Starting Cereal - El Paso,TX

I breastfed my first son and at 6 month I started cereal. I mixed it with breastmilk I had frozen and I fed it to him.....I never used a bottle. I would offer to breastfed him after eating. I think I offered him a feeding in between. I think I had the babysitter do the same thing. I have a 4 month old now.....so I haven't got to that yet:)

Different Docs say different things, so the best thing to do is get a Doc soon and follow his/her guidelines. I take my daughter to Dr. Dubal and she is with Night and Day Pediatrics. Her number is ###-###-####. I love her and all the other docs in her office are great too in case she isn't there and you have to see another Doc. Good luck.

Your baby can have as much as he/she will eat, but should have at least 2 servings of 1-2 Tbls. each starting at 6 months.

Also, most doctors now are recommending that you don't put the rice cereal in your baby's bottle, as it can be inhaled into the lungs and cause problems. Plus, babies need to practice eating from a spoon in order to build the muscles necessary to eat. Some doctors recommend putting rice cereal in a baby's bottle if they suffer from reflux; though, there are formulas for sensitive tummys that have rice starch in them.

I started my dd on solid food just after 4 months to practice eating from a spoon, but she didn't eat very much--about one serving a day. I also didn't start her on rice cereal; she started with avocado. They recommend that you start with rice cereal because it isn't allergenic and, if you start at 6 months, as recommended, rice cereal includes the necessary iron supplementation breast-fed babies need. At 4 months, babies still have residual iron from before birth. Avocado is a great first food because it is low allergenic and is very smooth when mashed. I take whole avocados and slice them. I dip the slices in lemon water and put them on a cookie sheet to freeze before storing them in a freezer bag. Then, I just thaw it on the counter in a bowl or put it in the microwave for 15 seconds, mash, mix with a little of your baby's milk or formula to thin, if necessary, and serve. The following link helped me a lot. http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ Good luck, and have fun! My dd is now 8 months and trying to feed herself. We've yet to find a food she won't eat. She even likes onion, garlic, and bell pepper (not by themselves).

As you are already getting, everyone has their own opinions about how and what baby's should eat (and how they should sleep). Doctors disagree, moms disagree, and I found that even I did different things with my two children. So, my biggest advice is to do some reading and decide for yourself. (http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm has some information - but you can also do some searching on babycenter and other websites) The one thing I would suggest that you never do is give a baby any food in a bottle - but other than that - it is up to you. I really enjoyed the book Super Baby Food and was even able to check it out from my library. Oh, and just for information: when I started my daughter on foods at about 5 1/2 months, I started her with a breakfast of rice cereal, a lunch of one jar of vegetable followed by one jar of fruit and a dinner of rice cereal with nursing between each one. With my son, I did not give him as much rice cereal and even mixed a bowl of rice cereal with a fruit and/or vegetable. Good luck with your decision and welcome to the area!

Gerber has cereal in a box by the baby food in the store. That's where we started. Our doctor told us to start for a couple weeks with the rice and if our baby had no reaction to it next try the oatmeal then the barley. You just mix the cereal with a little breast milk until you reach a texture that baby likes. My baby always liked a thicker texture, but each baby is diff.
Our doctor also told us that though it's a common practice, never put cereal in a baby's bottle. He said it was a health risk for the baby. I also looked that up on babycenter.com and the doctors there said the same thing.
After your baby has the hang of cereal with no reactions then you can mix in some stage one baby food to ease your baby into solid foods. Just trust yourself. And your baby. You baby will let you know when he's full or if he just doesn't like the food.
Hope this helps! :-)

Here are two links that may help you:

http://www.ibabydoc.com/online/feedingsched2.asp

http://www.ibabydoc.com/online/feedingsched.asp

This is my family's pediatrician, and his advice worked well for both of our children. Moms and doctors don't all agree, but a lot of doctors now discourage putting cereal in bottles. You'll have to decide for yourself on that one.

I just recently started cereal for my 4 month old baby. I tried putting some in bottle at first. You need to buy the 'Y' cut nipple for your bottle for the cereal to go through. However, my baby did not like that as the flow was too fast for her. I then started feeding her oatmeal cereal with spoon in the morning as her first feeding after she wakes up, just about 1TBsp mixed with formula/breastmilk. She is doing fine with this. It takes a little bit of patience trying to feed with a spoon but that is the best way to do it. After 2 weeks now I give 1Tbsp at morning and 1Tb spoon at night.

This is what we did. My son was 6 months ( able to sit up and i was told to wait till at least 6 months due to allergies, which he has anyway). If I remember correctly we started with 2 Table spoons once a day thinned down to an almost liquid at first. I chose Lunch time to start any new foods so I could see if there was a reaction to it. We were told by our pedi not to put it in any type bottle but to spoon feed. As the bottle feeding of cereral causes babies to become over weight quickly. Spoon feeding helps with motor skills and teaches him how to eat. Super Baby Foods was my guide for our sons feeding. We gave bottles like regular just added the cereral to the diet...like an extra source of food. Congrats on your new baby! Thank you and your husband for your service.

My doctor said to start my daughter at a couple of tablespoons of cereal a day. I found that the directions on the box made it too runny for her liking so I usually use about a half ounce of milk and mix in enough cereal to get the consitancy she likes. The cereal is ment to teach them to eat more solid foods from a spoon and to eat sitting up so they usually don't recommend putting it in a bottle. As far as breastfeeding and cereal my doctor said that the cereal was not as much for nutritional value as for learning to eat food rather than drink meals but that her main sorce of food should still be milk (my daughter is also exclusively breast fed) I have gone back to work also although I don't work as long hours as you and I pump at work and refrigerate while i'm there then freeze it when I get home. I am in no way an expert just going through similar times, I have a four in a half month old daughter and we just started cereal. If there is anything else I might be able to help with let me know.

I think I started by hand feeding the cereal. I never put it in a bottle. You start slowly. I would feed my daughter a little cereal at the breakfast feeding time and then nurse her after she ate the cereal. Then after a little while (maybe a week or two) I added the dinner feeding and then I nursed her after that. Then I did the same with the lunch time feeding. Eventually, those feedings became enough that I didn't nurse at those times. Not sure when that happened though.

S.,
Thank you and your husband for what you do for our country. I suggest that you find a doctor immediately, like last week. Not all doctors feel the same about feeding and you will get lots of different advice from moms. Being in a new city and new environment you need to establish a relationship with a doctor you trust soon before anything happens, even as mild as a nagging cough or ear ache. Find one method of feeding (cereal, baby food, supplemental formula, etc.) that works for you and stick with it. Continue to breastfeed when you are with your baby on your normal schedule. Pump when you are at work. I recommend a hospital grade pump. Many employers offer a quiet room for pumping. Some even provide the pump and you bring your own tubes. In a 13 hour shift you should probably pump about every three to four hours. Depending on your milk supply, you may be able to pump enough breastmilk to supply your baby when you are away from him. Otherwise, you may need to supplement with formula. Pumping while you are at work will provide breastmilk for your baby, keep your milk supply up, and relieve your breasts from being too full.

If you live near the Texas Medical Center, Debra Bootin, MD is great ###-###-####).

What baby book are you reading this information?

If I'm understanding you right, you're asking about feeding cereal through a bottle. I wouldn't suggest it. Starting solids is training not only your baby's digestive system to accept solids but also training your baby to eat from a spoon and feeling the new textures of solid food in his/her mouth.

Here's my experience with nursing and solids:
Babies' main source of nutrition is still milk for the first year. I breastfeed my 7mo son and started him on solids at 5.5 months also. I nurse him with a full feed and then 30-60min later, I feed him solids. It is the same schedule for daycare, bottle first, solids later. It is fine if my son doesn't finish eating all his solids which is supplemental to his nutrition.
Week 1, I started at 0.5 tablespoon rice cereal (Earth's Best) with 2 tablespoons expressed breast milk for a soupy consistency. Every 2-3 days, I slowly increased the portion of rice cereal while watching my son's behavior. He becomes uninterested, turns away, or closes his lips together when he is full. Week 2, I increased to 1 tablespoon rice cereal and 1 tablespoon sweet potato. Every 4 days, I introduce a new veggie or fruit (squash, bananas, avocado, peas, green beans) to watch for any allergic reactions.
I started introducing solids at breakfast. After 4 weeks, I added solids to his lunch feeding session. Of course, your feeding schedule is all based on your baby's behavior and appetite. You want your baby to know when s/he is full and can self regulate that appetite and not overfeed your baby. I had to cut back on his portion size after he nursed for a shorter time. I hestitate to add solids at dinner to avoid disturbing his sleep with gas, upset tummy, allergic reaction during the night. Eventually, dinner solids will be included but I'm not in a rush. We're still training him on other foods.
I make baby food which turns out to be easier than I thought. The book, "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron is a great reference. As a nursing mom, do not follow Yaron's nursing advice. I am protective about my nursing (and paranoid about preventing low supply) and prioritize nursing above solids.

How often to breastfeed depends on your baby and your parenting style. How often are your nursing now? There is no true right answer to this question. It's specific to your baby and your feeding routine. At 5.5 months, my son was nursing every 3 hours. After I introduced solids, he smoothly transitioned to nursing every 4 hours. But remember, I fed him solids 30-60min after nursing a full feed.

This is just my experience. There are other moms who may have advice that's better suited for you.

Just remember, start slow with solids. Look for allergic reactions. Nursing is first priority. Designate a specific time and location for feeding solids so your baby learns to expect the new routine. Watch for your baby's cues when s/he is full. Make feeding solids fun with lots of smiles and encouragement. I clap, sing, make animal noises, say "open" to prime my son for the next spoonful, etc.

Pump while you're at work. Kellymom.com has some great advice. In general, pump in routine intervals, for example every 3 hours. This will maintain your supply while away from your baby. I started pumping every 3 hours and now every 4 hours. And to be safe (and super paranoid), I pump before I go to bed to avoid a long stretch between nursing session. My son dropped his late night feed and I want to maintain my supply still.

Wow. I had alot to say. Please update us on your new and exciting adventure with solids. I'm still learning too.

I started my baby at about 4 months on cereal once a day. He is also exclusively breastfed. I have heard mixed reviews about putting cereal in the bottle. I have yet to do it, but I know that Playtex has special nipples with a Y slit to allow for cereal to move through better. I've seen them at Babies R Us and HEB. I have stuck with mixing the cereal with breast milk and feeding it to my son with a spoon. I started with 1TB cereal and varying amounts of breast milk. This is definitely a trial and error thing with your child to determine what thickness of cereal he/she prefers. As my son got used to the cereal and started to eat it well, we increased to 2TB at a feeding with about 1 1/4 oz breast milk (he likes it a little thick) and then increased the feedings to twice a day. At this point, the cereal is more for training to eat solids than for nutrition. Your child will still be getting most of his/her nutrition from your breastmilk, so its better to feed milk first, then cereal. For my son, our breastfeeding routine has stayed the same with the addition of the cereal, still every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. I will nurse him then give him cereal afterwards. He is just over 7 months now, and we have switched to cereal/solids first, then nurse. At day care, they feed him cereal first then a bottle of breast milk. I work full time (8-5 daily), so I double pump twice a day at work and have been able to keep my supply up to meet his needs. My husband and I recently left active service and are still in the guard, so we definitely understand what the transition does to the stress level in your life. I hope this helps and wish you the best of luck.

I would advice you to get a breast pump and pump your milk and add cereal to it just like powder formula a , i used regular bottles just upgrade depending on the age of your baby.. they have slow flow then medium and so on acording to ages. I used to put about one to two scoops , don't make it too thick, I used cereal to go make my daughter feel full longer but make sure you feed your baby on a routine even specially if you are not taking care of your baby make sure you give it a week or two for him to move on to your back to work routine....
good luck

Don't worry--remember you are just getting him used to food at this point, texture and what not. I breastfeed too and this is how we did it--I would nurse my daughter first and then offer her a little cereal at first (spoon feeding) Only a bit to start with and once a day. Gradually I would give her a little more in the next couple of weeks. Once she got the hang of feeding and liked cereal I would add some baby food fruit and work up to 3 times a day. Just feed him until he starts turning away or fussing or if it seems like a lot! Always breastfeed first because this is still there main source of nutrition. I wouldn't put cereal in bottle--there is no need for this --and it could interfere with breastfeeding. Some people will do this at night, but I don't think it helps them sleep. In fact, in the beginning your baby may sleep worse as their body gets used to a new food. Just go with the flow and don't worry. www.lalecheleague.org has a great mommy forum where there are tons of questions and answers on breastfeeding and starting solids. check it out.

The new guidelines recommend spoon feeding cereal at 6 months to a breast fed baby, earlier cereal exposure leads to increased chance of diabetes. However, at 5 1/2 months old I think that's close enough. Most parents start cereal at 4 months or earlier, but that was commonly recommended until recently.

Juat satrt out with a small amount of cereal at first. I guess just pump and use that milk to mix it with if you want to. You can buy botles with different steps on the nipples from milk to cereal.

Hi S.,

I just wanted to add my 2 cents. Since you are breastfeeding and you wish to continue breastfeeding, go slow with solids. I did not start them with my son until 6 months exactly and then only 1 feeding a day. BFing was the priority. An excellent site is kellymom.com. They have recommendations geared at protecting your breastmilk supply. Also try lll.org. They have feeding recommendations as well. You will find, that for breastfeeding babies, the guidelines may differ a little bit than for formula babies. The goal is to preserver your milk supply.

Good luck to you!