For those of you that feed your babies cereal...how old were they when you started them? My baby is 8 weeks old and he loves to eat-he eats every couple hours.I was wondering if feeding him cereal would hold him longer...however he has never lost any weight so I know he is def. getting enough!I have read that you are not supposed to feed them cereal til at least 4 months.I was going to see what your opinions were....;-)
feeding cereal
- Thread starter smiley2
- Start date
The short answer is talk to your pediatrican. Most say between 4 to 6 months, and NOT before. I know that some older people (grandmas, particularly) will try to tell you to mix cereal in with the milk, but everything I've ever heard/read on the subject says that cereal before 4 months can lead to a variety of problems, allergies and obesity being the two I remember right off the top of my head.
An 8-week old is going to eat every couple of hours, even more frequently than that when he's going through a growth spurt. It's perfectly normal -- think how small their little stomachs are! If he's gaining weight at a normal weight and seems content in between feedings, I wouldn't change a thing.
Please, though, don't even consider doing this without talking to his doctor about it. He or she can discuss the issue with you much more thoroughly.
HTH!
An 8-week old is going to eat every couple of hours, even more frequently than that when he's going through a growth spurt. It's perfectly normal -- think how small their little stomachs are! If he's gaining weight at a normal weight and seems content in between feedings, I wouldn't change a thing.
Please, though, don't even consider doing this without talking to his doctor about it. He or she can discuss the issue with you much more thoroughly.
HTH!
I would say never before 4 months. Young babies eat frequently because their stomachs are so small, thats just the way it is. Please don't feel the need to rush your baby into solids before its time. My first 3 kids I started solids around 4-5 months. My baby is now 4 months old and I just put rice cereal and baby oatmeal on the grocery list. I'm going to start with rice cereal for a week or two then try oatmeal and then alternate between the two to give her variety.
One thing that is REALLY important when you do start cereal and other solids is try single foods at a time and only introduce a new food after a few days so you can make sure you baby has no reactions to it.
One thing that is REALLY important when you do start cereal and other solids is try single foods at a time and only introduce a new food after a few days so you can make sure you baby has no reactions to it.
I think the best thing would be to discuss it with the pediatrician. Just my guess, but are the people telling you to try cereal early people with older kids? I think the conventional wisdom on this has shifted. When we were babies, our mothers were told cereal very early, like you originally asked, to help space out feedings. The waiting till 4 months is more in the last 10-15 years.
Anyway, glad you are not in a rush
They grow soooo fast, your baby will have a whole life to eat cereal
Enjoy that baby!! Arn't they wonderful
Marci
Anyway, glad you are not in a rush
They grow soooo fast, your baby will have a whole life to eat cereal Enjoy that baby!! Arn't they wonderful
Marci
mogambo
Cathlete
I started feeding cereal at 6 months, because I thought the longer she just got breast milk, the better, within reason, and because she was a butterball.
Something I found very useful, healthy and thrifty was to take rolled oats or brown rice and put a tablespoon or two of the dry grains in the blender, or you could use a clean coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Then I would mix this with cold water 2:1 and heat/stir until it was cooked. It didn't take long because it was so finely ground. I also used whole grain corn meal, I think.
This way, it was just the whole (organic?) grain, no salt, sugar, wierd stabilizers, preservatives, yadiyah. I didn't spend any extra money on special baby products. I felt good about what I was feeding her.
I also used a little food mill so I could make normal food into baby food so I didn't buy that either. Bananas, vegetables, whatever, it just went in there. Sometimes I put the cooked rice cereal in there with a soaked prune or a chunk of banana too. As she got older I added wheat germ, cottage cheese, etc. etc.
My daughter is 19 now, so the memories are dim, but I remember these were some of the ideas I had that I really liked.
Something I found very useful, healthy and thrifty was to take rolled oats or brown rice and put a tablespoon or two of the dry grains in the blender, or you could use a clean coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Then I would mix this with cold water 2:1 and heat/stir until it was cooked. It didn't take long because it was so finely ground. I also used whole grain corn meal, I think.
This way, it was just the whole (organic?) grain, no salt, sugar, wierd stabilizers, preservatives, yadiyah. I didn't spend any extra money on special baby products. I felt good about what I was feeding her.
I also used a little food mill so I could make normal food into baby food so I didn't buy that either. Bananas, vegetables, whatever, it just went in there. Sometimes I put the cooked rice cereal in there with a soaked prune or a chunk of banana too. As she got older I added wheat germ, cottage cheese, etc. etc.
My daughter is 19 now, so the memories are dim, but I remember these were some of the ideas I had that I really liked.
Mogambo, I really like your ideas of using whole foods to feed a child. I will try them because that is how I try to eat.
Anyway, Smiley2, my baby is 7 months and I just started him on rice and oat cereal. I agree with Mogambo, breastmilk is best, and if you are nursing keep it up, no need to rush into solid foods. I think 4 months is the absolute minimum, but waiting longer is great!
Anyway, Smiley2, my baby is 7 months and I just started him on rice and oat cereal. I agree with Mogambo, breastmilk is best, and if you are nursing keep it up, no need to rush into solid foods. I think 4 months is the absolute minimum, but waiting longer is great!
Hi Smiley! I agree with everyone here to speak to your pediatrician. My son is now 22 months, but when he was 5 weeks old I had to start adding cereal to his bottle, per his pediatrician's advice, because he would not keep the formula down. It eliminated the problem. Even though he had the cereal in his bottle he still ate every 2-3 hours. I kept joking with everyone telling them he is learning to eat his mini-meals early like many experts recommend. He also was never chubby.