hm.
really, the purpose of introducing cereals later is that allergy is greatly reduced. also, for nutritional needs, formula/breastmilk is ALL your baby needs, and replacing any amount of formula/breastmilk for solids (baby foods) is NOT recommended because they have WAY less benefits and nutrition that is NEEDED for baby physical and mental development.
babies should not spit out food when given solids. they should be able to sit up on their own, holding their heads up on their own. its very detremental to their overall health, nutrition and digestive systems to introduce before they are ready. your first child may have turned out fine, but theres no guarantee that this will happen twice. better safe than sorry.
also, your baby sounds like she is eating NORMALLY for her age. throughout the first year, this is NORMAL to want to nurse/drink OFTEN for spurts. i remember (exclusivly) breastfeeding my son and it always seemed that he was having a growth spurt. but i was ok with it. it worked for us.
what you can do is make sure to keep baby awake when feeding, nurse on both sides if breastfeeding, or bottle nurse making sure that baby gets full, not falls asleep. its ok to fall asleep while eating, but try your best to make her fall asleep when she is full. lights, eye contact, that will help keep her awake. gently removing the nipple when she may be starting to slow down and be drowsy can pop her back awake to nurse some more.
adding cereal to bottles wont help her sleep longer either, digestion actually disterbs and interrupts sleep.
same thing with just feeding cereal before bed, in general, its not going to help her sleep longer, its going to make her sleep disrupted.
i have heard that formula fed babies sleep longer because of the concentration of formula. you could possibly give her formula before bed, but again, anything heavy is going to slightly disrupt sleep, and if you are breastfeeding, dont stop - it has HUGE benefits that formula cant even compare to, including the reduction of the formula caused constipation, etc.
anyway, please check out www.askdrsears.com. he has very clear reasons for delaying solids. some moms make it a full year without feeding a bit of solids, and thats very healthy and fulfilling. babies just dont need food. its not nutritionally beneficial. they triple their weight and double their height in a year - a growth period that will NEVER happen again. theres no way you could feed enough solids to replace any amount of formula/breastmilk/
anyway,
please check out that site - www.askdrsears.com. a LOT of ideas that our moms and grandmas were forced to do with their babies may have "worked fine" but are actually harmful to your relationship with your children, harmful to their health, etc. the idea is to get to a place where moms are able to do things that THEIR hearts tell them to do, especially when it comes to responding to your baby. this is VITAL to build trust, and it also helps you to know your baby deeply. you will know her needs, her wants, the reasons why shes upset, or sad, or whatever.
my son is almost 2, and when hes having some sort of tantrum, i feel instinctivly that i know what he needs, and i have NEVER been wrong.
sometimes he needs something to eat drink, sometimes he just needs to be in his room by himself (i have an in home child care). but i just instinctivly know and it has always worked... this relationship i built by ALWAYS responding to him when he cried. crying it out is ok ONLY if you are at your wits end and you may hurt your child, or someone else will be in danger...
babies do stop crying with the cry it out method, but only because they learn that no one responds to them. doesnt sound good does it.
anyway, i know that has nothing to do with your question, but ... its something else that i sense important.
anyway follow your heart. its not for selfishness, control, or other stupid reasons that they say no solids until 4-6 months. its for health reasons. a friend of mine started solids with her son early.. and she regrets it because of the allergy issues her son has...
besides.
breastmilk is free, you can get formula from wic,
and kids eat you out of house and home soon enough. why start buying food and stuff before you have to? save your money, stay with what you are doing now. no one said parenting was easy, no one claims that you will get any sleep. its natural and normal, you shouldnt get sleep.
and its actually dangerous to expect babies under 3 months to be independent or sleep through the night.
it protects them from sids if they do wake up. i would be more worried about a baby that never wakes up at night than one that wakes up 3 or 4 times. at least shes waking up. some parents lose that ... whole experience, for no reason.
anyway,
dont listen as much to outside advice.
your instincts are there to preserve the lives of those in your family. its not spoiling, its not letting your baby manipulate, its being a responsive mom, an understanding mom, a knowledgeable mom, an attached mom.
you wont regret doing everything you need to do to keep your baby safe and calm. you will regret not doing everything in your power to make your babies as confident and connected as my son is. :D
www.askdrsears.com.
i trust him with my life and the life of my sons. and ive never met him. but he gave me permission to follow my instincts when everyone around me was telling me to go against my heart.
anyway.
sorry its so long