Putting Cereal in Bottle

Nope, wouldn't do it. If he's hungry before his next scheduled feeding then feed him, but skip the cereal, it's not going to help with anything and may actually cause some digestive problems.

Rice cereal has no real nutritional value, it is a training aid. A baby is ready for solid foods when he or she can move the food from the spoon to the back of the mouth and swallow without gagging. This happens around 4 or 5 months depending on the child. Until than there is no reason to give a baby fillers, it is way better for them to full up on nutrient rich breast milk or formula. And you should never put any type of food in a bottle. If the child can not eat it off a spoon, than they are not ready, and will have a hard time digesting it.

You should NEVER put cereal in a bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is now recommended that you don't start solids until 6 months

Nine weeks is way too early for cereal, and can create digestive problems and food allergies. Plus, it replaces the more concentrated nutrients that formula or breast milk provides. Your little guy will actually get less nourishment.

Even though it seems that cereal "should" be more filling because it's thicker, this is just not what happens. Being pure carbohydrate instead of the protein and fat available in milk, the baby digests it faster, gets hungry faster, and can gain unhealthy amounts of weight.

BAD idea, unless his doctor advises it for a specific reason.

No, no, no! It's not a matter of opinion but a matter of fact that at 9 weeks there is no need for cereal unless under the supervision of a physician to treat severe reflux. Plain and simple.

Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds and when you add cereal to the mix at this point you deprive him of the nutrients he needs and provide him with more calories than he needs. He will be full of non-nutrative cereal that his body doesn't need and can't process at this point.

Babies aren't set in stone. Sometimes they want more to eat because they are going thru a growth spurt.

Yes, our parents did it and we are "fine" but we now know better. For goodness sake my grandmother used a car bed for her infants but would you put your baby in that over a car seat? Nope, because you now know better.

Here is information as to why we don't offer solids before 6 months of age-open gut:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/early-solid-food-feeding...

Seems like "they" never explain why you should wait on solids and this finally explains it pretty well.

Cereal does not help babies sleep through the night, anyway. That is definitely a myth. At 9 weeks, his stomach is not developed enough to handle cereal. Babies younger then 4-6 months don't know how to swallow anything other than breast-milk/formula properly. There is a huge risk for choking. In fact, I almost died as a baby, from cereal in the bottle. Thank goodness my caretaker was certified in CPR! Babies go through growth spurts and changes in eating habits. Sometimes, it will seem like they eat very frequently. It's just part of it! It's a phase and it will pass.

I wouldn't. Breast milk or formula are the only things babies need until they hit 4-6 months... anything other than that is just filling their stomach up with empty calories when they are trying to do a lot of growing. He is probably going through a growth spurt or something... Same thing will happen when he's a teenager! :P

Please don't put cereal in his bottle. This is a solid and solids should not be started until 6 months. It can make their bowel sluggish and cause a life long cycle of bowel issues, the flora in a babies gut is mainly bifidophilus and thrives on milk. Your baby is young and should eat often. I know you are sleep deprived, but sleeping through the night is 5 hours and your baby may not do that at 3 months, but it will happen. Some take longer depending on growth, teething, if you are back at work it may be a way to make up for time away from you; it wasn't long ago he had you 24/7. Try increasing the amount you feed or feed more often in the evening before bed so the caloric need is met. If you normally feed every 2-3 hrs feed him the normal bottle every 1 1/2 hrs(2-3 times) in the evening or increase last couple night bottles a couple ounces. He could be growing and just need more. I hope this helps.

Cereal should only be added to a bottle per pediatrician's orders for infants with reflux. Your baby is still way too little to be eating cereal. It's normal for babies his age to need a little flexibility in their feeding schedules. How many oz. is he getting per feeding. You can always try another oz. in his bottles and see if that helps.

I would not put cereal in a baby's bottle at this age. They are far too young for this unless your pediatrician has told you to do it for reflux. Their digestive systems are not mature enough to handle cereal right now. If your baby is gaining weight and not having issues with reflux, then I would not go down that road without discussing it with your pediatrician first.

I agree definitely a little too young for any cereal. Most pediatricians recommend starting solids anywhere from 4-6 months. If breastfeeding solids aren't needed until the baby is ready. My son didn't start solids until 8 months he was exclusively breastfed until then.

If you are breastfeeding you may not be producing enough milk, you may want to look up some ideas on how to get your milk production up, or start supplementing formula. You may want to ask your pediatrician, but just take queues from baby when he is hungry feed him!

As infants they go through growth spurts about every 6-8 weeks and you may notice during that time they need to eat more often, but their stomachs aren't that big so they may not eat much just be hungry more.

Here is a great site with lots of info:
http://www.babycenter.com/

I would not do it that young. Their little stomachs are still getting used to eating milk and you can easily clog their system resulting in a colicy baby. How much milk are you giving him? You should always listen to your baby. If he acts hungry after finishing a bottle, try to give him an ounce more at a time. It could be that he just needs a little more to satisfy.

I read that don't put cereal in bottle unless advised by your pediatrician. I just heard it promotes weight gain and not really a good thing. I heard it doesn't work for some moms either. Better talk to your ped about it and see what he or she thinks.

I would not put the cereal in the bottle , you said yourself he sleeps well but sometimes get's hungry again soon after a feed , I would suggest increasing the bottle by 2oz and let him take extra milk. Solids should not be started until at least 4/5 months (I'd lean more towards 5 months) , and then I would not add it to the bottle and only feed from a spoon.

If he wants to eat sooner then get bigger bottles. How many ounces of formula or breastmilk do you feed him? As they get older they're going to drink more formula/bmilk. Obviously you get the jist, he's too young for cereal... the enzymes in his stomach are not developed enough to digest solid foods or thick mashed foods... it would just cause this little guy to need a doctor.

Nope,
I suggest you nurse him as he needs to. babies are not supposed to start solids until about 4 months or later I think.
Good Luck!

I exclusively breastfed all 5 of my children (still currently BF my 5 month old.) I would feed them more often during the day to get them to sleep more at night. My babies always started sleeping for 6-14 hours at night starting at 6 weeks. I wouldn't advise doing the cereal in the baby bottle. Good luck and Congratulations!!

Don't do it. He will have a higher risk for diabetes later in life.
And he may choke.

He's not ready for food yet. Maybe he likes to continue to suckle after his bottle is empty? Is he on a pacifier? Sometimes they work wonders.

i personally feel that putting cereal in babies bottles is not only lazy but dangerous! they can choke, become extremely gassy, throw up and it clogs the nipple...i have seen moms make bigger holes in the nipple of the bottle which causes the milk 2 come out 2 fast! i definately think cereal was meant 2 be fed 2 babies by spoon in an upright position, it takes more time but its also a chance 2 bond with baby and baby experiences taste & texture of the cereal. good luck & congrats on ur new baby!

You are not supposed to feed children food (which includes baby cereal) until they are 6 months old. I have heard of women giving there babies cereal at about 5 months, but never at 9 weeks! He should only be eating bottle or breast. I am sure someone has said how much bottle, I don't know (i breast fed). Also, babies go through growth spurts a lot when they are little, so he may be a bit hungrier,,,,just give him some more!
I would NOT put anything in his bottle other than formula.
L.

Nope. Too little and it's WAY too early.
I know your mom, grandma, might tell you it helps them sleep through the night but that's a myth. A 9 wk old's belly is NOT ready for solids of ANY kind. Please don't give him cereal!

Don't do it. Some studies have shown that putting cereal in a bottle can confuse babies. It messes up their "i'm full" sense, which can lead to obesity later in life. If you want to do rice do it as a separate meal & feed with a spoon.
Also, rice has much less nutrition than formula. So, its much better to feed formula, even if you are doing it every 2 hours. Finally, if you really think he is eating too often, then try to increase the size of his bottles.

you should not put cereal in the bottle, if he want to eat sooner then feed him with formula or breast milk, whatever you feeding him, it will feel him up

I wouldnt suggest it. My daughters pediatrician told me to put cereal in my daughters bottles at around 2 months because of her reflux. We just hit 10 months and she still has to have cereal in her bottles, not because of her reflux but just because shes used to the thickness. I was told to switch it to spoon feedings and she refuses to take it that way. Its an addicting habit to babies. Try to avoid it if possible, he will start sleeping through the night soon. Up his formula oz if hes not satisfied with what he's getting now.

you asked for opinions, well, I had three kids and never did it. I was always told it was a bad habit. I guess I gave them other bad habits so at least this was one I didn't do. They slept fine without it, one of mine didn't care for cereal at all, the other two liked it. I did feed on-demand. I had a cousin who set her children on a time schedule, they ate at her time, I personally felt that was wrong but she wanted to get them in routines.

i started when my son was 6 weeks old. he's 14 weeks now and is having baby foods mixed with formula 2 times a day. yes- food allergies can happen, but its MY choice and i choose to do so despite the risks. i know many many moms who have done the same thing i have. in fact my doctor told me that he knows i'm educated enough to know the risks and he supporst my decision to continuing doing so. my son has been holding his head up since he was 10 days old, bearing his weight w/my assistance since he was a month old, etc. he's very advanced, why would his appetite not be?

Has your baby's ped told you to start feeding your baby cereal? Unless they tell you too I would wait. Our first ped told us at 3 months to start feeding my baby a rice bottle at night. My ped also had me feed on demand, instead of scheduled. Good Luck. =)

No way! No solid foods whatsoever (even cereal) until at least 5-6 months (unless your ped directs otherwise. 9 week old babies cannot digest even cereal yet. The only thing they should be getting is breastmilk/formula. If you give them cereal it will screw up their digestive system and you will have a very cranky baby due to the belleyaches he will have. Cereal has no nutritional value anyways...it's a cheap way for them to practice swallowing solids. He should not be sleeping through the night yet anyways, really. They still need those nighttime feedings & calories.

Our pediatrician actually recommended this to us when our son was younger. It wasn't until he was around 4 months old though, that he first started rice cereal. I definitely think it helped him sleep better at night - he had a fuller tummy! Although, I have read online (parents.com - I think) that it's supposedly a myth that putting rice cereal in baby's bottle really helps with them sleeping better at night... but I think it helped ;)
Have you talked to your pediatrician to see what their thoughts on cereal in the bottle are?
Good luck!

Absolutely! Dr.s won't necessarily advise it but will agree they will sleep better! I was reluctant also to put cereal in his bottle but finally gave in as he was waking up so hungry yet so tired. From the very first night I did it (3 months) he slept so soundly once his tummy was finally full. As you increase the cereal in his bottle, you may have to slit the nipple a little so it can pass through since it is bulkier than just the formula.

Babies aren't supposed to really start solid food until around 6 months. My doctor told me with my last kiddo (#4) to feed him when HE wants to eat. Don't force him on a 3-4 hour schedule. None of my kids were on 4 hour schedules. Kid #2 ate every 1 -1 1/2 hours, kid #3 ate every 2-3 and kid #4 ate 2 1/2-3 hours. Obviously as they got older they could go longer. I also bottle fed them. Of course #2 and #4 were big babies to start with so that probably had something to do with how much they NEEDED to eat and how often ( 9 lbs 5 ozs and 9 lbs 10 ozs!).
So, with that being said: 9 weeks is too young to give cereal...unless the dr tells you to for reflux. My advice is to feed when he wants to eat and not try to force him on a set schedule. But that's just my opinion.
Good luck!

I agree with what most of the other moms have said, don't put cereal in his bottle. Your baby should be able to self regulate his intake. If he is hungry feed him more, but not cereal. You don't say anything about how often or how much you are feeding him. I'd follow his cues and modify those things to make sure he's getting what he needs.

I started at 5 1/2 months. She actually prefers it in the bottle, especially since teething.

I have 5 children and I put rice cereal in all of their bottles. I honestly don't think that it did anything, but it made me feel better! I thought that I was doing something to help them to sleep through the night. The cereal won't hurt them though.

My doctor told me to put cereal in my son's milk when he was 2 months but the reason was because he had gastric reflux and that helped him keep his milk down. It worked perfectly. But if he wouldn't have had the reflux I wouldn't want to put cereal in his milk. I would suggest no cereal. Just feed him more ounces during his feedings, until he seems content. Or feed him more often, whatever works for you and the baby. Don't put cereal unless it is needed.