suitable to start with a little bit of cereal mixed with formula before bed. she immediately said they used to say at 3-4 months (12-14 wks) they could have it but now they say to wait until they're 5-6 months old because there has been links between starting them on cereals etc earlier and developping allergies to food, animals, the evironment etc so she recommended that i wait because of that. makes sense to me, i'd rather more possibility of him living allergy free later in life than me sleeping more now.

Answer 8

Do you really believe that taking the advice from a woman at WalMart is the best idea?

Talk to your doctor. Babies need breast milk only for the first six months.

Answer 9

hi i have a 3 year old daughter but that doesn't make me an expert. all i can do is tell you what i was told. i wanted to start giving my daughter juice when she was 1 month old. i asked the pharmasist at walgreens if it was ok and she said no. she said you should not give an infant anything but formula or breastmilk until they are four months old. so if you want to try it then you should probably ask your pediatriction first. sorry for all the mis spellings.

Answer 10

I gave all three of my kid's rice cereal in their bottles a litle earlier than the docotor suggeste. They were about three months, but if your child is sleeping through the night why bother. If you question it why bother? Do what makes you comfortable, oh and it didn't help my son sleep through the night at all, oh and none of my kid's are over weight