when should be a good time to feed cereal to a baby, my grandson is only 3 months old he will be 4 months on the 3rd. He feeds every 3 or 4 hrs a day and at night he goes through maybe 2. he weighs a good 17 pounds and is a good baby. But he is not felling up and is always hungry, should we start feeding him cereal in his milk or should we wait till he's 5 months like his doctor says.
Hi B.,
The current thinking is that waiting until 6 mos to start solids is safest. Research is indicating that starting solids sooner may increase a child's chances of having food allergies because before 6 mos the digestive system is not mature enough to handle solid food. Ultimately, the pediatrician should be able to give you good advice for your grandchild - maybe his system is maturing faster than average and he's ready now...
Best,
S.
Hi B.
you can give him cereal now. 2-3 months old is about the time you can start. But you have to start with the rice cereal!!!
Take care.
thanks for the avdice, my daughter in law is taking him to the doctor again today he is up for his second set of shots, she said she is going to try the cereal to see if he likes it and takes it well, if not shes still going to feed him his milk that he loves so much.
Hi B.,
I would try cereal, watch to make sure he is not allergic to it but I don't think it could hurt him. My pediatrician said 4 months. There is also something I have used called an Infa-feeder. It is a bottle with an extra wide nipple opening that you put cereal in. So he can still eat cereal without messing with the spoon. It works really great and costs like 5 bucks. You also might try feeding him every 2 hours in the day and maybe he'll go longer at night.
K.
I would stick to your Pediatrician's recommendation. I started my son on cereals and other solids at 6 months based on what my doctor suggested. Can he sit on his own? Does he grab for your food? When you put a spoon to his mouth, does he open wide?
Ultimately it will be up to you. With my first, I started feeding her rice cereal with a spoon at 4-months... my second didn't want anything to do with cereal until she was 6-months... my third is 6-months right now and wants nothing to do with cereal... my friend who had a baby a few months before I had #3 started cereal at 1-month and he took right to it!
There's nothing wrong with trying... you'll know if it works for your child or not.
Hi B.,
My Ped said 4 months, which I did, but my sister's boy was so hungry all the time, she started him on cereal sooner.
You have to start with such a tiny amount while they learn to handle it anyway: so go with your "gut." (As long as your little one doesn't have any serious medical history)
T
