Cereal @ 2 Months in Formula

Good Morning M.!

I gave my daughter Oatmeal Cereal @ a month because she was always hungry. I don't approve of Rice Cereal just because that constipates them. I have a nephew right now who they gave Rice Cereal (first time parents) because the doctor told them to give the baby that, and the baby was always constipated.

I only gave my daughter Rice cereal when she had stomach problems which was rarely.

I read your other post, but this suggestion concerns me. I have read that introducing solids/cereal too soon can lead to allergies and digestive issues. A newborn's digestive system is not mature until at least 3 months. You should notice that spit up lessens after this point. Until this point, they shouldn't have to digest anything other than breastmilk, ideally or formula that has been designed to be digested easily for infants.
I see that you stopped doing this... probably the best thing for your son. Trust those Mommy instincts and switch pediatricians if you feel you're not being listened to or their beliefs don't coincide with yours.
My 8 week old son (and my older daughter) were both spitters. My breastfed son @ 8 weeks is 13+ lbs... I guess the spitting hasn't effected his nutrition/weight gain!

T.
Mom to 2 "happy spitters"

M.... the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastmilk or formula exclusively for the first 6 months of a baby's life.
Their web site is: http://aap.org/

For info on great questions like this, you can go to:
http://askdrsears.com/
You can submit questions to Dr. Sears and get answers!

I had this problem with one of my kids and resolved the problem by feeding the baby in an upright position and keeping her that way for at least 30 minutes after feeding.

I'm sure the ped. has evaluated his tolerance of the formula he is on, if not, that sometimes will also end the problem.

And finally, gripe water is another great way to help tummy issues in babies. You can get it at the health food store and I've seen it in a couple of Walgreen's. A couple of drops right after a feeding can help baby's tummy settle after a feeding.

Good luck!
S.
Mom & grandmom

Hi M.,

Just wanted to let you know I have a 4 month old who started having 1 bottle a day w/ formula & oatmeal cereal at 2 months. I started him with baby food at 3 months and he has had no issues what so ever he eats anything I give him lunch and dinner.
I still give him the bottle with cereal at night maily because it helps him sleep for a longer stretch.

I am not sure if this is the information you were looking for but I hope it helped :-)

if baby is spitting up & in pain, then medicine is in order
if baby is spitting up& is happy & gaining weight, then it's a 'laundry problem' & you have a happy spitter
if baby spits up & needs extra calories, there are ways to get this by finding out from ped how to make extra calories in the formula (extra scoop, etc)

adding cereal is controversial. it is 'old fashioned' and there are debates as to whether or not it's good for their undeveloped dygestive systems...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3806288?dopt=Abstract

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-diabetes....

When my baby was spitting up all the time I figured out on my own that he is lactose intolerant and tried soy formula. It took about a week for him to totally stop but after that he never spit up at all. He's know 18 months and still drinking soy milk which is a pain because I have to buy two different kinds of milk and yogurt but you do what you got to. Just another suggestion. It's hard to find the reason sometimes. Just thought if you didn't want to do the cereal thing or if it doesn't work you might try this. Good luck.

If this is normal spitting up.. I'd leave well enough alone. If it's gastroesophegal reflux(GERD), that is a standard recommendation but I didn't do it. My 5th child had GERD and projectile vomited for 7 months.

If your child does have GERD, I don't know what to recommend other that exclusive breastfeeding..adding formula seems to make the problem far worse. But regular spitting up? This is normal and expected and shouldn't be treated as an anomoly or illness.

My son spit up often and I started burping him more during the feedings. He would cry but he would not spit up as much. I think they get air trapped in their little bellies while eating and the only way for the bubble to come up is with a little food. That worked great for me. The best advice is that no one knows your child better than you - You will figure it out. Good Luck!

Hi my son was 4 weeks and i gave him 2tsp of cereal in his bottle but it had made him very gassy and all he would do was cry.... I stopped giving it to him.. Hey all you can do is try it for yourself if you feel its not agreeing with him than stop it

I started giving my son cereal in his formula at two months for the same reason. He is now 26 months old and totally fine, Other than it being a pain in the butt to mix formula and cereal as an added step, and after I started giving it to him, he was off the growth charts everytime I went in for a check up. I dont know if it was b.c of the cereal or hes just a big boy - otherwise, I wouldnt worry about giving him rice. And, it did help keep the formula down, he didnt spit up as much at all.

Dear M. T,

Did your Dr. say was the cause of your son's spitting up? I raised twins, 1 cried all the time (son) and daughter projectiled vomitted all the time. It's was a nightmare. I decided around 2 mos too add formula in his cereal. He stopped crying and slept through the night. I would only give him the cereal at night.

With my daughter I started her on cereal alittle later on.

Good luck and let me know how your son is doing.

Sincerely,

G. H.

They make a formula for babies who spit up, my son has reflux and i give that to him. Its Enfamil and it says for babies who spit up, I don't know what Formula you use but i think if you mix it right your son should be fine. I hope this helps
S.

Both of my kids used cereal in EVERY bottle because they wouldn't take plain formula. My oldest one actually had the same problem as your, he'd spit the formula back up. (I don't blame 'em one bit, have you tasted that stuff? YUCK!!)
I'm pretty sure that feding a baby cereal at 2 moths won't hurt anything, started giving both of mine cereal at about 4 weeks at night. Helps them sleep :)

B. N
www.themomteam.info/deanese0209