Bottles with Cereal

Kristie - posted on 02/05/2010

I have taken my son to a naturopathic doctor since his birth and my doctor told me that you should not give a child cereal in their bottle until they are at least 4 months old because their little bodies can not digest it. She said it makes them feel full but it just sits in their tummy for long periods and can cause them discomfort in the long run. My son ate every 3 hours for the first 4 months, it was just what he needed. My doctor also told me that I can not overfeed my son, he will only eat as much as he needs. I breastfed so I am not sure as to the amounts he was eating, but he ate well! He experienced no problems eating that often. I hope this is helpful to you.

Amy - posted on 02/05/2010

That's not too much. 7 weeks is too early for solids. My son was eating 8 oz bottles every 2 hours before we switched him to cereal. Some babies just eat a lot.

Also, they don't recommend putting the cereal in the bottle it's a choking hazard. We started our son rice at 3 1/2 months and we did put it in the bottle, you don't put too much in and you need to use a juice nipple (or large one, and make sure that any pieces of cereal can't get stuck, if they get stuck then the baby could have it shoot into there throught and start choking.

Gina - posted on 02/05/2010

My son is 4 weeks old and is at 4.5oz. At 2-3 months they can go up to 5oz...at least that is what I have read online, and babies generally eat every 3-4 hours. If he is getting hungry after 2 hours then maybe you need to feed him more per serving. That is why I went from 4 to 4.5 oz and he is back to every 3 hours instead of being hungry at 2. Like the other moms have said...he won't eat if he's not hungry. Good Luck

Shalaina - posted on 02/04/2010

I believe I misread your question earlier and thought you wrote 7 months instead of weeks (Probably because my son is going on 7 months!) It was normal for him to want to eat every 2, 3, or 4 hours. It mostly depended on his naps. Cereal in a bottle can lead to obesity and if you ask an adult what helps them sleep they will say a warm glass of milk or a warm bath! Since your son is so young I definitely would stay away from the cereal. It is not good for them.

Liz - posted on 02/04/2010

He's a baby. He's supposed to be eating. And not feeding him could be misconstrued as neglect in a 7 week old baby.

He needs to eat to grow.

And rice cereal is bad for babies that young. You could *give* him an allergy by introducing cereal to his system. Rice cereal is not pure rice, even though the box says so. Continue feeding him formula *when he wants it*. He knows what he needs when it comes to food.

Heather - posted on 02/04/2010

my son was eating 6 ounces at 7 weeks and was eating every 3.5 hours. try giving him an extra ounce or two and see if he wants it. typically "they" say that babies are too young at 7 weeks to eat cereal, and i followed that, so maybe try giving him a couple extra ounces at each feeding. every baby is different so maybe he just needs more than you think he should be eating.

Vanessa - posted on 02/04/2010

My Son was like that, and the wellchild nurse went nuts at me for feeding him food. so we put him on Formula for hungry babies. It worked really well. kept him fuller for longer.

Amber - posted on 02/04/2010

My childrens doctor always said if you have to alter a bottle to get more food out, you probably shouldn't do it. Some people cut the nipple for a faster slow, and all id does is create a choking hazard. If you feel your baby is getting to much too eat and not satisfied, write down the number of bottles how many ounces in each and share that with your doctor.

Candi - posted on 02/02/2010

If he's not hungry he won't eat, that's what I was told when I had my son anyway. There are different opionions on cereal in bottles, my dr. said to try a little at first, widen the nipple just a little bit so he doesn't choke but enough so he can get it all out ok... I would just call his dr, explain it to him about the eating and you might be told to never, or he's too young, or get the go ahead... If you do just be very careful and check the nipple so it doesn't get to much out b/c THAT can lead to choking, we check 'em before every feeding and ours is 7 months...

Heather - posted on 02/02/2010

With my 3rd son , The dr at that time told us to put cereal in his bottle to thickin up my sons formula. But that led to us having to go see the GI dr because my son would throw up all the time. (which he did before the cearal but increased with cearal) any how it was bad for his lil tummy. At that age they can't handle cearal , their tummies have to work even harder to digest the food. I agree with April more oz a feeding.

Anna - posted on 02/02/2010

I agree 100% with Katie. Cereal does not go in bottles ever, but especially not at that age. Plus, every two hours for feedings is totally normal. Both of my kids ate every 1-2 hours when they were that age. Of course, we were breastfeeding then, but I can't imagine formula feeding would literally double the amount of time between feedings. Feeding on demand is better for the baby. They will eat what they need. Just go with it.

April - posted on 02/02/2010

I think its too soon to be giving your son cereal. What I did is I started increasing the amount of formula set of 4 oz. give him 6 oz. then when he was 4 months old if I didn't want to spoon feed him I mixed cereal in with his formula in the bottle and don't worry about buying different nipples for it. If you have a nipple to spare just cut the hole a little bigger with a steral needle. There's nothing wrong with increasing the amount of formula you give the baby just make sure you read the sign that he is full and don't over feed him.

Sheree - posted on 02/02/2010

Yes it is certainly too soon. Your little is more then likely going through a growth spurt and is going to have several of them. They dont need food until at least 4 months, their little tummies aren't ready for it yet. I also agree with katie that you should be feeding him when he is hungry, babies only have tiny stomach's so cant hold all that much as once, so they need to eat more often.

Shalaina - posted on 02/02/2010

If he is able to be entertained for a little while then he wasn't that hungry and it is OK if they have to wait for a short period of time, they will live! Of course, do not make them wait too long especially if they do not stop crying and can not be distracted. Cereal in a bottle is a very controversial topic. I would rather not say one way or the other and advise you to ask your doctor about that one. Good luck and God Bless!

Katie - posted on 02/02/2010

Your baby is growing and needs to eat when he's hungry. Please DO NOT hold off on feeding him. Feed him when he wants to eat. And NEVER EVER put cereal in a bottle. Not only has it been linked to obesity, but it can also cause choking. Not to mention, cereal has very little as far as nutritional value goes. So if you fill your baby up on cereal, he won't be hungry as often (since the cereal is so hard to digest), therefore he won't be eating as much formula and he won't be getting all the nutrients his body needs to grow and develop properly. Just keep feeding him on demand. Don't worry about misreading his cues. If he seems hungry and you offer a bottle and he takes it, then he needs it. Babies don't eat if they're not hungry.