rice cereal?

Amber - posted on 12/02/2009

My daughter is also 4 months old. From day one, we give her a bath at 9pm, get her dressed, read stories, eat and go to bed, and she has slept through the night since we brought her home. At her 4 month check up, the doctor said putting cereal in her bottle defeats the purpose of cereal. She told us to feed her once a day by spoon. When she starts doing well, do it 2 times a day. After that, stage 1 baby foods. Every doctor says different things and you are the mom, you know what will work and what won't. My expierience is routine, routine, routine. Good luck!!

Jessica - posted on 11/30/2009

I have been giving my baby boy rice cereal since he was about 3 months old. That didn't seem to help him sleep through the night tho. You should try something called the Miracle Blanket. It's basically like a baby straight jacket. My son would wake up every 2 to 4 hours too and when I started using that when he turned 4 months old he has been sleeping from 7:30 at night till 6:30 am. It's been wonderful. I still give him a bottle of formula with rice before bed just so his belly is full..

Valerie - posted on 11/29/2009

Jessica, my daughter is 5 months old the 1st of December, and she has been on rice cereal since 2 months. Our doctor recommended that we give it to her because then she was eating 4 ounces every 2 hours!! I think it all depends on your little one. Every child is different. She is now eating every fruit and Veggie you can think of, and has slept all night since we started feeding her the rice!! Good luck!

Lindsay - posted on 11/29/2009

I am in almost the exact same boat! She is 4 months Nov 30th and has been having terrible sleep for the past few weeks. My dr said she shouldnt have rice cereal till she's 6 months, but I'm not sure if I should try a little earlier.

DIedre - posted on 11/29/2009

My son will be 5 months on the 17th of Dec. I have given him cereal via bottle and spoon. He seemed to like it, but it did not change his sleeping habits (which was the plan.) Good luck and I don't think it's too soon or anything like that. I've heard of people introducing cereal at a much younger age. You can always ask your doctor.

Jennifer - posted on 11/29/2009

I would look further in to it. If she won;t drink anymore than four oz. maybe something else is going on. Try the cereal and see if that does the trick if not I would talk to your pediatrician.

Barb - posted on 11/28/2009

PS Try feeding her the cereal with a baby spoon approximetly 20 minutes after nursing her either with the breast or bottle.

Barb - posted on 11/28/2009

I started my son on rice cereal at 4 months. He eats about 1 - 2 teaspoons and is still waking during the night for feeds, however before the cereal he was waking hourly. All the best of luck :-)

TEKESHA - posted on 11/28/2009

ill cereal & step 1 foods or even a nice warm bath before bed works also

Beth - posted on 11/28/2009

november thirtieth*

Beth - posted on 11/28/2009

my doctor told me to start feeding my daughter rice cereal when she hits four months which technically in weeks she is 17 weeks but by months it will be november first. So this week i will start spoon feeding her rice cereal along with her 5oz. bottles. In my opinion it is perfectly fine to start your baby on the cereal but the first time you feed it to her make sure it is in the morning so if there is any reaction to it you will notice.

Michelle - posted on 11/23/2009

Since my son was 4 weeks old we have been putting rice cereal in his bedtime bottle and hes been sleeping at least 8 hrs a night since then

Amanda - posted on 11/23/2009

They actually say their digestive tracts aren't necessarily ready for foods until they are 6 months old, and many of the cereal manufacturers state the same thing. Studies show that feeding your baby cereal at night does not make them sleep longer, if they do it is likely a coincedence. The companies that make cereal also state not to put the cereal in bottles. However, it is entirely up to us mom's to decide what is best for your baby. My daughter is 4.5 months old. I tried her on rice cereal last week..the first day seemed ok, then the night of the second day she woke up screaming with the worst cramps and then didn't have a bowel movement for 2 days, and was really fussy during this time resulting on her having really bad sleep. (Up every 1-2 hours). I am holding off with the introduction of food for a little while. May just feed her 1 TBL every 2 days until she is about 6 months old, as she will likely be able to digest it better then. It is also said that if you feed your baby before 6 months it increases the chance that your baby could have food allergies, especially if it runs in your family. Hope this helps...but really you are the mom, so you can decide what is best for your baby and whether she is ready for it. Try a small bit at a time and see how it goes...but I wouldn't assume it will help her sleep better...it didn't help mine! :)

Jodie - posted on 11/22/2009

Hi Jessica, I've just started my daughter on solids a couple of days short of 4mths and she's been fine with it. They say their digestive tract isn't ready for anything other than milk till they're 4mths, but like anything you have to take it to be around about. We're almost on top of the 1st of Dec so I think you'd be fine in trying it if you wanted to. I tried 1 teaspoon for a few days just to make sure she was ready for it. If your daughter starts to get irritable or vomiting more than normal then maybe hold off for a bit longer. Hope she gets back to her great sleeping habits.

Courtney - posted on 11/19/2009

oh and i've been doing this since she was 3 months

Courtney - posted on 11/19/2009

i do 6 oz of formula with 2 tablespoons of rice cereal in her bottle every night to keep her full, she will be 5 months dec 17th