When Did You Start Your Baby on Rice Cereal?

I started putting rice cereal in my baby's bottle when she was 6 weeks old. It helped her to feel fuller and sleep better. Good Luck!

I waited until they were all 5 months. 4 months might be a bit early, b/c sometimes, their little tongues just push it all out. I didn't ever do cereal in a bottle. Just did about 2 weeks of cereal then started mixing it with fruits and veggies.

None of my kids had rice cereal. Have you tasted that stuff? It's >nasty<... and pretty much a big fat zero as far as nutrition. Our kids just had oatmeal... the almost-instant kind from the canister. It's alot healthier and less stuff added than the baby cereals. You can make up a few servings at a time (in less than 5 minutes), spoon it into bowls and store in the fridge. When it's time to eat, just pop one in the microwave for a few seconds.

Anyways... we started between 4-6 months depending on the child. Our 1st was started at 4 months becuase he was only breastfed and went from content to eat every 3-4 hours and sleeping 10 hours at night to wanting to eat every 1-2 hours and waking every 3 hours at night all of a sudden a week before he hit 4 months. Once we started on oatmeal and other foods (other foods started within a couple weeks) he was back to old eating/sleeping habits. He was just hungry and growing (he was a big kid). We basically waited for the other cues from the other kids and started them around 5-6 months.

Every kid is different and you need to wait until they are ready. They need to be able to sit up straight in a highchair or booster and hold their head steady. Never feed a reclining baby because it's too easy for them to choke. They also need to have outgrown the tongue-thrust reflex. That's the one that using the tongue to push everything out of the mouth as soon as it goes in. It goes away between 4-6 months. If you try to feed a baby who still has it, it can get very frustrating very quickly.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html
Kelly mom is an excellent resource on breastfeeding/feeding infants. You can go through her links as to what others advise as well. I would disagree with the advice that you should ask your pediatrician what/when to feed your baby. It is YOUR baby, a pediatrician is a specialist physician who is an excellent resource for medical issues/problems. Nutrition is your responsbility as a parent and most pediatricians just do not have the time to invest in nutritional counseling. There are so many good resources available now on the internet, that you can educate yourself in a short amount of time. Babies should be exclusively breastfed for @ LEAST 6 months, barring any unusal complications/problems/medical issues, and up to the first 12 months if baby is growing well.
Wish you well, enjoy your new baby!
Sincerely,
D. Easthon CD(DONA), LCCE, ELCS, CHBE
Waterbirth Credentialed
Community Outreach Director, Dayton Area Labor Support
www.heart2heartbirthmatters.com

Good morning A.~

I did not take the time to read your other responses. I apologize if I am repeating what others have said. I have a 7 month old and I started him on rice cereal at 5 months. We waited 1 more month than our pediatrician recommended because he was a premature. He ate cereal for almost a month before we started other food. What has your pediatrician told you?

Good luck!

i started my baby on rice cereal just before 5 months. he was always hungry and from 3-4 months had been sleeping through the nite, but then at 4 mos was waking more. people said i need to wait til he was 6 mos, but the ped told me he's showing signs of being ready for the cereal so go ahead. he loved it!!

A.,

I started my baby on cereal when she was 3 months old. If you are worried about whether your little one is ready for it just sit him/her in a bouncy seat or hold him/her (however you plan to feed him/her until they are ready for a highchair) and put a little bit of cereal on a spoon, give it to him/her and if he/she spits it out then he/she is not ready. Once you can feed him/her and they swallow it then they are ready. Babies have a reflux with their tongue and they push foreign objects out but once they have the ability to swallow the items then they are ready for solids. When I first started giving cereal to my little girl I made it kind of runny so she could eat it better. Whatever you do don't put it in a bottle.
Good luck with your little one and have fun with him/her.
~M.~

I started when my son was about 5 1/2 months to see if he would sleep better. But if he/she is nursing, you don't need to until 6 months. If you are bottle feeding, my pediatrician gives the ok to start at 4 months.

A. V.

I waited until my son was 6 months old before starting any solids. That was recommended by my pediatrician as well as all the literature I read.

Hi A.,
I started my daughter on rice cereal at 3 months because she was little and didn't drink the recommended amount of formula daily. The doctor said she was fine but I decided to bottle feed her cereal. I've always been told no one knows your baby like you do so I made my own decision to use formula. When we went for her 4 month check up the doctor told me I could give her cereal. I told her I started that a month ago. She didn't seem too concerned. You should consult your doctor even though I didn't. My daughter is fine she's just going to be skinny. I didn't start her on oatmeal until she was 6 months because it is thicker than rice.

The recommendation is to wait until they are 6 months, but I believe you also need to take the child in to account as well. My son has always been big (with an appetite to match) and breastmilk/formula just weren't enough to satisfy him. Since he was taking over 40 oz of milk/formula a day and getting quite chunky because of it, per our pediatrician's advice, we started him on cereal once a day at 4 months. He has not had any problems because of it. However, it would probably be best to wait as close to 6 months as you can, unless you have a valid reason to do otherwise.

The recommendation is not to start solid food (including cereal) till 6 months of age. Babies digestive system isn't ready until then. We started cereal at 4 months and my daughter had (and still has) terrible bowel issues because of it. There is no reason that you need to start cereal before 6 months, and even then it's more for the experience than for nutritional value. Contrary to popular belief, giving baby cereal at night time does not make them sleep longer. Also, never give cereal in the bottle, only from the spoon. Your baby is receiving all he or she needs from formula or breastmilk right now.

I started rice cereal around 5.5 months, but I have friends who started as early as 4 months without problems. I would see what your doctor says. Mine said that 4 months was okay, but it wasn't necessary until 6 months. I waited because my son was fine with his breastmilk and formula and I knew rice cereal was a mess:)

Usually your Ped will let you know, but I started at 6 months, any earlier is not really necessary.

I was told by the doc the "rule" is 6 months or double the birth weight... 2 of mine started around 6 months, but my youngest doubled his birth weight by 3 months. He was already sitting up with support and was making mouth movements when I was eating... which I was told says they are ready. I stared him on a really runny form of cereal, but only feed it by spoon. My youngest caught on really fast - he will be 2 yrs old in 2 weeks... and he is still an eater :)

Look at the signs your little one is giving you... is he/she sitting with support, has he/she doubled it's birth weight, is he/she making mouth movements when you eat around him/her? Also, talk to your doc... they know your baby a little better then we do.

Our pediatrician told us it was okay to start them on cereal anytime between 4 and 6 months because it's not about any nutritional value, it's about teaching them to eat from a spoon. We chose to wait until 6 months with our first because we were taking a 2-week road trip when she was 5 months old, and it worked out great for us. No real resistance to anything we offered her, no allergies, etc. Because of how easy it was, we also chose to wait until 6 months with our second and she did great as well.

Hi A.,
I started my son on rice cereal at 3 months. I did put a tablespoon or 2 in his bottle before bed as well. It didn't hurt him, or make him contipated either but if he had gotten that way I would have stopped it immediately. I started spoon feeding it at 4 months recommended by his ped. at 5 months you can start oatmeal and at 6 months baby food. this is what our pediatrician stated. Good Luck!