how much cereal do i feed her???

Loris - posted on 03/24/2009

I started with my boy at 4 and a half, but not in the bottle, apparently is not good because it can cause the to chock, do it in a bowl is really easy for them to swalow, and they like it! Now my boy is 6 months and eats 3 times a day!! plus breastmilk :-)

Jacy - posted on 03/23/2009

my daughter wasnt breast feed and we started rice cereal at 3 1/2 months. she was developmentally ready. i agree with some moms with not putting it in her bottle (unless of course you are pumping your milk). i would mix up a few tspns of dry cereal with your breast milk and give it to her by spoon.  at 6 months you can offer her first fruits and veggies (but give one thing at a time for 3 days to rule out allergy).  take your time drs dont see a real rush to push solids. also try other baby cereals (multigrain, barley, oatmeal even cream of wheat).  when i started my daughter on fruits and veggies i would mix in some rice cereal so she had a familiar texture in it. i only gave her rice cereal in her bottle when i was starting to help her to sleep through the night. i also cluster fed her durring this time. i hope this helps! good luck!

Sheena - posted on 03/23/2009

I started my daughter on baby food when she was 4 months just veggies but i mixed that in with her cereal and sh ate is but as soon as she hit 5 months she wouldn't eat cereal anymore she didn't like the texture of it

Amber - posted on 03/23/2009

Sounds like you are doing fine with what you are doing. If you have any major concerns I would talk with your doctor. He/She can also advise you on the subject of when to start baby food, as this is different with every baby. Some are ready earlier than others. It's ok to put cereal in the bottle for younger babies that need it to supplement what they're not getting (if the mother isn't producing enough breast milk) or if their colicy. But if you're trying to get them used to the texture of food it's best to spoon feed it to them. Don't get frustrated these things take time. You just have to be patient and listen to your babies responses.

Amy - posted on 03/23/2009

you can start her on baby food already once you have started rice cereal you can start the stage 1 foods.... my son is 4 months and we have already started him with 1st stage foods  and started him on rice cereal at 3 months....

Stevie - posted on 03/23/2009

you are doing it right i think, it is easier to teach them to spoon feed now so then you dont have to teach them when she is 9 months or something but you can bottle sometimes i do if were going to be out but thats about the only time and we started him on 2 tbs and now he eats three to 4 tbs of it a night then gets a bath and fed 8 oz of formula or however much he drinks before turning away or falling asleep and i was told not to start 'baby food" or adding fruit or anything until atleast 6 months...i think your doing great keep doing what you are and i think since you just started started feeding her cereal i would do every other day with spoon you know then when she is more use to it do it everytime take tons of pics its so funny

Brandi - posted on 03/23/2009

My son will be 7 months old next week. On the advice of my doctor we started feeding him cereal a week or so before he was 5 months old. At first it was a tablespoon or two at a time, once or twice a day. From the time he started cereal we added a new food every 4 or 5 days, giving us enough time to make sure that he was not allergic to the new food before starting the next new food. He now eats just about anything and eats a small jar of baby food (or equivalent) 2 or 3 times a day with a maximum of 3 9oz bottles a day (on the advice of our doctor). Though I do agree with the other moms that say don't put the cereal in the bottle, as it can be a choking hazard.

Monica - posted on 03/23/2009

I started my son on cereal at 6 months and he was only taking about a table spoon or two and the breast feeding. I wouldnt advise putting it in the bottle if your breast feeding. 5 months is old enought to start learning how to use a spoon.

Dora - posted on 03/23/2009

I agree with Emily, I started out giving cereal mixed with my breast milk, make it thin and spoon feed it to her... I started my boy at about 5 months. He was pulling at my food and showing signs that he was ready and I got the go ahead from my Doctor too.. As she get better with the spoon make it a little thicker.. we had problems with my boy pooping it stopped him up.. so we stopped for a week and we slowly reintroduced it to him giving it once a day in the morning till the problem had subsided itself and then we introduced veggies to him start with them first because you don't wont them to think every thing is sweet and yummy like fruit... we started with squash the feed for a few days and then wait 2 to 3 day to make sure they don't have a reaction.. then start with something new like sweet potatoes and go down the list till you know your baby is no allergic to any foods.. Then start with fruit I think this is such a fun thing watching your baby's reaction to new things is a lot of fun and good for you, stay nursing for as long as you can.. have fun!!!

Brianna - posted on 03/23/2009

I started with cereal in my daughter's bottle at about 3 1/2 months. She was colicy and it turned out she wasn't getting enough to eat. I put one scoop of cereal (using a formula scoop) for every two of formula. So about a one to two ratio. And if she is still hungry then add the spoon fed cereal in little portions. I think my daughter was only on spoon fed cereal for a few weeks before I added baby food. They are all different. So it's mostly what your baby shows you she needs. Good luck!

Emily - posted on 03/23/2009

Why are you putting it in a bottle? You want to get her used to eating solids, not drinking them.  Since rice cereal has less calories than breastmilk I and she is only 5 months 3-4 hours between feedings sounds good. I would nurse before giving her cereal since it has the nutrients she needs and cereal doesn't. If she has problems pooping stop with the cereal for a while. I wouldn't give it before 6 months especially witha breastfed baby, but since you already have if you don't notice a problem just spoon feed her in the morning and evening after nursing until she seems like she is ready to get down. If you don't have allergies in the family you can start slowly introducing baby foods next month. Squash is a good one to start with.