When Can You Start Feeding Cereal

I started adding rice cereal to the formula when my daughter was not satisfied with just the formula. Keep something in mind when we were young(in the 70's) and they didn't know any better, my mother gave me solid food at 4 weeks and I'm still alive. I don't think a bit of rice cereal to help you sleep will harm him! Just remember you may want to go to a larger nipple size so he can get the cereal into him. Good luck!

Okay, here is what worked for me.
My son was 5 weeks old when we started the cereal. The kid was HUNGRY!! He immediately slept through the night.

My daughter was 2 weeks old when we started cereal with her. I was home alone with a toddler and a new baby - my FIL had passed away and my husband had gone home. There was NO other way. I was exhausted. I fed the child cereal at night time! She was happy. She slept through the night. I started slowly - 1 tsp. of cereal, then 2.

They are both bright and happy, well adjusted teenagers.

My sister - now in her late 30's - came home from the hospital eating rice cereal. No ill effects there, either.

YMMV
LBC

Please avoid cereal before 6 months. Recent research shows that introducing cereal too early can lead to diabetes. Infants don't produce enough amylase (digestive enzyme) to process the starches in baby cereal. The risks are not worth the extra sleep.

Welcome to motherhood. Lack of sleep is part of the deal. If he is taking a bottle and you have a partner available, have them take one or two of the feedings so you can get some rest. Take naps during the day if you are at home and able too. My now 8 year old was up every two hours like clockwork until he was 3yo and then up every 3-4 hours until he was 6 years old. Seriously! So I empathize with the lack of sleep, but giving him cereal early is not a good idea. Talk to your child's doctor he may have some ideas to try. The first few months are the most exhausting so hang in there. Good luck!

This is a tough question. You have some good advice and some not so good, but it is all personal opinion :) I personally believe 7 weeks is way too early and it typically discouraged by pediatricians for allergy reasons. I waited until 5-6 months. Sleep is a very important thing! 7 weeks is a tough age. What helped me through it with both of mine who went through good & bad sleeping times is a book called "Babywise." This book makes some important points about kids schedules and how to get your child to sleep through the night. And no it is not all about keeping to a rigid schedule, but more that it is important not to feed a child put them down for a nap. That it is important during the day to keep them up for play time then put them down for nap. Also how you put them down for their naps will also gear towards assisting with night time sleep. It was a good book. By doing all the daytime stuff you are training them to put themselves to sleep and they will sleep longer in the night. It was a HUGE percent that by 12 weeks were doing 8-13 hours and I think 8 weeks 80% of the babywise babies were sleeping 5-7 hours (which is much better than 2-3)!! The other thing to think about is 4-5 oz might not be enough. My kiddos were both chunks and drinking 5-7 oz by this age! Just a thought that he might need more per feeding. Hope this helps!! Good luck. THis too will pass!!

Hang in there! It gets better! Right now, you just have to deal with the 2 1/2 hour thing. It's what your baby needs. I know it's COMPLETELY exhausting but you can do it. Do you have someone else at home who could feed him one bottle during the night so you can get about 5 hours of sleep at a time? Also, try to rest as much as possible when he's sleeping, even if it means you feel like you're sleeping the whole day away and you have too much to do. Most everything else can wait (really). Just try to enjoy this time with your precious little one...it'll go so fast!

You're right he is too young now. Follow your pediatrician's advice- but our Doctor advises not starting solids until 6 months of age. I know a lot of people use cereal in the bottle to "help" them sleep longer. I never found that to be successful. I've waited for them to be 6 months old and fed with a spoon. Most babies tolerate it well at that age, I find earlier is frustrating for them (and you). Good luck!

Hi L.,
I agree with Teresa B, my pediatrician told me the same thing with my oldest when she was 2 weeks old (only rice cereal) because she was spitting it all back up. I was told 1 tablespoon for every 2 oz bottle.

Now I just gave birth 3 weeks ago and my son has acid reflux, and my other pediatrician said before giving him meds, he would rather have him take the rice cereal in the formula. He gave me the same ratio as the first. He also suggested I pump and put the rice cereal in the breastmilk. I don't think 2 different pediatricians from different states would suggest I feed my children something that will harm them later on in life, if anything they both wanted to go the natural way before introducing meds.

I was also told that if my son, would drink certain amount of formula in 10 min, then I should move him to the next oz.
Good luck!

My granddaughter was okayed for rice cereal at her 4 month check up

PLEASE ignore the terrible advice of ladybug!! talk to your pediatrician about it. most say NO earlier than 4 months. you are begging for an allergy or other digestive issues if you start cereals that early.

i agree that it sounds like your son might have hit a growth spurt. unfortunately babies sometimes don't sleep well through the night. my baby didn't start sleeping at long intervals until she was 7-8 months, but that is not a reason to go against the advice of the medical community and start solids prematurely.

I concur with those who have said that feeding solids right now is not advisable. My pediatrician who is also a nutritionist and has a holisitc practice gave me very wise and interesting advice. Do not feed solids till 5-6 mths old. And do not feed grains first. That includes rice cereal. She has seen many children and adults who have developed not only blood sugar issues; but also tendancies toward constipation by being feed rice cereal too early.
It is totally normal for babies at this age and older to nurse/feed every 2 hrs. or so. Babies go through all sorts of growth spurts at different times.
Hope this helps.
L. M

I think 4 months is the norm for starting cereal. I would suggest maybe increasing the number of ounces you give him at night, maybe that will help.

If that doesn't work then you could try adding maybe a tsp or two of cereal directly into the bottle just to thicken it up a little so he feels full. My neighbors just did that with their daughter because she wouldn't go long at night in between bottles so at about 2 months they started to add just a little cereal to her night time bottles and it allowed her (and them) to get a little more sleep!

Good luck! :)

with my oldest daughter, she wouldnt sleep at all as a baby....she was getting cereal in a bottle at night starting at 2mths old....first night i did that, she slept for 6hrs straight!! what you have to do is make a tiny slit in the nipple of a 4oz bottle.....put 2 tablespoons of cereal in it....and 4oz of warmed up formula.....cover the nipple and shake it real good.....and serve! it does work wonders!!! email me if ya want more help with this...at ____@____.com

I had a 10 lb newborn. By 10 weeks she was consuming well over a quart of formula per day. At that point, in order to reduce the amount of formula she took in I did the unthinkable and started adding a little rice cereal to her night bottle. Worked like a charm. Maybe a month later, she started getting one additional "fortified" bottle during the day. She was huge and she was hungry. And, if you look closely at the specialty formulas for children w/ acid reflux, you'll see that they are thickened w/ cereal. So, if a newborn w/ acid reflux can drink thick cereal, I figured so could my perfectly healthy, but amazon sized baby. Everyone was happier b/c of it.

If you take this route, you will need an old fashioned latex nipple b/c you will need to CAREFULLY widen the holes so that the thick formula can get through.

She's now 3 1/2 yo and while she is VERY tall at about 44", she is perfect weight.

L.,
Your son sounds perfectly normal for his age. His stomach isn't big enough yet to handle more than 4-5 oz at a time, and he still needs to eat at that frequency. I know it feels like you will never sleep again, but you will. And you'll look back on this time and wonder how it went by so quickly. I promist.

You should check with your pediatrician, but most babies start solids between 4 and 6 months. And, contrary to popular belief, rice in bottles or starting solids doesn't make them sleep any better!

Is it possible for you to sleep while he naps? Or, can you have a family member or friend help with the baby for a few hours so you can get some rest? If you are bottle feeding, is it possible to switch off night feedings with someone so you can get some rest every other night?

Hang in there, babies start sleeping for longer stretches around 4 months or so. But, in the meantime, hopefully you can get someone to help you so you can take a nap or get a good night's sleep once in a while.

Best of luck.

My son was the same way and his ped. said I could add a little rice cereal to his formula at his 6week check up. My mother-in-law did the same thing with my husband and so did my mom with us. I added one tbls or so with my son's 4-5 oz bottle and he slept for 4hours or so. Good Luck, remember those days...

You should not even consider feeding your baby any "solids" (of which cereal is one) until AT LEAST four months--- waiting until six months would be even better. Please understand that cereal/food does not equal sleep. Your baby is seven weeks old.... he doesn't know up from down yet. A 2-1/2 hour stretch right now is VERY normal. Are you breastfeeding or formula feeding? I did find with my first DS that I had to supplement with formula--- much to my disappointment--- because I had major milk supply issues due to breast lump removal. You may want to consider offering additional nourishment through formula, but PLEASE... no cereal; his digestive system is not ready for it. Talk to your pediatrician, too. Good luck!

L.,
After reading the other responses that you have gotten so far, I just wanted to let you know what we did. With my oldest daughter we introduced cereal in her bottle when she was 4 weeks old. She was spitting up a lot and would only sleep a couple of hours at a time.

With my son, we had to put cereal in his bottles because he was always hungry. At 2 weeks old he was drinking 8 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours...so the doctor told me he had to have something else.

My youngest was 3 weeks old when our doctor told me to put cereal in her bottle. Granted this was because she had reflux and could not keep formula down.

None of my children have had any adverse reactions to this. They are all happy and healthy. I do not think that my pediatrician would tell me to do this if it would cause a problem with my babies. They did tell me to only use rice cereal because it is easier for them to digest.

I hope this helps a little.

Ladybug's advice wasn't terrible. It actually goes towards what used to happen. I know my mom's pediatrician had her start giving my brother mashed potatoes at 1 mo, and she had the same one as her 6 sisters. Of all of us 12 cousins, only one has a food allergy and it's to shellfish, and it's very mild. Rice cereal is so bland that as long as you add only breatmilk, formula, or water to it, it should be fine. I wouldn't add juices, etc, until they're older simply b/c those can lead to fussiness b/c of gas. Unfortunately, most peditricians see this as a terrible thing, which I think is funny b/c it's probably how they were raised. (My mom's pediatrician wasn't some rebel-that was the norm then!) Most foods where allergies are the concern are eggs, dairy, peanuts, etc. Rice cereal isn't exactly like them, so the caution with that may not be as necessary. Also, one thing I think is funny, Americans are in the minority when it comes to how we feed our babies. Most other cultures start them on normal solids from birth, though they only give them as much as their mouths/bellies/etc can handle. If your child needs more nutrition or seems hungry, trying the rice cereal could help a lot. If he doesn't want it, he'll probably let you know.

Barring any health issues not mentioned, you could probably feed him some rice cereal in the evening...dinner if you will. Before doing that, you should definately check with your son's doctor. But feedings about every 3 hours is absolutely normal.

My son did the same thing but was taking approx 16 oz of formula every two hours at just 2 weeks of age. His doctor had me start him on cereal with his dinner feeding. I had to stop for a few days about a week later because it made him a bit gassy at first. After that, he was fine.

Dear L.,

This is only my opinion, but I believe the increase in childhood allergies is due in part to early feeding. I did not feed my son any solids until he was six or seven months old, and he doesn't have any allergies, and he has really never been sick (he is ten now).

Now, I am not saying he slept through the night. Someone mentioned other cultures. My understanding was the many other cultures breast feed only for quite some time.

C. B.

My first reaction is, how much is he getting during the day?? My girls only had 2 or 3oz bottles at that age, or they were breast fed, and very 2 to 2.5 hours. Night time was every 3 hours, and by 3 months it was every 4 or 5 hours.

In my opinion, you should consult your physician. The most recent researh that I've heard about suggest that solid foods of any kind introduced early are associated with allergies later in life. And there have been incidents of choking with small babies and cereal in bottles.
The APA recommends 4-6 months, and ideally 6 months if the baby is breastfed.

I'm assuming you're feeding formula in the bottle and not breast milk? If it is breastmilk, the problem could be hind milk v. fore milk consistency. But if it's formula, make sure you're mixing it correctly (I know it's a silly thing but it happens). But also, the little guy is just 7 weeks old! He's hungry! He doesn't know what time of day it is. Before you start putting cereal in his bottle, I would recommend the following...

Try to slowly increase the size of his bottles very slowly (1/2 oz. to 1 oz.) during the day, and feed him more frequently during the day (every two hours). Overall, your baby will still be getting the same number of ounces, but you might find that he is comfortable stretching out his feedings at night more. Also, he might be waking in the night for something other than food. Are you sure he's hungry? Do you swaddle him? Some babies get very startled at night by their own movements and swaddles help alot. Try rocking, singing, shushing, swaying, and a tight swaddle, and see if that helps. Also, keep the room quiet and dark, and keep eye contact to a minimum, so that he stays sleepy.

Lastly, many many babies eat every 2 to 2.5 hours for months. It's really not that unusual or extreme. It just sucks for moms after many many nights. See if a friend, partner, grandparent, who might be willing to take a night shift so you can rest. Once you get some rest you might be able to deal for a few more weeks until he slows down at night.

I really really wouldn't start solids early. There's the "6 week" growth spurt, which is probably responsible. There are a LOT of growth spurts, where they just need to eat more.

L. - The norm is 4-6 months of age and many pediatricians are also recommending to wait until the 6 months rather than 4 because the babies digestive tracts are just not ready to process solids yet. I would try giving him more formula at night and see if that does the trick...

I had this problem as well. All I did was get rice cereal and put it in the bottles with the formula. Very little, but it helps the tummy. I did it more at night so he would sleep and less during the day. Also, if you do this, you may have to make the hole in the nipple a little bigger so the formula and the rice can go through.

Hope this helps,
R.

Hi L., I just read through all the responses... and had to add my two cents (for what it's worth). 1 - your son is only 7 weeks. He just isn't going to sleep more than 2 hours or so at a time. Yes, some infants do sleep longer than that, and yes, those moms are LUCKY. but they just aren't that common. Your son's tummy isn't large enough to hold the amount of calories he needs to to grow as fast as he's growing, so it needs to constantly be replenished.
Basically, what he's doing sounds COMPLETELY normal!

Next: as far as the cereal portion: the vast majority of pediatricians and the leading authorities on the subject highly reccomend waiting until at least 5 months, maybe 6 or 7 before feeding solids. Yes, this is a new recommendation. Yes it's true our parents and previous generations were started on solids a lot sooner. And they survived. However, behind every new recommendation lies a researched and validated reason, and so even though there are moms on here who say go ahead and try solids, I for one wouldn't go against the medical community on this. If you're still unsure, talk to your pediatrician.
My daughter was a HUNGRY kid. I fed that child every hour for an hour every day until she was about 5 months old. It was EXHAUSTING. But I trusted my pediatrician and waited on the solids until 7 months. I waited until my daughter told me she was ready. Cereal works for some babies, but the risks of doing so too early far outwiegh the benefits of more sleep (According to Dr Sears, it's largely a myth anyway. Babies tummies are only so big and they grow so fast, so no matter what you put in there, it's still going to digest around the same rate, and he'll still be hungry at roughly the same times per day).
Follow your baby's cues. He'll tell you what you need. It's really, really hard when you're so tired, but this is a great time to ask for some help from your family or friends so you can get some more sleep. :) Hang in there, everything changes so fast you'll soon wonder where the time went!!

This may not be what you want to hear, but at 7 wks, your baby shouldn't be sleeping more than 2-3 hrs at a time between feedings. His stomach is so small it can only really hold that much food, and he's growing so quickly, he needs a constant refreshment of calories. Feeding cereal at this time is really very bad for them, their little bodies can't break it down properly. Please ask your pediatrician before trying anything to make him sleep too much longer between feedings, as this can be bad for them.

Hi! I am a SAHM of a 5 month old girl. We struggled with the same issue. My mom told me to just add a little rice cereal to her bottle at night and she began to sleep from 10pm to 7am. I started with about a 1/2 a teaspoon to 4 oz of milk (just enough to coat the bottle when u shake it). I know some doctors advise moms to wait but I disagree, if your baby is hungry you have to feed him. Since I started this she has continued to sleep regularly and she is full. Hope this helps!

I feel your pain. My twin boys are 8 1/2 weeks old. They drink 3-4.5 oz of breastmilk by bottle every 3 hours. It's a grueling schedule, especially since my boys eat at different times. So it feels like I'm always up feeding a baby. I don't have any advice to offer, but just wanted you to know that maybe your baby's feeding habits are normal. I am interested to know if you do decide to give cereal and what your results are.