Need to start Cereal, Dont know What To Do!

Kristina - posted on 06/19/2010

WELL I JUST PUMPED FOR BABY CERAL AND IT ONLY TOOK ME 10 MINUTES SO MAKE TIME!!! REALLY SIMPLE GOOD LUCK! O N MY DAUGHTER TURNED 5 MONTHS ON THE 12TH..

Lisa - posted on 06/18/2010

There are a few suggestions I have for you. Feed him Oatmeal instead of rice cereal. Rice is very binding and many infants have a problem with it. 2nd, I was told by our gastro pediatrician never thicken breast milk with rice cereal. Also, not to use water if possible because it screws up the babies electrolytes. My daughter has been on solids since 4 months old due to acid reflux. She is doing great now. Loves almost everything we give her.
I would start with 1 tablespoon of oatmeal and mix it with breast milk. You only need a little. Like 1oz, not even.
Good luck. I hope this works for you.

Paula - posted on 06/18/2010

Today I actually let him chew on a banana! He LOVED it!!!! It was fantastic watching him experiment with new foods and textures :)

Paula - posted on 06/18/2010

I mix my rice cereal with pureed apple. I also add a little formula milk. Anyway, he LOVES it with the fruit. Not so much without the fruit. You don't need much milk to add to the rice cereal when you do it this way. 10mls max probably.

Cat - posted on 06/16/2010

my daughter is 5 months and i started feeding her solids at four months. I skipped the cereals and went straight to yoghurts with her 10am bottle and then at 2pm she gets mashed up vegetables like carrots, squash, broccoli, cauliflower etc and she loves it. she gets very excited at these times

Heidi - posted on 06/15/2010

I read that you should try and hold off on feeding cereal, fruits, and veggies for 6 months...all I can say is blah blah blah. I wanted to try something new as well so I started my daughter on cereal and oatmeal. She gets rice in the evening and oatmeal in the morning (come on folks...it's called breaking up the "routine"). She tolorated each seperatly so that's why I give her both. I also started her on veggies..about 2 teaspoons once a day. She now is onto bananas and is loving them. I mixed her rice and oatmeal with breastmilk or formula, but started mixing it with juice. My thought process...maybe it will counteract with the rice/oatmeal that she'll be "regular". There are times when I'll dilite (sp) apple juice or pear juice with water and give her no more then 2 oz. but usually it's just the juice in the oatmeal/rice. She likes it and is getting really good at eating. I do spoon feed her from a bowl or plate.

I kind of gave up on the reading what's good and what's not good for your child as I was getting to where I thought I was just this horrible mother and went with what I thought is best for her. She's a happy baby which makes me a happy mommy!!

Do what your gut tells you to do.

Laura - posted on 06/14/2010

Don't fret about not starting on cereal yet. I've read that breast milk is actually the only nutrition a baby needs for as much as the first year of life! But the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast feeding exclusively for the first 6 months. I breast feed exclusively also but started on rice cereal about a week ago (my son is 5 months) only because my baby eats so frequently that I was hoping it would fill him for longer--it doesn't make much difference though. But anyway, I spoon feed him using the kind of cereal that takes either water or breast milk and it works out fine. Good luck!

Jaime - posted on 06/14/2010

You don't have to add formula, just use water. B'feed before, then cereal with water. that's what I do. Why pay for formula.

Rochelle - posted on 06/14/2010

Xavi is turning 5 months tomorrow and we started him on cereal mixed with water on Friday. I was dead set on only starting on solids at 6 months (as recommended). I got a real eye-opener when he actually reached for my spoon while I was eating soup!! I couldn't believe it. So I thought let's give cereal a try and he loves it! He can't wait and his little mouth opens way before I'm ready with the next spoon. He also wants to drink from a glass (I can't believe this!!!) Everyone says that kids differ and now I've experienced it myself. Xavi and his older brother differ in so many ways in development and here I was thinking that I only need to remember what I did the first time around!!

Tina - posted on 06/13/2010

You can mix the rice cereal with water also and just heat it to temp. both of my kids love it that way..and its easy. And i usually feed it to them in the morning like breakfast with a spoon and then feed them.

Nicole - posted on 06/13/2010

Have you considered just mixing water in with your rice cereal? That works just as well. My son is 5 months and I stopped trying to give him the cereal. If he's not interested, I'm not pushing it! You know you don't need to give him anything besides breastmilk for at least the first year, right? He is getting everything he needs, nutrition-wise from your milk! But either way, don't feel like you need to use formula, try water first! good luck!

Lori - posted on 06/13/2010

Cereal is for fattening up your baby! if your baby is fine then it is empty calories. please consult your doctor on this. cereal may not be necessary. and they usually want you to start solids at 6 months. creating extra weight on your baby may become a precursor to diabetes in the future.

Britt - posted on 06/13/2010

I agree with Gergana, and actually the World Health Org recommends exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months! Babies don't technically require anything other than breast milk for 6 months of life, unless of course your baby is showing signs of being ready for solids. The signs include things like sitting up unsupported, and loss of tongue push reflex. To boot, Rice cereal has no nutritional value so I am waiting until 6 months or until my son is ready (which at almost 5 months now he is not) to introduce fruits and veggies.

Additionally, research shows that feeding rice cereal doesn't increase an infants ability to sleep for longer hours, which is a popular reason why parents start rice cereal so early. Obviously I don't think it hurts a child to start rice cereal but I just don't think that there is any evidence that make it a healthy option, therefore i am waiting for my Childs signals, and the going straight for the nutritious foods.

Natalie - posted on 06/12/2010

I am breastfeeding and started giving my son cereal around 3 months. I always pump in the morning right before he eats breakfast so i can use it with the cereal. i also pump before I go to bed so i will have some extra. When my body seems to want to produce a lot, i freeze it so i can use it some other time. I agree with the other moms that if you can't produce enough, use the cereal with water. We started with rice and Lucas LOVED it, then moved to oatmeal and barley. I mix some type of fruit with it in the morning. It is fun, so I say go for it!

Gergana - posted on 06/11/2010

My daughter is born on 6 January too and my pediatrician recommends me to wait with the solid food till the 6 month. I think to start with carrot or apple I read somewhere that the new researches show that it is not obligatory to start with cereal and most of my friends start with fruits or veggies.

Bethnayris - posted on 06/11/2010

For the production problem, you can try going to a Natural Market and ask for a natural supplement to increase you production. Since you will be substituing a breast feed for cereal you ca pump that milk and use it for teh cereal (is not that much) and also you don't risk decreasing your production, that happens because the baby is drinking less milk,

Rebekah - posted on 06/10/2010

hey there, i am a nursing mom tooo. i am currently nursing my second child. i did not start my daughter on rice cereal until about 6 months or later and i plan on doing the same for my son. there is no right or wrong, so i wouldn't worry too much about "having" to start him this week, etc. take your time...i loved nursing my two as long as possible, plus it's better for them ... if you have the luxury of time like i did, then i would suggest taking it...

Kemorine - posted on 06/10/2010

Well i'm just giving Hailey her first cereal today and i'm mixing it with formula in a bottle. She's at the nursery now so i dont know how it will go but i'm aiming for once per day. Good luck

Nicki - posted on 06/10/2010

Its really interesting to read all the different things that work for everyone. Personally I tried the cereal but it just looked so gross I couldn't bring myself to give it to him. So I've gone right to veges, I just cook up a little bit, pumpkin etc in the microwave, puree it and pop it into ice cube trays in the freezer. I've been lucky though he seems to love food and eats what ever I give him.

Leigh Ann - posted on 06/09/2010

This worked awesome for me:

I nurse him first - just one breast - half an hour before cereal time so that he's not ravenous.

Right in the high chair he goes. You want to establish the difference between nursing and eating at the table with a spoon. I highly recommend The BOON Squirt Spoon http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp... because it minimizes things to clean, and travels easily!

Ace took 2 or 3 tries to actually like the cereal, but then he couldn't get enough! He exclusively gets breastmilk otherwise, and I didn't want to pump more to have milk for the cereal, and I still want it to have nutritional value so my mixture is currently as follows: 2 heaping tablespoons of rice cereal + 1 heaping scoop of formula + 2.5 oz. of water = perfect consistancy. This also fits perfectly into the Boon spoon. He accepted formula for the first time this way with no problems. If you're curious, I'm using Happy Bellies Organic Brown Rice Cereal, and Similac Isomil Advance Soy Formula. Now we can have dinner together, yay! Your little dude will do awesome. Keep us posted!

Michelle - posted on 06/09/2010

i didnt have time to pump enough breast milk either so i just put her on the cereal that you just add water to, she loved it and it didnt give her any problems. she now eats veggies and ive started oatmel cereal.

Roxana - posted on 06/09/2010

Hi! I mix the cereal with water when I can't mix it with breast milk, don't have to give him formula.. Just feed him with a spoon, my daughter loves it!!!

Rachel - posted on 06/09/2010

My baby was also born on the 6th. My ped. said I could start her on cereal at 4 months, but I waited until last Friday, so she was nearly 5 months. I am exclusively breastfeeding and she hates bottles. I try to pump for her cereal, but I don't have time to do that everyday. The last two days I just made her cereal with water and it worked out fine. I added applesauce this time because she has been on plain cereal for 6 days. She still nurses the same, so she is not missing out on milk. What I plan to do is pump more than I need on the days I have time and freeze the milk for cereal use. If I don't have time I will use water. The cereal is mainly for iron and she is on vitamins with iron anyway. If your baby is on vitamins, then you could also start with fruits or veggies. I did this same thing with my seven year old and it worked out fine.

Stephanie - posted on 06/09/2010

I also have breastfed my bub and she absolutely refuses her bottle! But to my surprise she took quiet easily to cereal and she actually prefers it made with water than breast milk. Just try bub with a runny cereal and then thicken it during feeding to see which texture he prefers. I think you will save yourself and bub a lot of stress by just going straight to spoon feeding, so just give it a go and he might surprise you like mine did!

Holly - posted on 06/09/2010

Everyone has different advice about when is the best time to start the baby on solids and what to give. You are perfectly fine in your timing, as everything I have heard says between 4-6 months. There is no standard since there is no standard baby! My son was born on the 5th and we tried cereal, applesauce, and squash at 4 months, but he hated all of it. So I backed off and just fed him breastmilk until this month. This time I mixed a little bit of cereal into his bottle of breastmilk so he could get used to it. (Some say don't do this, but it worked GREAT for us with a bigger size nipple). Just this week I began spoon feeding it to him a little bit thicker. He has done much better this time around. I think mixing with water would be fine too. Do whatever works for YOU. Don't worry about trying to be perfect, just perfect for your baby. Good luck to you.

LaQuitea - posted on 06/09/2010

I breastfeed exclusively, and have been doing the ceral for almost a month now. I thought I was going to have to use formula because we did not have a pump at first, but then I got one. It only takes a few minutes each day to get the milk I need. Just start off w/one meal a day and you should be able to make it with pumping once a day. In the begenning they will not eat a lot just because it is a new experience. As your son starts eating more, add a pumping session.

Camille - posted on 06/09/2010

When making cereal for my little girl, I use a hand pump with no bottle attached. I pump a couple of tablespoons into a bowl and mix the cereal in. She doesn't eat a large amount of cereal right now, so I don't need to pump a large amount of milk. I could do it without a hand pump, but the hand pump is so much easier. LOL. We also started out with Oatmeal since we have iron and constipation issues. But to get back to the original topic, you only need a few squeezes of the hand pump to make enough milk to mix about a tablespoon of cereal. This way you don't have to go the formula route and don't need a lot of breastmilk or time. It worked for both of my bubbas. And it took about 5 minutes total.

Crystal - posted on 06/08/2010

+1 to what Leona said. My pedi also said that rice will "bind" her and to sskip the rice cereal and use the oatmeal instead. My dd has some poopy issues adn the oatmeal (plus prunes and some other foods) have really helped!

Leona - posted on 06/08/2010

my son is 5 months and has been taking 1 tbsp of cereal for a week now, the water kind works well! just a side note( i was told that rice cereal constipates if the baby already has some issues with such) hope you figure out what to do, but there is no rush yet!:)

Crystal - posted on 06/08/2010

Do not feed them cereal from a bottle, they could aspirate it into their lungs.

Use a spoon, like pp said, you can find the one where you just add water. You only need about 2 oz of liquid (breast milk or water) to about 2 tbsps of the cereal and that's enough. At this point they aren't using the cereal for nutrition, but to get them used to eating solids, the different textures, and to test for allergies.

Jamie - posted on 06/08/2010

You really don't need to add that much milk to the cereal. You can pump once in the morning when your fullest and have enough milk for several feedings

Janet - posted on 06/08/2010

Mercedes, My son, Aiden will be 5 months this Friday (the 11th). He has allergies and as a result, I have been strongly advised not to give him cereal until he is 6 months old, so don't worry. If you could pump to mix it with the cereal, that may be the best way to go since formula can be a lot of trial and error. Best of luck to you and don't stress it, your baby is healthy and you are doing GREAT!

LaQuita - posted on 06/07/2010

I was told that rice is alittle heavy to start first so I started Tristan which is 4 months on Oatmeal first. So far, no reaction and i still add it in his formula.

Amy - posted on 06/06/2010

Just use a spoon, it's messy but they get the hang of it, my son is 4 months and he has been eating cereal for over a month and he does great, he loves applesauce and other baby food

Melissa - posted on 06/06/2010

If he has strictly been breast-fed up until this point, I would try to feed him breast-milk in a bottle for a couple of days. That in itself is likely to take awhile for him to get used to, then slowly add one formula feeding a day for about a week. This will allow him to get used to the formula. Then add just enough formula to the rice cereal for it to be thin but not runny. I use a small bowl and a formula scoop to measure the cereal. For about 4-5 scoops of cereal, I add 2-3 ounces of formula. My son is a healthy eater so he started with 4-5 scoops of cereal and now does that in addition to about 2 oz of vegetables. Good Luck to you and Ayden.

Sara - posted on 06/05/2010

If you start solids between 4-6 months chances are you will have less food aversions - by my ped. The chances for a reaction to the rice IS very slim that's why that is the first to try. Don't sweat it. If you don't get around to it for another month - no major damage done there either. I also known moms to have skipped the cereal portion all together and go straight to veggies - the yellow/orange variety first.

April - posted on 06/04/2010

My son was also born on the 6th and I started him on cereal right at 4 months. My Dr wanted him on it to start due to severe reflux. I also breastfeed and can only pump enough to keep up with his bottle that he takes while I am at work so I mix the cereal with water. I started adding a baby spoonful of applesauce to it and he loves it. I wasn't going to start him till closer to 6 months but with the cereal it helps keep his liquids down more.

Yesenia - posted on 06/03/2010

we started my son with cereal at 3 1/2 months...hes fine and i know plenty of moms that have started their children early. the chances of them having an allergic reaction to rice cereal is very slim; go for it. you can use water and it is best not to use a bottle.
Good Luck.

Maya - posted on 06/03/2010

We are exactly the same timewise and we both nurse...my gal was born on the 6th too. But I don't know why you say you "have to" start rice cereal. I am not sure if it was a pedi recommendation, in which case that trumps me for sure. You can hold off until 6 mos. for cereal if you want. However, I just started cereal myself...more for fun than anything else. I do mix it with BM but there are kinds you can add water to too. I do one fun feeding a day and nurse during all other feedings. I am gonna do it for a couple weeks then slowly introduce more foods...I am going to remove one feeding every couple of weeks. I am going the really gradual route because I have the time to do it. If you don't, you can add cereal and drop a breast feeding every 3-7 day...good luck:)

Leslie - posted on 06/03/2010

I use cereal that you just add water to for my 5mth old. Nestle Rice cereal. I breast feed as well. I just find the add water one better and easier. My son doesn't like the taste of formula so the just add water one worked best for both of us. It has all the added vitamins and such. It's only twice a day that he gets it so I'm not too worried about him not having my breatmilk with his cereal. I breastfeed him first then wait 10-20mins and give him some cereal.
Formula is iffy for some babies. It's much thicker than breastmilk and it can cause them to spit up a lot. But if that is the way you would like to go then go for it. I formula fed my first baby so I know it's not bad or anything for them. Just trying to save you the time on the whole testing formula.
:)

Morgan - posted on 06/03/2010

Dont put the cereal in a bottle, feed him off a spoon.

problem solved.

putting cereal in a bottle is not recomended.

My daughter is 5 months on the 14th and has been eating a teaspoon of rice cereal everynight for about 2 weeks she does great!