When is it o.k. to put cereal in with formula?

Question

I have a 2.5 week old baby boy.He never latched on and drinks mosly formula and about 2-4 oz of pumped breast milk a day.He is up and wanting fed every 1-2 hours.A friend told me last night she started giving her son cereal in the formula at 2 months old because she felt he wasn't sattisfied or getting full.Goodness! Is that early or what?Any comments or ideas?

Thanks all,My friend freaked me out.SPOON o.k. and wait til he is much older!!!!!!!!I will deffinately talk to dr. but just wanted you opinion.

Answer 1

Question: We have an 8-week-old daughter who polishes off a 4-ounce bottle of formula every one to two hours. She seems continually hungry. When do we start her on something other than formula, such as cereal? She weighs 12 pounds.

Answer: Starting cereal this early in her life isn't a good idea. Despite her weight and the amount she is consuming, her gastrointestinal tract is still immature, and introducing another foreign protein in cereal can predispose her to allergies later on.

At this stage of her physical development, formula is still the only food a formula-fed infant should get. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months with gradual introduction of solid foods in the second six months for a breastfed baby, and introduction of solid foods between 4 and 6 months for a formula-fed infant.

Some of the signs that your baby is ready for solids are an ability to sit fairly well in a high chair as well as take food off a spoon and transfer it to the back of her mouth. This means the disappearance of the tongue-thrust reflex (where the baby pushes most of the food put into her mouth down her chin with her tongue). The final signal is an interest in food.

With your baby eating so frequently, I can imagine you are thinking she simply isn't being satisfied by the amount of formula she is getting. If she is taking 4 ounces every one to two hours around the clock, she's eating a lot! . If she is spitting up a lot or having diarrhea, she may not really be absorbing all that food. Or if you are mixing powdered formula with too much water, she may be drinking more of it in order to get the calories she needs.

On the other hand, a baby who weighs 12 pounds — which, at her age, is between the 75th and 90th percentiles for weight — needs to eat about 32 ounces of formula a day, give or take a bit, to continue gaining weight. And formula-fed babies also seem to go through growth spurts, at around 2, 3, and 6 months, when they may take more formula for a period of time and then go back to a more "normal" intake.

It might be helpful to determine whether she is really hungry all those times she is eating. Check the hole in the nipple — is it too big? Is she drinking too fast, and not getting the amount of sucking time she needs? Feeds should take about 20 minutes with lots of hugging and snuggling with Mom or Dad. This helps satisfy both her nutritional and nurturing needs. Will she take a pacifier or suck on her thumb or fingers instead of taking a bottle? Can you distract her from her bottle by playing with her or doing something else? Are you, perhaps, encouraging her to finish the bottle instead of taking it away once she indicates she is no longer interested by pushing it away or biting on the nipple?

When you do start solid foods, start gradually, allowing your baby's GI tract to adjust to each new food before starting another. Rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula is generally baby's first solid food. Then wait a few days and try something else, such as a green vegetable. After a few more days, you can introduce another cereal such as oatmeal, or another vegetable or a fruit. This way, if your baby has a reaction to anything, you will know right away what it is. While which foods you start first is not terribly important, the usual progression is cereals, vegetables, fruits, and then meats. Foods considered potentially allergenic, such as cows' milk, eggs, wheat, and fish, should not be started until the baby is closer to a year old.

It's a joy to watch our children as they go from one milestone to the next, and starting solids, really the beginning of the weaning process from breast milk or formula, is one of the first milestones.

Answer 2

I didnt feed my 1st child cereal until 6 months. I suffered sleepless nights for 6 whole months, as he wanted to feed every 3 hours.

My 2nd two children I gave them cereal in a bottle, from about 2 months. I cut a small slit in the nipple, and made it fairly thick. They sucked it down and slept for 6-8 hours per night.

Neither 2nd or 3rd child has had allergies, or ever been on antibiotics for that matter. Very healthy children. They all were born from 10lbs 9oz to 8lbs 9 oz. So large babies. None of them are overweight now.

If he is emptying the bottle, give him more each feeding. He is grazing really badly right now, if hes eating every hour or two on formula.

Answer 3

I would wait until the baby is at least 4 months old before giving cereal. Even then, don't put it in the bottle. Only spoon feed the baby food.

At 2.5 weeks old your baby is just going through a growth spurt. He will slow down on his eating soon. Just make sure you keep giving him formula, and the breast milk. Also if you want to try to keep him fuller at night, I would keep with the pumped milk during the day...then give him the formula at night. Formula stays in children's system longer then breast milk.

Answer 4

What does you baby wake up for? Is it for a feed? If so start reducing the amount (if bottle fed) gradually. At 7 months if your baby is feeding well in the day they should be able to go without a feed during the night. Try reducing the amount you offer in the night gradually an ounce at a time. I did this with my son at 5 months it took about 10 days, he was only waking for around 4 ounces so I just gradually offered him less. By the 10th night he didn't wake up at all. there's no need to put cereal in the bottle, I tried it and it didn't work! it blocked the teat also so he couldn't even get his milk out!!

Answer 5

I started giving my daughter a teaspoon of rice cereal in 4-5 ounces of milk when she was 31/2 weeks old, she is now 5 months and eats off a spoon. Give it in the morning and at nite..and let me tell you your baby will sleep much better.

Answer 6

6 months is what the docs associations say. Your friend is not a doc or nutrionist (well maybe she is)

Thats typical feeding for a newborn, it will settle down into longer periods. The reason for waiting on the cereal is your babies digestive system. Its not developed for solids yet. Giving solids too early could give a tummy ache and constipation problems. It would be like you eating a couple of enormous steaks in one sitting. Why push it.

Answer 7

That is way tooooo early. Dont do it!. Dont listen to her. The baby can get an allergic reaction and it could be really bad. You can start feeding him cereal at around 5-6 months old and with a spoon. NEVER put it in the bottle.

Answer 8

You should never put cereal in the bottle. This can cause choking and confusion when your baby gets older. You want to wait until your baby is old enough to eat cereal off of a spoon.

Answer 9

Virtually every single adult that you know, including your pediatrician, had cereal in a bottle at birth. So, your baby is not going to explode. However, given that he is getting formula mostly, I would check with your pediatrician before doing so. Just give the office a call and ask.

Most gals start with a teaspoon, but don't go over 3 teaspoons. That is too much for such a young baby. You may have to take one nipple and make it a little bigger for the cereal to get through.

Answer 10

Only if your child's doctor recommends it. Your baby will get all that he needs from formula until he is ready for solids.