oatmeal or rice in 2month olds bottle at night?

Marisol - posted on 02/16/2013

My daughter was born with 7 month she is a premiee!! She was having similac alimentum with iron !! She would get very constipated . I started using oatmeal in milk sense 2 and a half. I give it her very thick because of reflux babies have. Sense then she goes to the bathroom awesome and she can sleep more hours without having the need to wake up! Also with the milk alone she would eat and and like In 2 hours she would be hungry but only drink half of her milk .. Oatmeal is even better than rice cereal !! So go for it

Michele - posted on 01/07/2010

It is not safe at all.. My friend gave his baby cereal in her bottle when she was 3 months old and he woke up and found her deceased from choking. I don't like to share this story,but I also don't want anyone else to make that mistake. It doesn't always happen and a lot of people say it's fine, but I don't think it's worth the risk, just hang in there your baby will sleep good soon!

Sonya - posted on 01/07/2010

You should never give an infant solids of any kind without consulting your pediatrician. Their tiny bellies and intestines cannot handle it and it could end up causing problems beyond not just sleeping. It is normal for babies to wake up at night to want to eat. If your pediatrician okays giving cereal or oatmeal, I would feed from a spoon and not from the bottle. When you begin putting cereal or oatmeal in a bottle you are inadvertantly teaching your child to over eat. They are getting full much quicker, but because they need the sucking to fulfill the desire to suck to nurish themselves as provided by nature, they continue to eat even though they are full. This carries over into toddlerhood and childhood and so on.

Heather - posted on 01/07/2010

when My son was two months I put rice in his bottle so he would become more full and when I tried the little bites of oatmeal it just got to thick and cluged the nippel. Oh and you should try the apple flavor ceral they love it

Amy - posted on 01/07/2010

The dr told us to give Lauren rice cereal at two months due to bad reflux. She ended up getting constipated so I was told by dr to mix pear juice in with the bottle. It didnt help much so I stopped giving to her until she was about 5 months. I read in the Gerber pamplets I get every so often on feeding that it wont make a difference in sleep if they have food or just milk, so I would say if your little one takes it and does well, then I believe it will be fine. Hope this helps. Good Luck

Marie - posted on 01/07/2010

neither, this can cause many problems with their digestive system later on. it is not true it'll help them sleep longer just an ol wives tell!

Jess - posted on 01/07/2010

I was told the same thing and i was a little reluctant in the beggining, but, i did it. Let me tell you, it worked like magic, lol. My little one slept all night. But at the end its up to you to do so. Good luck.

Kathy - posted on 01/07/2010

Neither. Starting your baby on solid food too early can cause food allergies. And you shouldn't put food in their bottles. Food should always be giving with a spoon. That's what I learned when I studied early childhood edu and our dr confirmed it.

Nikole - posted on 01/07/2010

I agree not to put anything in the bottle until 5 months. Check with your Dr.

Tanya - posted on 01/07/2010

I gave my son (per pediatrician orders) 1/2 tsp of baby rice (not oatmeal cause it clogs) in the last bottle before bed. Prior to that he would sleep 2-3 hours at a time; after that 5-6. Mother in laws are ALWAYS going to freak out cause they never did it with their kids, lol.

Heather - posted on 01/07/2010

Rice cereal, but not so much you have to compromise the nipple

Tassia - posted on 01/07/2010

According to The BabyCenter Editorial Team

"You may have heard that bigger babies and babies who eat solids are better sleepers — but it's not true. Your baby's ability to sleep through the night is related to age, not size or diet.

There's no research to prove that adding rice cereal to the evening bottle, for instance, will help your baby sleep better or longer. In fact, this practice is a choking hazard, and offering solids too early can deprive your baby of the necessary nutrients in breast milk or formula. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first four to six months."

Mary Beth - posted on 01/07/2010

a two month old truly cannot handle this on his digestive system. but if you insist on doing so, rice is always prefered for babies first "foods" the reason is that rice is typically tolarated and found to have less allergic reactions to babies. remember ... that time you share at night when he awakes for a bottle is very temporary .. before you know it he'll be sleeping through the night, and the next thing you know ... he's off to school. treasure those moments that you and only you can share with him at night. they are wonderful and you can never get them back. good luck ....

Michelle - posted on 01/07/2010

Rice cereal is what helped my son sleep through he night. make sure you get a bigger nipple but not the biggest..

Elizabeth - posted on 01/07/2010

try enfamil ar. It has rice already added into the formula but you should talk to your pediatrician first.

Angie - posted on 01/07/2010

Not if you believe the experts. If you believe wive's tales, then it's just fine. I trust experts more than wive's tales.

~Jennifer - posted on 01/07/2010

Babies wake for food when they wake for food. Adding something to their bottle doesn't make them sleep any more or any less.

Belinda - posted on 01/07/2010

As a nurse all children are different! Some require food ealier than others for various reasons. You will have to use your judgment on this one. Ask your self these questions, how well does he/she do on a milk bottle(is there any difficulty swallowing, How well is his/her head with steadiness.

Each of my kids had to be treated different, my son had cereal from day one to keep down the milk on his little tummy and my daughter between 2-3 months b/c the milk was not doing it for her. In both situations i had to be cautious. You live and learn there is not perfect mom and the doctor should telll you that as well. Tell mother in law to take a chill pill. He will survive!

Andrea - posted on 01/07/2010

Putting cereal in bottles does not actually help a baby sleep longer.

http://www.babycenter.com/404_will-my-ba...



http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/tipcere...

Sharyn - posted on 01/07/2010

i should add on in reply to teva's post, that my daughter is at the high end of her growth chart, she has been walking and running for about 2 months now, she has eight teeth and is very healthy, hasnt fallen sick once since she was 3 months old, if you know how to eat healthy and instill this same routine in your child and give them healthy foods then your child will not be obese. it is totally up to you how you feed your child. your the mother, you know best.
also my daughter drinks alot of water during the day and she has 3 bottles a day, im slowly introducing cups to her, she has been drinking from her sippy cup since she was 7 months old.
i hope this further helps you.

Teva - posted on 01/07/2010

i was told that doing that is instilling obesity when they get older because it is bulking them up when they cant get up and move around to work it off.in some cases its ok especially if the doc says to do it but if the doctor hasnt ordered it then i wouldnt just to get him to sleep i would try other things first.

Sharyn - posted on 01/07/2010

i used rice cereal for babies in her bottles and not just in her night bottle but also her other bottles, my daughter was always hungry and woke up all times of the night especially so i just went with my gut instinct .. this is not to say she didnt get constipated cause she did, i used a little gel suppository inserted with a eye dropper and it cleaned up her bowels like a charm and she was a much happier camper after that .....

Danielle - posted on 01/07/2010

Agree with Brianna about talking to doc first. But I forgot, even the AAP website has said that they are recommending nothing but formula or breastmilk until 6 months, mostly for allergy reasons.

Danielle - posted on 01/07/2010

I was told by our pediatrician, never in the bottle, to wait until 5 or 6 months and the first one needed to be rice. I have heard that from others too, but the mom who said it's a big debate is right. It depends on who you ask, because the studies say it doesn't make a difference, but there's a lot of moms out there who say it does. And like my husband said it makes sense biologically that it would help. Just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, for the babies sleep and not necessarily yours. Or at least that's my opinion.

Brianna - posted on 01/07/2010

I have to agree with all the moms who said NOT to put anything in the bottle other than milk!!!! The reccomendation in Canada is to not even start babies on solids till they're 6 months, that being said, I started with rice cereal, from a spoon around 5 months with all 3 of mine!! Please talk to a doctor!!

Stephanie - posted on 01/07/2010

I did 1/2 tsp of Gerber Rice Cereal at 2 months and she slept right thru the night... the pediatrcian wasnt thrilled when I told her but she said if she was handling it ok at I could keep it up... my daughter is 10 now and perfectly fine...

Angela - posted on 01/07/2010

i put rice cereal in my both of my girls bottles. but i bought a cereal bottle and used that instead of sticking it in their regular bottles as the nipple hole is a tad bigger in the cereal bottles. its always a big debate on doing it or not but i did it and my kids turned out fine. i just didnt make it so thick so they didnt choke. i say just do what works best for you and your child and if it works for then great if not then thats fine too.

Patience - posted on 01/07/2010

Yeah i would argree with Brandi i was told to not put any oatmeal or rice in there bottle its not good the only time to give them the oatmeal until they can eat with a spoon

Veronica - posted on 01/07/2010

I am afraid that it's not really a good idea to put any thing into the bottle at night for an infant so young. Solids are usually not introduced into the system until around 4months of age. Their little tummy can't handle the harshness of the solids. You will have a scream baby on your hands if you put it in there too soon. Just increase his formula with two more ounces. My daughter tried to give her daughter cereal in her formula as well at two months and she did nothing but scream. I would advise against it.

Shari - posted on 01/07/2010

yes its fine my doctor told me to put a teaspoon in at 1 month to help them sleep thru the night and you are to start out with rice. However you will have to make the hole bigger bc it makes the milk thicker and some babies get constipated a lil from it

Amanda - posted on 01/07/2010

In a way it does help alot. If you were going to use one it needs to be rice cereal, but make sure that you make it really really thin.You can mix it with formula or breast milk which ever you prefer.

Amanda - posted on 01/07/2010

In a way it does help alot. If you were going to use one it needs to be rice cereal, but make sure that you make it really really thin.You can mix it with formula or breast milk which ever you prefer.

Brandi - posted on 01/07/2010

You really arent' supposed to put ANYTHING in their bottles ever, but 2 mons. is really too young for any solids. HOWEVER, my daughter was about 2 or 3 mos. old when she got really constipated and my ped. suggested a tiny bit of oatmeal in her bottle might help. At 2 mos. they NEED to get up OFTEN to eat. Also, there hasn't been any proof that putting extra food in their bottles will help them to sleep. If you want her to sleep longer at night, try feeding more often thru the day. If you can get MOST of her ounces in during the day, she is more likely to sleep longer at night, but still at 2 mos. she will wake AT LEAST once per night if not twice. This stage doesn't last very long I would suggest you just wait it out.

Brandi - posted on 01/07/2010

You really arent' supposed to put ANYTHING in their bottles ever, but 2 mons. is really too young for any solids. HOWEVER, my daughter was about 2 or 3 mos. old when she got really constipated and my ped. suggested a tiny bit of oatmeal in her bottle might help. At 2 mos. they NEED to get up OFTEN to eat. Also, there hasn't been any proof that putting extra food in their bottles will help them to sleep. If you want her to sleep longer at night, try feeding more often thru the day. If you can get MOST of her ounces in during the day, she is more likely to sleep longer at night, but still at 2 mos. she will wake AT LEAST once per night if not twice. This stage doesn't last very long I would suggest you just wait it out.