Confused about Cereal.

Joy - posted on 03/28/2010

My son is 1 mo old i started uttin rice ceral in his bottle i put 1 tbsp in his first bottle when he gets up and in his last bottle when he goes to sleep he loves it and helps him sleep ebtter

Brandi - posted on 03/13/2010

If she is throwing up plain cereal, she might not be quite ready for that particular solid. My daughter was just over 3 mos. when the dr. gave me the ok to try giving her small amounts of cereal and she did the same thing. She threw up. I was instructed to hold off for another month or so and try again at that time. Babies don't really NEED to have any solids until they are 1 year old. How does she do with just formula if she hasn't had any solids?? Some babies just spit up a lot (both of my kids were pukers lol) but didn't really have acid reflux. Motherhood is VERY confusing much of the time. If she does ok. with just the formula, her digestive system might still be a little immature and it might be best to try solids in a month or so to give her digestive system an opportunity to catch up with her. At 5 mons. she is on the early side of giving solids and it really isn't necessary. Just a few things to consider.

As for putting cereal in the bottle, the most "harmful" thing that can happen is choking (which is often a result of it being too thick or the baby not being properly supervised) HOWEVER, there are some studies that suggest that feeding a baby cereal from a bottle can set up a pattern of unhealthy eating habits such as "drinking" their calories, not being aware of what goes into your body and not becoming responsible for healthy choices later in life, all of which COULD lead to obesity in childhood or early adulthood. All of the research and information I have gathered and heard about has led me to believe that putting cereal in the child's bottle should be avoided in most every case. That being said, I also have heard that some drs will suggest this as a way to combat acid reflux, and those babies are fine. My biggest concern about your baby is that perhaps she doesn't really have acid reflux, but rather a less mature digestive system and perhaps backing off on the solids might help as a first step. If that isn't the case (for example, she is still having trouble with JUST formula), then perhaps it is acid reflux. If it were my baby, I would try altering her diet (by limiting solids for now) first to see if that helps before I would add the cereal to her bottle. That's just my opinion.

Cheryl - posted on 03/13/2010

every baby is different. i dont know how much food you give her but i would try to supplement more if possible. is it all cereals or just a certain kind or is the formula you mix it with? have you tried switching formula? i used to be a pediatric nurse and almost every baby i cared for had reflux... there are a few types of medications that can be used if its that bad. if its not bad enough for meds then it may not be that bad. i have 2 of the bottles that were given to me. they are usually short and fat with an open- like bottom so you can push the food up thru the nipple while they suck to eat it. i think i might have seen them at walmart or babies r us also. let me know if you cant find them, i can try to find mine to see the name. good luck

Aubrey - posted on 03/13/2010

they have actual bottles? i found the cereal nipples?

Aubrey - posted on 03/13/2010

Cheryl: Thanks. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old. I'm not giving it to her to make her sleep better but because of the acid reflux. Sometimes she won't drink it/ANYTHING out of a bottle and i have to feed it to her out of a spoon.

Cheryl - posted on 03/13/2010

oh, i forgot to tell you, they have bottles for cereal feeding if that helps with your decision

Cheryl - posted on 03/13/2010

it is not always harmful but it can be. there are a lot people who think that it should never be done because the baby can choke but there are also a lot of people who think you should do it to give the baby extra nutrition especially at night to sleep longer. it will ultimately be your decision. if the dr says you should and your not comfortable, there are other ways to help/ treat acid reflux. i never did but my son slept thru the night at 5 wks and never needed it! good luck with your decision