Cereal

My Pediatrician told me to start Tyler on ceral at 4 months. He was also a very big boy and still is. I give him on a spoon never did it in the bottle.

Everyone told me the same thing, but I really wasn't comfortable with it until I asked my doctor. I think the rice cereal would be ok, but it can't be too thick. My son didn't need anything to help him sleep...he slept all night the first night home. I had to set my alarm clock for the next few days to wake him up at night to feed him. My daughter, on the other hand, was one of those up-all-night no matter what babies. The cereal didn't really seem to affect her at all, so I stopped giving it to her and she eventually started sleeping all night.

My almost 10 week old bottle fed baby still gets up every few hours to eat. It is normal because babies need the extra feedings. I had to put cereal in my middle childs bottle for reflux and it did not make her sleep more. When your little one is ready she will start sleeping better but some babies don't sleep through the night till they are nearly a year old. Don't rush your baby to grow up because all to soon you will be looking back wondering where the time went.

I also read the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It is an excellent book that tells you how to get your baby to sleep through the night. He offers several methods, but we chose the extinction method (even though it broke our hearts). My daughter (5 mo.) has now been sleeping through the night for a month (and I breastfeed). I was told by other moms to do the same thing with cereal, but I chose not to do that. It's proven it does NOT help with their sleep and it is recommended to not feed any "solids" to your baby until they are 6 mo. old (due to allergies). Another great book about what age to feed them, types of foods to feed them and amounts--"Super Baby Foods" by Ruth Yaron.

It is completely normal for a baby that age to be getting up every 2 hours to eat. Especially if you are breastfeeding. Babies need the vitamins that are in breast milk and formula so giving them cereal at that age may fill them up and sometimes help them sleep but it doesn't have what they are needing at that age nutrition wise. Also, giving cereal or any solids for that matter at that young of age can lead to alleries to certain foods later on. Motherhood is exhasting sometimes. I have a 17 month old and am still breastfeeding and she woke up every hour until she was 9 mths old. While I longed for sleep I cherished those times in the middle of the night when it was just her and I. Soon your little one won't be needing those mid-night feedings and will have a stomach big enough to hold all he needs for the night.

I had the same problem. I put ceral in my daughters bedtime bottle and regretted it because after I started doing it once I had to do it twice otherwise she wouldnt take the bottle. But you have to do what you feel is right. Every baby is different. My best friends son is the same age as my daughter and they are like night and day. My daughter didnt sleep throught the night until she was 9 months old where as my friends son slept through the night at 2 months. If you can try and take an afternoon nap when you baby sleeps. It'll help with the tiredness. Good luck :)

I am a firm believer that as a parent, you do as what you feel is right. If you don't feel comfortable than don't do it!

My daughter who is 2 now, was born with acid reflux and was on Alimentum formula. When she was 2 weeks old her pediatrician had me put cereal in her bottles to help with her acid reflux. She started sleeping through the night completely when she was 5 weeks. Needless to say, I am a fan of cereal in the bottle!

I did put a little cereal in the bottle pretty early. I also added an ounce or two of apple juice to help prevent the hard poops.
We did it mainly because he was about 6 weeks old and drinking 40 ounces at least of formula a day. He was hungry so much it seemed.
I don't know that it helped him sleep any longer but it did slow done the all the fluids.
He was a big baby and now a big toddler wearing 4-5T clothes and about 40 inches tall. At 3 he still loves drinking more than eating.

My son was a massive spitter-upper and thats the only reason our old pediatrician recommended putting cereal in every other bottle starting at 2 months. It didn't help him sleeping through the night at all but it almost instantly helped with his spitting up. We put cereal in his bottles every other bottle till he was 9 months old.

a baby at six wks stomach is ready to handle cereal yet. it could easily hurt it. also its not a fact that they will sleep through the night. and most formula or breastmilk is digested in 1-4hrs anyway. i too have an almost 6wk old, and she rarely will sleep longer than 3-4hrs at night, usually 2-3 if we're lucky.
but i would NOT put cereal in a bottle

We started at about 3 months and she didn't do well. I put about 1/2 t in her bottle and she was really constipated and we could tell her stomach hurt. We tried again at 4 month and jsut put a little pinch in and progressed as tolerated, but I really don't think it helped her sleep in better. I wouldn't give it to her unless she is having trouble getting full.

You have to remember that people are full of advice some good some not so good. Only you and your doctor knows what is best for your child. If you are not comfortable with something then don't do it. You'll get over the sleeping hurdle as parents we always want to do what's right but you are going to make mistakes and you are going to learn from them. I say do what feels right to you. cereal can wait. Sorry if this sounds bossy or anything I just had a small tiff with my mom about some stuff with my 10 year old.

If ever in doubt, ask your pediatrician for advice. Mine told me it was OK to start my daughter in rice in the bottle (or off a spoon if I could get her to take it----but if you do it this way, make sure it is really runny and not too thick) at an early age. I think that you have to be sure it is rice cereal and not oatmeal or anything with wheat in it. I think that wheat is the big concern as it is a common alergenic if given too soon to infants. Gerber makes a rice cereal that should be fine to give. And yes, this does help tremendously when given before bedtime!! Good Luck.
I didn't realize that your daughter was only 6 weeks old. I didn't read your request very thoroughly!! Sorry. That is kind of young. In another month or so she may be ready for cereal, but the other moms are right that at this age, sleeping through the night may be just too much to ask. She is so little. Good luck. Wait another few more weeks and then try the rice.

Hello~ I think that you have to do what is best for you and your child! I think follow your gut feeling. I did give my son (now 10 months) cereal at 8 weeks only due to the fact that he acted like he wanted more then just the breast milk and formula. I don't know if it helped him sleep but I know he was much more satisfied when he did finally go to sleep. He has always been a great sleeper but he tolorated the cereal fine. The Peds was okay with it also! There are formula's out there made with added rice in them so it doesn't hurt them. Just do what you feel is right. My best advice is to filter out all the advice you get from all the millions of people and do what you think is best for your child. That is the ultimate goal. No books or theory will always apply to your child! Be open and flexible!

Six weeks is too early~~~ Even in the older days doctors didnt recommend starting cereal until at least 2-3 months!!! As a little new baby, your baby might just be hungry every so often...she is not ready to sleep through the night! Be patient and if she is still doing this at 4 months (which is when my Dr. recommended that I start a little rice cereal) give your baby a little to try. She isn't developed well enough yet and you may actually cause more problems starting her too young! I hope this helps!

C. -

I have a 15 week old, and we went through the same thing. It is normal for a six week old to get up a lot overnight, but if you are concerned that she just isn't getting enough to eat (like ours), ask your Doctor about Enfamil AR formula. AR stands for Added Rice. It's made with the same protiens as Enfamil Lipil, is milk based as well but also has broken down RICE protiens in it. It's mostly used for babies who spit up a lot, it thickens when it gets into the stomach. But, it has more substanance. You will make it just like normal formula, but use cold water - so it doesn't thicken in the bottle. It may be enough for your baby to last longer through the night - and you, then could also get a little more rest! But, like I said - ask your Dr. about it first.

I hope this was helpful, and I hope you are able to get more rest!
L. O

schedule, schedule schedule. its is abit contravertion but it works. feed every 3 hours and if she wakes up let her cry her self back to sleep. it will suck for you for about 2 days and then she will catch on. by 4 months my daughter was sleeping 10 hours a night. for more info check out the book BABY WISE. sorry i cant remember the authers name but its a pretty well known book you shouldnt have trouble finding it.

I was also put under pressure by my mother in law to give cereal that early, but I never did it because of all the research done to prove that it's not a positive thing. Read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." That book gave me such great insights and good practices. In it, the author explains why cereal in a bottle is not really going to make a baby sleep longer or better. My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 5 months old, and after I followed the advice in the book I suggested, she started sleeping 12 hours straight of longer! Now she is s super napper and night sleeper at 10 months. I wish you luck!

I am a nurse and have a 4 year old and 2 month old. From experience and nursing education it is not recommended to put cereal in a bottle because there is a risk of it getting into their lungs if they choke at all. Please wait to give rice cereal until at least 3 months old. Our pediatrician suggests starting at 3 months old by spoon feeding. At 6 weeks babies should be eating every 2 hours esp if breast fed. It will get better. In a few more weeks the baby should stretch out feedings to 3-4 hours and sleep longer at night. Try getting into a routine at night and cluster feeding (offering the breast or bottle every hour or two in the eve hours ) this way
the baby will hopefully hot be as hungry at night. Good luck

hi i have a little boy he will be 3mt on the 12 of nov. i gave him cereal at 2wk becuz he was eating 4 oz every hour so i give it to him to help fill him up and everyone said it would help him sleep thur the night the first night he sleep about 5 hours but the next night it was back to 3. but i still give him cereal in every bottle. his ped siad after 11 lbs babys should sleep 6 hours. but most nights its 4 to 6 the best thing i do is let him go to sleep at 7 or 8 and he wakes up at about 10 or 11 and i give him a warm bath and a bottle and he goes back to sleep with in a hour and sleeps to 3 or 4 and then is back up at 7 or 8. every baby is differnt but believe me im just like you i cant wait to get a full nights sleep. well i hope it helps

I started both of my girls on rice cereal mixed with formula on the day they turned 6 weeks. I never put it in a bottle, though. My ped said that it was fine what I decided to do as long as I fed it with a spoon. The first couple of times are really messy. Then I would put them to bed and when they woke up in the middle of the night I would let them cry it out. It is the hardest thing in the world to do, but my girls woke up for two nights and cried and they have slept through ever since then. They are 17 months and 5 months. It is really what you are comfortable with. I also believe that the cereal is just for your comfort, not so much the fullness of the baby. None the less your baby should be able to sleep for longer than a couple of hours at night. Good luck!

hello, we started our son on cereal off a spoon at 3 months. we never had a problem with him not sleeping he just ate 16oz with out cereal. our nutritionist said to never put creal in the bottle because it can make them gain too much weight. also there is an allergy factor that may come into play. i would speak to your doctor if you still have any questions.!!! I hope that htis helps!

Hi C.

When my daughter was 2 months old I put some cereal in her bottle at night because the DR said it would help her sleep. Well I didnt think it worked very well because she still got up several time during the night. I came to the conclusion that is what babies do at that young age! They need that extra calories at night to help them grow! I think when they getting bigger they will start to sleep through the night. Now my daughter is about 16 lb and is 4 1/2 months. When she turned 4 months she started sleeping through the nights! Wouldnt you know I miss getting up with her a night for the feedings!! I remember just wanting to get some sleep and now I want to get up!! I guess through my rambling is just enjoy these moments in getting up with your baby! I started giving her cereal by spoon last week and she loves it!! Good Luck!

If you are breastfeeding than it is normal for baby to eat every 2 hours around the clock (unfortunately). Breastmilk is so easily digested that they don't stay full very long. I do think 6 weeks is a little too early for cereal but I know lots of people who have done it and encouraged me to do so also. I, however, held off on giving my little one cereal until he was 16 weeks old which was when my ped suggested me giving it to him. My little guy got up every 2-3 hours for his first 8-9 weeks, after 9 weeks things got better. He still gets up after sleeping for about 5-6 hours (something I hear breastfed babies do, bottlefed babies I hear sleep longer because they stay fuller longer). I understand your pain, but keep your head up it will get better, especially when you get up with them in the middle of the night and they smile up at you! Try catching a nap or two during the day when she naps. Forget about the dishes, laundry, and floors. They'll be there tomorrow!

Hi C.!

I am a firt time mom of a 4 month old and was in exactly your shoes! Are you breastfeeding? BF babies digest their food very quickly and need to eat every two hours when they are this young. It is actually dangerous for babies this young to sleep through the night because they are at a higher risk for SIDS. Their bodies are not waking them up when they are hungry, so they may not wake up when they need to survive.

If you are breastfeeding, I would highly suggest calling Milk Works in Lincoln. It is a place that has a doctor and several lactation consultants (LC). You can call and chat on the phone or set up an appointment. They will submit to your insurance too!!

As far as the rice cereal goes, hold off!! Of course many people have done this before but it strongly discouraged now! My pediatrician and the doctor at Milk Works said that cereal does not make your baby sleep longer, formula does though. My darling is finally sleeping 4 hours at a time during the night. She started this about 1 month ago, if that. Before she was not so consistant, 2-3 hours. When I went back to work that affected her too. She wanted more Mommy time in the night. I looked at it this way- never again would this night happen with her. And before I know it she will be excusing herself from me and not wanting me there this much! I also told myself that at least I know she is still breathing as I was VERY paranoid about the SIDS thing, not so much anymore, but it still weighs heavy on my mind. I am very exhausted, but I deal. I have my husband help out when he is home and I just have to take a nap once in awhile. I just got used to it, and many times I would forget if I fed her every 2 hours. It will get better! Hang in there, and continue to love caring for your baby!