Cereal too soon?

Natalie - posted on 10/19/2009

my baby boy is almost 4 months now and i started giving him cereal and mashed foods last week on a bowl and spoon. its messy at first and he keeps on spitting it out but the 2nd and 3rd attempt was a success! =)

Samantha Dawn - posted on 10/18/2009

I started my son at 2 1/2 months. He loved it the first time and every time after that. There were no signs of his body rejecting it (regular bowel movements and everything). Try it!

Alicia - posted on 10/15/2009

My baby boy seemed like he was eating a lot of formula AND breastmilk when he was 3 months... so I asked my doctor if we could give him a little bit of cereal in his bottles. They advised me not until 4 months... so I just kept feeding him more formula and breastmilk and he did fine for the couple more weeks that he had to go. Even though he is 4 months now, i have only given him a little bit of cereal two times... i'm trying to stay away from it until about 6 months or so... unless his pediatrician tells me differently.

Bronwyn - posted on 10/15/2009

i have not started my 4 month old on rice cereal yet- i think patricia mashburn is right my pediatrician said the same thing, their little digestive systems cannot handle it yet, they are not mature enough, i am waiting til at least 6 months before introducing anything. if it works for you and your baby though then thats great but perhaps try wait as long as possible

Patricia - posted on 10/14/2009

Most pediatricians don't recommend giving a baby solid food before 17 weeks as their digestive system is not mature enough to properly break the food down. Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends breastfeeding for at least the first 12 months and exclusively for the first 6 months to ensure the baby is getting all the nutrients he or she needs.

Alexandra - posted on 10/14/2009

My doc said to start feeding my daughter rice cereal at 3 and a half months because she's breastfed and will need a little extra iron, which formula fed babies are already getting. My baby wasn't really into putting anything in her mouth yet evern, but I mixed it up fairly runny and spoon fed her. She was trying to grab the spoon and get it in her mouth the first time!!! Now it's her favorite part of her day and she looks like a little bird if she sees me or my husband eating and she's not lol

Mea - posted on 10/13/2009

My daughter is a big girl aswel. i Started feeding her solid food at 2 months. Most people would think that is to early but we are the parents and we do know what is best for our children. As long as they are eating and not making a big fuss and the solid food isnt causing them to stress or scream then its fine.

Ashley - posted on 10/12/2009

Ty is 4 months old and we started cereal 2 weeks ago and the doctor gave us a go ahead on food. So we started that Friday night. He loves his carrots and sweet potatoes.

Nicole - posted on 10/11/2009

I started my baby at 14 weeks ( my mom had a fit, she thought she was too young) but she did great with it. You just have to try it out and see how she does. She's been eating her cereal for almost two weeks now and is doing fantastically! She loves it!

Angie - posted on 10/11/2009

I don't think it's too soon. I realize this was posted a while ago, haha. But my baby is 4 months now and has eaten some baby food here and there. As long as your baby's doc gives you the go ahead, I'm sure it's ok. Go with your mommy instinct

Tiffany - posted on 10/08/2009

Aubrey is doing cereal with no problem. She also loves her homemade baby food. We get organic pumpkins, squash and apples from the local farmers market. It's a lot cheaper than baby food from the store and she seems to digest it much better. I breastfeed also. The food keeps her satisfied more through the night. Good luck:)

Jennifer - posted on 10/07/2009

I think its perfectly fine to give her cereal. I have been giving mine little girl cereal in a bottle since she was 2 months 31/2 weeks. She also nurses but she never got satisfied so I had to suppliment with ceral as well. So what I do is I put cereal in a bottle with a bigger hole in the nipple and mix it with milk so that its a thicker consistancy. My little girl at her last dr appt which was about 2 weeks ago she was 14 pounds 10 oz. I think its a personal preferance when you wanna introduce cereal to her. I just recently like a week ago started giving her applesauce, and she loves it, that way shes not eating so much cereal.

Zelda - posted on 10/07/2009

Hi There



I have been feeding my baby rice porridge since 2 months. I started by adding a spoon of rice porridge in her last bottle in the evening. Then I started feeding her 2 spoons of it in the mornings. If you feel she needs more feeding, go for it...

Amy - posted on 10/07/2009

My baby weighs just over 16 pounds also and is nearly 15 weeks old. She gets breastmilk in a bottle at night but i put a teaspoon of rice cereal in it otherwise i end up having to give her over 300mls!!!!! Im going to try and wait to introduce cereal on its own until she is 5 months but i dont think there is any harm in trying now already.

Vicki - posted on 10/07/2009

if she's a big baby and its the only way she will sleep all night then needs must. I'm starting to introduce my 4 month old on to farleys rusks. Apparently you can put this in a bottle too. If u are concerned that she is not geting enough form your milk to fill her up then try her with aptamil (best milk for breastfed babies.) I now give my daughter step 2 once a day at night as well as breast after her bath. This helps her sleep all night and as i have a 4 year old at school I really need my sleep.



It really is up to u tho go with your gut feeling not what you are advised. Medical practitioners are not always right.



Only u will know wats best for your baby.

Misti - posted on 10/03/2009

my son has been eating 1 tsp of rice cereal in about 3 bottles a day since he was 2 months old. He was wanting to eat every 2 hours. Now he is eating cereal with fruit in the morning and evening by spoon. He is alot happier and a full baby. He also weighs about 15 lbs but entered this world weighing 9 lbs 14 oz. She will let you if she is ready for cereal or not.

Hollie - posted on 10/02/2009

I have been adding the rice cereal to my son's bottles since he was 2 1/2 months old. I'm formula feeding with the rice added and he took to it fine. Depending on the kind of cereal, add it into the bottle and see if she will eat it that way.

Sunde - posted on 10/02/2009

My son is 3.5 months and is 16lbs too. He's a big eater so his pedi gave the ok to start cereals. We started rice last weekend and he loved it! He would get so pissed inbetween bites because we weren't fast enough lol. But after a few days his BM's became very hard so we started oatmeal cereal couple days ago and he loves that as well. We are going to start veggie solids when he is 4 months.

Amy - posted on 10/01/2009

my son is about the same age and weighs 16lbs too. i am gonna wait at least another month before i start feeding foods

Meredith - posted on 10/01/2009

my son is 4 weeks but by 3 1/2 weeks he wanted more then the milk so i gave him baby rice and he loves it. and he prefers it from the spoon! ive been given it to his twice a day. with his secont feed of the day and his last feed of a night. i no it does help because nomally he will sleep 30min between feeds but after a meal he sleeps for an hour or more. he also looooves pureed fruits but baby rice is recommended as first foods.

Pamela - posted on 10/01/2009

Thanks everyone for the comments. I just gave Natalie some cereal with a spoon and she seemed to really like it!

Eleisha - posted on 10/01/2009

My daughter was three months exactly when I started her on cereal. I was not keen on putting it in her bottle as I believe that babies need to understand what food is and what there bottle is (my opinion - not saying it is wrong to put it in bottles). I gave it to her at 7 am (an hour after her first feed in the morning). She took to it straight away. She thoroughly enjoys it and sleeps heaps better during the day. Just go with your gut, if you think she is ready try it. If it works... thats great; if not, try again in a couple of days. GOOD LUCK !!!

Stephanie - posted on 09/30/2009

my son is 4 months and has been eating cereal since he was 11 weeks

Dawna - posted on 09/30/2009

My son is 3 months and 11 days. He has been taking cereal in his bottle for well over a month now. The doctor suggested it since he was always hungry. 1 tsp of cereal(rice) to 1 oz of milk. We have started feeding him baby food about a week ago. He does pretty good with the spoon now.

Ashley - posted on 09/30/2009

I just took my daughter to her pediatrician last week and I asked him about that, and he said its fine to start cereal. Lilly is 3 1/2 months now, and she is taking to it fine. I haven't tried to feed her with the spoon yet though. I just put it in her bottle to fill up her belly.