When should I try cereal?

Question

My son seems ready for really thin cereal. He is about 3 1/2 months old, but i'm too afraid to try. I made about 1/4 of an oune of thin cereal with barely any cereal in the bowl mainly only formula and fed him ONE bite and he didn't spit it out. How old did you start your kids on cereal, should i wait two more weeks til he is 4 months old?


PLEASE NO RUDE ANSWERS! :)

he doesn't have the tongue thrust reflex. I just tried it, and he loved it :). No crying or nothing :)

Answer 1

i gave both of my babies cereal at about 2 months old, very very thin like you said, but i did it to help them sleep through the night. the substance of the cereal lasts much longer in his tummy, so he doesn't need the mid-night feeding. as long as he doesn't spit it up, he's fine, especially if swallowed it in the first place. the 'rules' that are set up for feeding babies are not set in stone, they are simply guidelines, so it's not necessary to wait another 2 weeks.

Answer 2

It's gettin' to be about time for cereal. If you have ?'s and can't get answers go see your local wic office. you may need an appointment. Also call your pediatrician. and any moms you know or us!!
the sooner you get him on the good food ( ya'll know what i mean!) the happier he and you will be. more messes but happier!!
Yes. now is a good time for cereal. Start out thin and get
thicker the older he gets. and don't forget to try the babyfoods too., when he's a little older.THIS MAY HELP: put just a litlle bit(baby spoon amount) in his bottle, that willhelp him get used to the taste of the cereal. Only give him cereal when he is no longer satisfied with the formula and he can support his own head (if it's before the recomended age for cereals). Go ahead and let his doc. know too, cause you never can tell if there somethin'else goin' on there..
But please don't panic only tell the doc. for precaution.
MOMMY IS A HARD JOB. BUT YOU'RE GONNA BE FINE!
CONGRATS ON THE NEW BABY!!!!!!
YOU CAN DO IT MAMA!!!!!!!

Answer 3

My son is 4 months and a half months and I was told to start him on thin cereal. I gave him a spoonful..and he really wasn't ready. If your child cannot hold up his head properly, if he still shoves solid things away with his tongue (tongue thrust reflex) instead of turning his head, and if he lets the cereal just sit on his tongue, then he is not ready. To begin solids early has many risks, including an increased risk in developing allergies and a higher risk for obesity.

Answer 4

Unless your pediatrician has recommended it, or your son is taking in 32+ ounces of formula and still hungry AND has good head and neck control (can sit in a high chair and eat from a spoon) I would wait - and I am a mom who had to start her baby early...

My son had to start at 3 months because of his reflux - his pediatric GI specialist recommended it. But I did so with some reservations and concerns, because it is not advisable to start them before 4 months, and recommended that you wait until 6 months. I had to make a judgement call and combatting the reflux won out in our case.

You could start him on the early end in a couple of weeks, but I would wait until at least then. It will give his digestive system more time to mature, and feeding cereal earlier can cause issues (there are all kinds of studies out there that theorize problems ranging from allergies to diabetes may be linked to starting solids too early). My thought is 'why rush it if there is no need to?' You will have plenty of time to have fun feeding him. :)

Here's a great link to a pediatrician who has a lot of articles on starting solids: http://www.drgreene.com

Good luck!

Answer 5

I'd say wait the extra two weeks, you should wait until he's at least 4 months old to start cereal unless your doctor suggests otherwise. My daughter will be 4 months on Nov 3 and I think I'm starting her on cereal then.

Answer 6

I started my daughter on cereal at 5 1/2 months because she needed more substance and wasn't sleeping as much and seemed more cranky. Since you are doing right by making it really runny I don't see a problem with it but you can always check with his pediatrician. Good luck!

Answer 7

Yes this is the way, dont be afraid
put cereal with milk
also introduce fruits and veggies
golden apples, boil with some water, no skin, trough blender,
then go to the super and check what kind of vegies and fruits have for a 3 months baby, copy and do it with water only, is very easy, introduce one fruit or one vegie at the time, like 1 per week, then add some chicken, then some beef to the vegies, blender and then by 9 months smash with the fork
and he will be health, never put sugar, salt or butter and by the 1 yr he will eat most of the foods
since you are initroducing to foods, never give him sweets, salted foods or grease foods. no sodas, and he/she will be healthy

Answer 8

if he shows interest and his tongue thrust reflex is gone i see no problem trying it. just make sure its thin enough with either water or formula. i think my son was about that age when we tried it he seemed to like it but did cry with it so i tried 1st stage fruit and he loved it. know that he is older (8 months) he eats cereal with no problems and loves every food iv given him.

Answer 9

I think you might be mis reading his cues. Have you spoke to your doctor about it? Really you don't even need to start a baby on cereal. Usually they recommend it for breastfed babies do to iron. If your son is on formula you can actually make him constipated from to much iron. Anyways its really up to you but I would personally try to wait a little longer. Even 2 weeks is better then nothing.

Answer 10

well with my son in a 8 oz bottle i would use 2 scoops of formula and use the formula scooper for 2 scoop of cereal when he was about 4 1/2 months i started to give him stage 1 gerber applesauce with his formula 2 scoops of formula half jar of applesauce and 1 scoop of cereal and he loved it.. and trust me you'll know if he like it use you'll never be able to just give him formula in his bottle.....lol.. my son wont even eat a plain bottle...