Advice on my little

Amanda - posted on 09/01/2011

PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVISE!!!

"baby foods dont have alot of calories unless you add things, i agree there, thats why you add lots of fattening foods then microwave it. as long as they are having lots of cheese and cream, butter, full fat cheese spreads, peanut paste etc then its definately going to help"



NO DOCTOR WOULD RECOMMEND ADDING ANYTHING WITH NUTS OR DAIRY TO THE DIET OF A 4 MONTH OLD. Their stomachs can not handle that plus they can have serious allergic reactions to nuts and dairy.



I agree with the moms who have stated increase breast milk and or formula. They are correct cereals do not have much in the way of calories and if you read the post by other mom's they dont understand why adding cereal doesn't keep their babies full longer, there is nothing to it and it doesn't help in weight gain until they are older it has been proven the earlier you introduce solids the higher the risk of obesity your baby will have. My son had nothing but breast milk until his 6 month birthday and he nursed a lot and all the time during growth spurts they drink a lot more, but dark stool do need to be check and you do need a new doctor

LaLasha - posted on 08/25/2011

I would try pumping to restart lactation and get a lactation consultant lots of doulas are also lactation consultants clearly your baby isn't tolerating formula which is to be expected it isn't normal common but not normal. if you don't want to re-lactate then look in to a milk bank or milk sharing community according to the W.H.O formula is the 4 option for feeding babies.

Melissa - posted on 05/29/2009

Quoting Emily:

No, you dont ever put rice cereal in a bottle. I know they make bottles for it, but thats because so many people are ignorant and do it for no reason. They're making money off ignorance. If a baby is eating 4 ounces of formula in one sitting, thats a LOT of rice cereal to add to that amount of formula. No baby is ever going to eat that much in one sitting. Let alone a 4 month old who is too young for solids. She should be sticking to formula only.

A four month old is NOT too young for solids.  This is your opinion and yes some pedi opinons, but it is perfectly safe to feed a four month old solids, but only as an extra not as a meal replacement. You still have to make sure they are getting the recommended amount of formula per day on top of the solids foods.  My son was started on solids at four months and has been also eating my pedi's recommended amount of formula per day and he is gaining weight and growing just fine.

Victoria - posted on 05/27/2009

here is a great website that will help:

http://www.gerber.com/Nutrition_Feeding/...

Victoria - posted on 05/27/2009

Quoting Emily:

No, you dont ever put rice cereal in a bottle. I know they make bottles for it, but thats because so many people are ignorant and do it for no reason. They're making money off ignorance. If a baby is eating 4 ounces of formula in one sitting, thats a LOT of rice cereal to add to that amount of formula. No baby is ever going to eat that much in one sitting. Let alone a 4 month old who is too young for solids. She should be sticking to formula only.

honey, you don't add 4 oz. of cereal with 4 oz. of formula. did you bother to read my whole suggetion?? you only use one tablepoon of cereal with two tablepoons of formula.  after that you give your baby their regular bottle.

Amy - posted on 05/24/2009

Oh my! i think i'm just going to keep my answer simple. i think maybe a second opinion from another doctor is a good idea. there may be something else wrong and the doctor u have now is just "chalking" it up to normal baby growth. neither of my daughters lost weight past a month old.both of my daughters were big babies when they were born (over nine pounds). my youngest is just about the same age as urs and is eating cereal mixed with fruit along with her formula. i didn't breastfeed so i don't have any conclusions to draw but i don't know anyone that did well with the good start formula. (my sister used it for a while and her daughters poop was black and smelled HORRIBLE) she switched to similac. both of my daughter use similac. my youngest had to use similac isomil b/c she was spitting up too much. this is probably a dumb question but did u try burping her after about an ounce or so? my daughter gets fussy and won't eat if she has a bubble stuck. (forgive me if that was stupid but sometimes the simpest thing is the answer) i say keep asking questions until u get an answer that works and u are happy with. no one is going to fault u for a second, third, or fourth opinion. this is ur daughter. her health is important. and ur her mother. if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. good luck. and keep me posted if u'd like. (we'll say a baby prayer for u)

Emily - posted on 05/24/2009

No, you dont ever put rice cereal in a bottle. I know they make bottles for it, but thats because so many people are ignorant and do it for no reason. They're making money off ignorance. If a baby is eating 4 ounces of formula in one sitting, thats a LOT of rice cereal to add to that amount of formula. No baby is ever going to eat that much in one sitting. Let alone a 4 month old who is too young for solids. She should be sticking to formula only.

Victoria - posted on 05/23/2009

Quoting Emily:

Formula/breastmilk has more calories and necessary vitamins than rice cereal. If a baby is losing weight, she should be getting the food that has the most calories. By adding solids, she may start to decrease the amount of formula she drinks, and in turn could lost more weight. 2 pounds doesnt seem like a lot, but for a 4 month old thats pretty dangerous!

you're suppose to add formula or breastmilk to the rice cereal.  gerber has an infant cereal that gives you simple direction on how to give your baby their first cereal feeding.  there is suppose to be more milk than the cereal.  like really watered down cereal, almost like a soup.  you can feed it to your baby through a bottle, but not the kind you feed them milk from.  they have these new bottles called snack bottles with handles on them.  but one of the points of feeding your baby solids is the bowl and spoon.  by this age they need to learn how to eat from a spoon, so that by nine months they can feed themselves.  also, by eight months, you can start feeding them finger foods.  like the lil graduates snack.  all of this leads up to one year.  by one year they are done with baby formula/breastmilk and baby jar foods and baby cereal.  they can eat grownup foods by one year, but nutritional and healthy foods though.

Victoria - posted on 05/23/2009

well the pooping every other day is normal. by four months they don't always poop everyday, or ten times a day. by four months your suppose to introduce infant cereal. try the gerber baby cereal. and also by now, you should be introducing strained solid foods, or stage one baby jar food.

Carlene - posted on 05/23/2009

I think you should continue to listen to your instincts, because your baby losing that much weight at this age isn't a great sign, and your doctor should be helping you to solve this problem and ease your worries, not display indifference. So, my first bit of advice is maybe you should look for a new pediatrician and get a second opinion. Because none of us are doctors either, and maybe your baby has an allergy to milk or soy and needs a special formula. The only other advice I can give you is to try a couple of different brands of bottles, sometimes babies don't like the bottle/nipple and don't want to eat or can't latch on. Second, definitely try cereal, you can even feed with a bowl and spoon. Mix it with formula and make a nice thick warm paste and feed your baby with a spoon. It might take a couple tries, but if the baby takes to it, you can get a lot of nutrition and food in her which might help cut back on the drinking formula so often. Try a little bit at first and if she does well increase the amount and potency over the next week or so until she is eating a small bowl of cereal 3 x a day.

Best of luck with your little one.

Joy - posted on 05/22/2009

Lisa buy the book Save our sleep by Tizzie Hall. There is a great chapter in there that helped us when our son had this same feeding problem when he was about 5 weeks old. It explains the ins and outs of a babies tummy and how wind etc can play a major part in this problem and what to do about it. It saved us tremendously.It is also very simple to overcome. The book also helps with a lot of other problems such as pooping. Of course I would also reccomend a different pead just to see what they come up with. good luck.

Tiffany - posted on 05/21/2009

Poor Lisa. Find a doctor that will listen to you. As a couple of people have mentioned, your baby should not have black poop. It could indicate any number of problems including organ failure. It could just be an allergy too but I operate on the philosophy "Better safe than sorry". Whatever you choose to do, watch your baby's cues and try not to switch strategies too often. Above all, trust your instincts.

Emily - posted on 05/21/2009

I have to disagree with giving her rice cereal before a bottle. Rice cereal has no nutritional value, and will just temporarily fill her up so she wont drink as much formula. For a baby losing so much weight so fast, she needs all the formula she can get, without filling up on yucky pastes first.

Mandy - posted on 05/21/2009

Little note ladies... Keep on topic. Things seem to have gotten a little catty up top.



Black poop that occurs after the first week of birth should be checked by your doctor. My thoughts for the OP. If you want to continue the formula feeding, stick to one formula she seemed to be more interested in and maybe try giving her some small amount of rice cereal once a day BEFORE her bottle. However, if she's continuing to lose weight you really need to go to the doctor possibly one that's a little more understanding to your concerns :) Good luck :)

Amanda - posted on 05/21/2009

Wow I really hope the OP doesnt listen to this garbage advice! First off the black poop needs to be checked out by a doctor, it could be a milk allergy to the formula which also would explain the weight lost! If your doctor wont listen to you, find another one, he/she works for you!



As for the person who thinks formula is better then breast, and suggesting a high fatty diet to a child she has never met, or seen her medical records to, arent you the same mother who allows others to feed booze to your daughter? Isnt your daugther also on a feeding tube? Are you really the best person to give feeding or medical advice to others?

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

I posted to help not to argue with you so I am not arguing back and fourth the last wod is yours.

Mel - posted on 05/20/2009

baby foods dont have alot of calories unless you add things, i agree there, thats why you add lots of fattening foods then microwave it. as long as they are having lots of cheese and cream, butter, full fat cheese spreads, peanut paste etc then its definately going to help

Mel - posted on 05/20/2009

i just tried to post but it didnt work, but i just basically wrote i respect your opinion, but i dont agree, i dont believe they would go and put a 3 month old on solids at a childrens hospital if it didnt help with weight gain and i guess if that is true then maybe its because babies drink less formula while eating solids, but if baby is eating and still drinking the same amount of formula then the solids are just an added bonus, and thats why i was only allowed to give rusks with fattening spreads on rather then by themselves

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

babies weight gain definately slows down as you introduce solids whether they are on bm or formula any chart and pediatrcian will agree solids take longer to digest and baby foods that are often practiced donot have a significant amount of calories.

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

Quoting Brittany:

I don't understand why people say putting cereal in a bottle is a huge choking hazard. My cousin's son had to go to John's Hopkins (one of the best hospitals) because when he was born they had to suction poop out of his throat and the doctor messed something up. When she was able to bring him home at 3 weeks old, John's Hopkins told her to put cereal in his bottles to thicken it up to keep him from choking because he had a bad choking problem.

This sucking the poop out of the throat is mostly caused by the baby pooping durinvg delivery typically there is no fault it is just a bad situation. I am not sure if the situation was differant as it may be just thought Id share that 3 of my close friends had the same problem.

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

Actually my pediatrician gave me those sites and that same advice staing that formula and breast fed babies gain more weight then children who are on solids he says there are no comparison in the calories read the food youd see that for your self I am not just reading what I find on sites and I dont expect everyone to agree I was just posting sound advice I totally understand that the poster may not take my advice just giving her the same advice given to me.



Just also a tip it took me 13 peds before I found one who was well known and has had NO complaints there are far more bad doctors out there giving old advice then good doctors some people actually should look into possibly getting a new doc/ pediatrician.

Mel - posted on 05/20/2009

also if feeding solids was bad for their health at 3 months it wouldnt be recommended for underweight babies. Your just readin what you find on the net Melissa not the most up to date stuff from the child health professionals. with regards to rice cereal you need to realise that just because you dont agree with it doesnt mean you should expect everybody to feel the same way. i have seen alot of babies on solids at 2 months and never seen one have problems swallowing. Especially with my baby's problems do you really think they would have been feeding her solids if it was going to aspirate into her lungs?

Mel - posted on 05/20/2009

Quoting Melissa:

Quoting Emily:

Formula/breastmilk has more calories and necessary vitamins than rice cereal. If a baby is losing weight, she should be getting the food that has the most calories. By adding solids, she may start to decrease the amount of formula she drinks, and in turn could lost more weight. 2 pounds doesnt seem like a lot, but for a 4 month old thats pretty dangerous!

I agree plus it is funny all these moms are putting there babies on cereal and solids to gain weight when it is pure fact that when you start solids weight gain does decrease as bm and formula are what contributes to most the weight gain.

not when the baby is still eating the same amount of formula. solids is just an added extra to help with the weight gain. especially when you add things like cheese cream and butter.  if a baby's underweight you give them frequent feeds, either by bottle or by NG tube if they dont take it

Brittany - posted on 05/20/2009

I don't understand why people say putting cereal in a bottle is a huge choking hazard. My cousin's son had to go to John's Hopkins (one of the best hospitals) because when he was born they had to suction poop out of his throat and the doctor messed something up. When she was able to bring him home at 3 weeks old, John's Hopkins told her to put cereal in his bottles to thicken it up to keep him from choking because he had a bad choking problem.

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

http://books.google.ca/books?id=3g2g0AHf...



This is feeding babies for dummies the link for the book may be helpful as well

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

My three-month old baby seems hungry -- can I add a little cereal or rusk to his bottle?

Written for BabyCentre UK





Julia Youll answers:

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Adding rusk or cereal to a bottle is not advisable because your baby may choke on the thicker consistency. Also, it may be difficult for your baby to differentiate between solids and liquids later on. He needs to be clear that bottles are for milk feeds only.



Apart from that, anything other than milk is not suitable for a baby until they are around six months old as their kidneys and immune system are too immature to cope with the extra protein. Government feeding guidelines suggest that breastmilk or formula milk is sufficient for a baby's needs up to six months and anything else before that time is unnecessary. If you do feel your baby wants to have something else before that time, speak to your health visitor first.



If your baby appears hungry at three months he may simply need to be offered more milk more often. (Read our article for guidance on how much formula your baby needs). Babies occasionally go through a more demanding patch at around three months when they may cry more, do not sleep so well and are generally unsettled. Sometimes this is put down to a growth spurt and it's quite normal in all babies, however they are fed. Be reassured that this is a short-lived period and he will more than likely revert to being perfectly happy on his milk without the need for solids.



Reviewed March 2006

http://www.babycenter.ca/baby/formula/ad... it true that my baby will sleep better if I put a little baby cereal in her bottle at night?

Written for BabyCentre UK





Julia Youll answers:

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Experts do not recommend adding cereal to your baby's bottle, as it prevents him from learning how to handle food and to differentiate solids from fluids. Also, the Department of Health recommends that babies do not have anything other than milk, ideally breastmilk, until they are six months old.



There are unfortunately, no proven methods for getting your baby to sleep through the night. Babies are actually programmed in the early weeks to wake frequently for feeds and to make contact. There is a great variation between those who sleep through virtually from the beginning and those who continue to wake up regularly. Some babies seem to be aware of a night / day rhythm earlier than others. After your baby is three or four months old, she is more likely to sleep for a 5-6 hour stretch, which is considered a more "acceptable" pattern.



To sum up, an infant's ability to sleep through the night is dependent on a developmental and adaptive process rather than just a nutritional need. Perhaps our expectations (in the hope for our own precious sleep) are sometimes a little optimistic?



Reviewed March 2006



Cereal in a Bottle for Baby Will Not Make Baby Sleep Longer but

Cereal in the Bottle may encourage baby to over-eat!





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We know that many parents, tired and at their wits end from lack of sleep, are offered the advice of putting cereal in baby's bottle so that baby might sleep for a longer period of time.







We know that many are probably tempted to try the old "cereal in the bottle" trick to gain an extra 1 hour (heck even an extra 20 minutes!) of sleep. We also know that this is one of the biggest and possibly one of the most dangerous practices you could engage in.







It is not a good idea because you may throw the "I'm full" instinct off kilter; more importantly, babies have been known to aspirate cereal when cereal is mixed in a bottle with formula or breastmilk. Babies who are younger than 4-6 months old seldom know how to properly swallow anything other than breast milk or formula and gulping or "inhaling" a bottle with cereal in it may have deadly consequences.

Melissa - posted on 05/20/2009

Quoting Emily:

Formula/breastmilk has more calories and necessary vitamins than rice cereal. If a baby is losing weight, she should be getting the food that has the most calories. By adding solids, she may start to decrease the amount of formula she drinks, and in turn could lost more weight. 2 pounds doesnt seem like a lot, but for a 4 month old thats pretty dangerous!

I agree plus it is funny all these moms are putting there babies on cereal and solids to gain weight when it is pure fact that when you start solids weight gain does decrease as bm and formula are what contributes to most the weight gain.

Amanda - posted on 05/20/2009

I guess no one reads food labels any more. I though it was obvious that formula had more calories than food. If you look at a box of rice cereal it has very little to offer. This child would do best on a high calorie formula and a NEW doctor.

Emily - posted on 05/20/2009

Formula/breastmilk has more calories and necessary vitamins than rice cereal. If a baby is losing weight, she should be getting the food that has the most calories. By adding solids, she may start to decrease the amount of formula she drinks, and in turn could lost more weight. 2 pounds doesnt seem like a lot, but for a 4 month old thats pretty dangerous!

Mel - posted on 05/20/2009

Emily, if shes losing weight she needs the solids. Im curious how come you think she doesnt? i know that is what i was told with mine to get her on the fattening solids asap

Shana - posted on 05/20/2009

You can start her on rice cereal from a spoon. My daughter was just under four months when we started solids. Get a small plastic spoon and let her play with it. Then you can make some cereal and mix it with the formula or water to make it soupy. As she gets used to it, you can thicken it up toward the consistency of oatmeal. You can also try other baby foods. This will get her more calories and a variety of tastes and textures.

Emily - posted on 05/20/2009

Okay , ridiculous replies. Dont add rice cereal to her bottle! Its a choking hazard, and it has NO nutritional value. It will not fill her up, and all you're doing is putting her life in danger. At 4 months I dont think she needs solids either. She should be getting formula or breastmilk only, especially if she is losing so much weight. Solids are the last thing you want right now. Just keep feeding her on demand. formula that is.

Mel - posted on 05/19/2009

she needs to start on solids! we've had a battle with our daughters weigh gain from birth. so yes your daughter shouldnt be losing weight at this age but some babies do because they dont eat enough or they get enough food but they burn it all off if they are active. doctors tried to tell us everything was fine to, so i would not listen to any advice given by them, they know barely anything about children.

mine was started on solids at 3 months, so i would suggest starting 5 meals of solids a day asap , after 6 months she should be relying more on the food then the milk. also Amanda's advice is good start on a high calorie formula. in australia all the formula's have the same amount of calories bar pediasure and the presciption ones, but i would wait til around 6 months to use this one. im lucky i can get the weight on by constant tube feeds, but your not so lucky so you really do need to get her eating as much as possible. mix in cheese, cream, or unsalted butter with your baby food, and give her rusks with fattening spreads such as butter, peanut butter, or cheese spread. remember to try foods for 3 days to make sure she has no reaction.

formula does cause constipation along with rice cereal, so if possible stay away from the cereal, and if she is only going every other day i definately wouldnt be adding it to her bottle. the pureed fruits like apple and pear will help with this, also try feeding diluted prune juice half water half prune juice no more then 20 mills per day. You can use apple juice and orange juice as well which should help and make sure if you are formula feeding your giving as much water as possible between feeds, its the most natural way to help with constiaption

Mae-Alice - posted on 05/19/2009

She's old enough to try some cereal or even some light solids.
I would try that.
Especially if she's loosing weight.
She may like it better and fill herself up.
Then she also wouldn't feed as often.

Rebecca - posted on 05/19/2009

There is nothing wrong with starting your baby on solids. The recommendation is 4-6 months old, when they can sit up and when they can hold their head up while on their tummy. My oldest started eating solids at three months because he was constantly hungry and he met the requirements. Nothing is wrong with him because of it. Look at my childrens pics and you will see that he is very healthy. Your baby should not be losing weight. If you feel that she is ready, by all means feed her baby food. It doesn't matter what anyone says, if you feel that something else will work, by all means do it! You are the mother, you have an instinct to know what is best for your child and what they are ready for.

Amanda - posted on 05/19/2009

Quoting Molissa:

Yeah she shouldn't be losing weight at this age. Try adding rice cereal to her formula. Even though she eats so often, the rice will thicken it up a little and keep her full longer as well as give her more nutrients so she doesn't keep losing weight. Her eating so often normally wouldn't be a problem because that means she has a high metabolism. But since she is losing weight, that is not good. When you mix her 2 ounces put a half and ounce of rice cereal in with it and use a bigger nipple hole to keep it from getting clogged. My son will still eat 4 oz ever two hours. He's put on too much weight, but I'm not going to starve my child.

Just wanted to give you a quick note that adding rice cereal or any food for that matter to a bottle is a huge choking hazard. Rice cereal also has very little nutritional value at all so if your baby is loseing weight I would not recomend her filling up on rice cereal since she wont have room for the formula, which has the calories that she needs to put on weight.

The reason your daughters poop may be like it is is because of the good start. Good start is a terrible formula because it is loaded with sugar, it is also produced by nestle which is the same company that produces ice cream and candy! Other formulas such as enfamil and similac are produced by pharmicudical companies therefore their formulas are more closley monitored for quality controll and optimal nutrtion. Since nestle is not a pharmicudical company the standards of production may not be as high.

If your daughters weight is of a huge concern you may want to consider switching to a high calorie formula like similac neosure or enfacare A+.

well i hope this helps!

good luck

Sajani - posted on 05/19/2009

Try Enfamil with Lipil powder. I use bottled water and warm it to room temperature and mix the formula then with a spoon until it mixes thoroughly (mixing with spoon instead of shaking vigorously makes less air bubbles that way less gas, less colic). I used for both my children and it works well. I have a 5 month old girl now and she slowly increased her intake this way. If your baby has a smaller belly for now let it be as long as she is not spitting up. taking more formula and later spitting up doesn't help the babies growth and makes her fussy and more work for you. Ease her into increasing in 1/2 ounce increments every two weeks per feeding. Hope that helps. I tried all kinds of formulas since i couldn't get enough milk and she was losing quite a bit of weight. She has stabilized now and is thriving well. After all kinds of experimentation this is what is working best for us.

Esther - posted on 05/19/2009

Sounds like you need to get yourself another doctor a.s.a.p. And maybe the new doctor will have some advice for you. Most pediatricians will not recommend starting solids (including rice cereal) until they are 6 months old. Since your daughter is losing weight, she may be the exception, but I would still like to see that confirmed by a doctor. Also, putting cereal in a bottle is never a good idea as it can lead to choking. If I'm not mistaken the package will warn against that too. If you want to feed her some cereal, you should do it with a spoon.

Sarah - posted on 05/19/2009

I am not sure this would be possible, but if you are still able to produce milk maybe try mixing her bottles with formula and breastmilk and then slowly cutting back on the amout of breastmilk you put in. I did this when transitioning to cow's milk when they were older. Carnation is a good formula and also easier on their tummies than some. I would not worry about the poop. Formula fed babies have darker poop and do not poop as often than breastfed babies. As long as they do not go longer than 3-4 days without pooping they are ok. (That would always amaze me, but sure enough I would get worried and then the third day they would poop.) Good Luck. Every hour feedings are not fun.

Molissa - posted on 05/19/2009

Yeah she shouldn't be losing weight at this age. Try adding rice cereal to her formula. Even though she eats so often, the rice will thicken it up a little and keep her full longer as well as give her more nutrients so she doesn't keep losing weight. Her eating so often normally wouldn't be a problem because that means she has a high metabolism. But since she is losing weight, that is not good. When you mix her 2 ounces put a half and ounce of rice cereal in with it and use a bigger nipple hole to keep it from getting clogged. My son will still eat 4 oz ever two hours. He's put on too much weight, but I'm not going to starve my child.