Do I put rice cereal in her bottle or spoon feed her?

Rebecca - posted on 12/02/2011

I give my son rice in his bottles at night to help him sleep through the night. it helps him sleep all night. He sleeps from 10:30 pm til about 8 am. i started him at 2 months old it takes awhile for it to work but after a couple of weeks she should be sleeping through the night. i only added a tablespoon and a half to a 4 oz bottle and made the nipple a little bit bigger.

Colleen - posted on 11/16/2011

I waited till my little one was 4-5 months he was a pig.. but the spoon didnt work for him but I did find a cereal bottle its made for cereal. made by sassy.
Ive found it at buy buy baby here in IL. but you can also find it online.
you mix the cereal with the breast or formula then pour into the bottle & as the baby sucks the bottom piece moves up to push the cereal up thru the nipple that is made for cereal only.
you can google pictures of - cereal bottle and you will see it . I have also found it at walmart, kmart,
Heres a link of what they look like..
http://www.tomobuys.com/servlet/the-388/...

These worked the best for me & there was no need to cut the nipple of my already in use bottles.
when your little one is ready for the spoon they will let you know.
Take care & good luck!

~♥Little Miss - posted on 11/04/2011

To tell you honestly, at that age she SHOULD be waking every 3 hours. With BFing I was waking every 1 1/2 hours. That was so tough. Don't worry, your daughter will get there eventually. She is probably still to young to spoon feed. It is recommended that they can sit up on their own, and hold their head steady. Other signs that they are ready for spoon feeding are tongue thrusting. Usually spoon feeding starts around 6 months. I would just keep doing what you are doing for now, but maybe increase the amount of formula. Good luck...I know how trying it can be.

Sharlene - posted on 11/04/2011

Hi , spoon feed cheers

Terra - posted on 11/04/2011

good luck :) but every child is different so if your lil one doesnt wanna drink the extra ounce and ur Dr says she's fine i wouldnt worry to much about it..just keep feeing her when shes hungry.. when my lil started drinking more i was still only giving her 4oz bottles and then id give her her soother and she would seem full then i made a 6oz bottle and she drank 51/2 so i started making bigger bottles :)

~♥Little Miss - posted on 11/04/2011

~*ADMIN WARNING*~

Please watch tone ladies....this is for information, not personal attacks. Keep it nice, or this thread will be closed.

*ADMIN Marina*

Erin - posted on 11/04/2011

ive tried to ger her to drink more but she just ends up spitting up about an ounce....that was a few weeks ago thou so i think i might try n start her on 5oz today after she wakes up from her nap...she was taking 4oz every 4 hours...but i see alot of your children are the same age as Xiana and taking 6-8oz...we'll see how it goes today =)
thankyou for the feedback ladies its very helpful and i appreciate it

Terra - posted on 11/03/2011

Ive just started my lil one on rice cereal.. YOU SPOON FEED.. not sapposed to put it in the bottle...but if your baby is only drinking 4oz every 3 hours i wouldnt recomend starting her on rice cereal just yet... the only reason i started her on food at 3 months is because she was drinking 6-8oz every 2 hours.. but im always told and believe a mother should follow her intuition.. if you think ur baby is ready then do so... but i would sugest waiting a while longer till shes drinking more.

Marquita - posted on 11/03/2011

Hi Erin

I am with the pediatrician I believe that children do not need cereal until they are 6 months. Milk sustains them alone for the first 6 months of life. I would suggest that you spoon feed your daughter the cereal. I used ignore anyone who told me to put cereal in a bottle (which i almost never used). Spitting up may not mean that she is not ready for the extra ounce maybe you could mention that to your doctor. I breastfed my son for 2yrs and when he was an infant he used to throw up all the time and it worried me but it was nothing. It is very common for young children to throw up because their lower esophageal sphincter (muscle that connects the esophagus and stomach and prevents the contents of the stomach/acid from back flowing into the esophagus and causing damage) is not tight in small children so because of this they throw up more. I started my son on rice cereal at 6 months then as he got older I introduced fresh fruits and vegetables. Four months is too early for cereal.

Kathleen - posted on 10/29/2011

Unless there is a medical concern such as those with GERD, peds will tell you to put it in a bowl and use a spoon. Putting it in a bottle and giving it to her especially at night can lead to choking. There are infant transition feeders designed JUST for transitioning to solid foods. However, that still should be used during the day and with adult supervision. If she won'tn take 5oz, and she wants ot eat let her eat....really...she is formula fed and as I was explained it. Though children who are formula fed need those nutrients earlier than 6 months. If your child wants to eat let her eat. I would not make it her primary source of calories just yet, but sure. When you get up, give her some rice cereal by spoon mixed with formula. We had to quit breastfeeding early and switched him to formula by 3.5months old he was grabbing food off my plate. Doc said it was fine to give him some solids, though make sure he's getting forumal bottles every few hours, like right after he eats as drink so any gaps in nutrition is still covered. It depends on your child, and most formula fed babies are earlier than 6. If she is already trying to sit up on own, holdds her own head, and she's hungry and sometimes trying to get to your food. Yea just give her some, from the spoon so she can get used to it. make sure it's a bit on the watery side if you've never given it to her and made it with formula. she'll be fine.

Danielle - posted on 10/28/2011

Also my nephew was a preemie so the doctors wanted him to gain weight and be a normal sized baby and all of my family has some kind of stomach issue as a baby/child.

Danielle - posted on 10/28/2011

Honestly I have heard both ways from doctors for giving baby cereal in bottle or spoon feeding. For my nephew we were told to put weight on him and the formula was too thin for him so he needed a formula/cereal concoction just to keep some of the nutrients down.
And for my friend with her first little one was told to add a little formula to help her not be as hungry at night, but then a few weeks after she was told that her doctor told her her baby was over weight and that she was never told about the cereal. So for that I would call shotty doctors care.
But I would say worst comes to worst ask your pediatrician what they think because sometimes they suggest either way. But of course the experienced mommies also have a good idea of what you should/could do.

Erin - posted on 10/26/2011

Well, i ended up buckling and i tried some cereal with her last night before her bedtime bottle. i only gave her about 3 1/2 spoonfuls (baby spoon of course). She did alright, she slept for a 5 1/2 hour stretch but i also moved her bathtime up 45 min in preperation for the upcomming turning back of the clocks. So im not sure which one kept her down or if it was a combo of both.
Amy, i dont pick her up at the first peep. If i know that its been a 3/4 hour stretch then i give her a bottle but otherwise when she fusses i just say "your alright Mumaz right here" a couple times and she will usually go back to sleep.

Amy - posted on 10/26/2011

Sorry, don't have time to read anything but original post.

I always spoon fed, but even feeding my son cereal = and he ate tons....he still didn't sleep through the night until he was about a year old. Some kids do, some don't. I wouldn't put it in the bottle. They have so much fun with the spoons. Fun to watch. My daughter had formula too. Long story, couldn't nurse her. I think bottle is easier for mom and that's it. But baby needs to learn those spoon skills as well. also..if a clump of cereal gets stuck, could be a choking hazard. What helped him sleep longer - six hours instead of three - was real baby food. not the cereals, but the peas/sweet potatoes etc. Before six months, it is harder for their digestive systems and can make for cranky babies which equals even LESS sleep.

When at four months, I started my daughter on foods because I just felt the formula didn't have it all, I guess. Probably part of my wishing I could have nursed her. Felt like I needed to give her more "real" food. lol. Like it's any less real than formula, but how i saw it in my mind. She loved her foods and she did sleep seven hours straight until she got teeth.

Maybe does you little on have a probiotic in her formula? Help her digest it better and get all those sleepy nutrients out of it she can?

also...do you go in as soon as you hear one peep? That was my mistake with my son. I accidentally left monitor off one night and didn't hear him. By the time my husband was like...hey, he's up [was bf only] he was back asleep. oops. sorry, sweetie! but he started skipping that time of night feed.

It is confusing. I have a sweet little four month old baby who is my third and i'm just as confused as i was with the first. Luckily, there are all these wonderful ladies here to give us advice!

Rebekah - posted on 10/24/2011

My children were always on the small side and the recommendation for them was absolutely no "fillers" (cereal) until 6 months... and never in a bottle. I know my kids were hungry (even every 3-4 hours at night) but that's why they needed all their nutrition from me (or formula). Hang in there! She'll sleep eventually... just let her tummy mature a little more.

Erin - posted on 10/24/2011

Thank you for the feedback guys, im so glad i found this website it is very helpful. i think im just going to wait until she is 6 months old so that i can start her on veggies and skip the rice cereal like Sara suggested. I do believe she is just right in the middle of her 4 month growth spurt and thats why she is demanding to be fed more. Also at the same time i think her gums are bothering her because she was extremely cranky yesterday, drooling like crazy and she took a 3 & 1/2 hour nap. She had started the teethin thing at the begining of this month and the poor thing was wretched for about 4/5 days but then settled down, but now shes starting to get cranky again so i believe its a combo of her growth spurt and her teething....as ive been researching i know it wont last forever so ill jus get my butt up out of bed and feed & cuddle her as much as she needs so i can comfort her thru this. =)

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 10/23/2011

It's normal for her to still wake at night to eat. Babies are growing so much in the first year. My first didn't sleep through the night until 18 months. Also, it's a myth that starting solids will help them sleep through the night. In fact it can cause tummy issues (rice cereal can badly constipate babies) and can cause more night waking. Your pediatrician is right. It's recommended to wait until around 6 months to start solids and by then you can skip cereals and go straight to veggies and fruits which are much healthier. The reason they say not to put cereal in a bottle is because it's a choking hazard, especially if you cut the nipple on the bottle. It bypasses their tongue thrust reflex. This reflex is there to protect them. If you fed baby by spoon and she pushed the cereal back out with her tongue that means she's not ready for solids. Feeding cereal in a bottle and starting solids early has been linked to health issues like obesity and allergies. Do tons of research and continue to talk to your pediatrician about diet changes for your baby before you decide. If you're still going to start solids always feed them by spoon.

Leslie - posted on 10/23/2011

I put cereal in my child bottle after she was one month. I just make the nipple bigger. it won't hurt her. it did not work at first, but after a month it did work.

Vicki - posted on 10/23/2011

It's normal for a young baby to feed every 3 hours. Your doctor is right about the six months but if you do decide to start her early do it with a spoon.

Remember cereal is just empty bulkiness. It may fill her belly, but has none of the nutrients of formula or breastmilk. It may reduce her intake of essential nutreints rather than adding to her diet. I never bothered with cereal or any baby foods, just started with regular food at 6 months.

Karen - posted on 10/23/2011

if you're going to start ALWAYS spoon feed!! cereal in the bottle is a major choking hazard (unless it's medically needed because of reflux, etc). some studies have shown that rice in the bottle can lead to obesity down the road. i was told by my doctor at 4 months to begin cereal because he was always hungry (was drinking 8 oz bottles every four hours through the day - had slept through the night 11 hrs at a time from 6 weeks but around 4 months began waking to eat again) I began giving him cereal right before bed along with his last bottle of the night and he stopped waking again. she's very close to 6 months so i'm not sure i would be worried about that with her, just watch for signs that it's not agreeing with her (diarrhea/constipation, rash, tummy pains). many people will say that cereal won't help to fill them up and help them sleep longer but in my case, it helped alot....