At what age did you start cereal?

My ped said babies can start on cereal between 4 and 6 months, but the longer I can hold out the better. I wish I had more time to ask her WHY it's better to start later. Does anyone know? My boys were 16+ pounds at their 4mo appt and will be 5 months old next week. They eat 5 times a day 6-8 oz per bottle. I think I may try cereal this week. I'm hoping it will make them sleep a little longer too. Did anyone have that experience?

 

We started the girls at 5 months. I have read that starting cereal before 4 and after 6 can lead to an increase in the chances of developing diabetes. (I used to work for a non-profit that raised funds for the Type 1 diabetes care center)

 

Mine did not sleep any better when we started cereal at 6 months. It is recommended to wait to 6 months.

HERE is what Kellymom says about waiting on solids. It might not pertain 100% to you but I hope it helps!

 

I waited until 6 months. I started giving them a little cereal in the mornings...then, I quickly added fruits. Now, they eat solids 2 x's per day. Fruit in the morning and veggies at night.

jen

 

Our ped said to wait until they can hold their heads up very very well.
The girls have been able to hold their heads up for quite a while but we just started not too long ago.

 

We started rice cereal right at 6mo. But we actually started solids a couple of weeks sooner with banana, then avocado. Most peds suggest waiting until 6mo because if you start much before that you are essentially just giving them a "filler" when they should be getting all of their nutrition from bm or formula. My pedi's thinking is that they don't eat enough bm/formula when they're full on cereal.

If you're introducing it slowly and still making sure they're getting the milk they need though, I wouldn't think it's a problem to start sooner.

 

I started mine on cereal at about 4 1/2 months. My DS just didn't seem satisfied with the bottles anymore. My ped also said that it is recommended to start at 6 months and even then not to feel like I had to. But I am the mom and I felt we needed to start earlier, so we did.

They are going great and eating it well.

 

We waited for the 6 months... it didn't help with the sleep I hear that's a wives tale.

Our pedi said that anything before 6 months isn't necessary... nutrition wise.

my dd took a month to even like solids

to be honest though, I don't think it's going to be a big issue to start earlier.... our parents started a lot earlier

jenn

 

We started at 5.5 months. I tried anything and everything to get them to sleep. I don't know if the cereal had an influence on their sleep; however, about a week or two later they started sleeping through the night. I did not start anything else until 6 months.

 

QUOTE(Stephanie M @ May 22 2007, 12:23 AM) [snapback]263734[/snapback]
I tried anything and everything to get them to sleep. I don't know if the cereal had an influence on their sleep; however, about a week or two later they started sleeping through the night.


Same with me. We started cereal at 5 months & I am the first to admit it might have been a coincidence, but by the time they worked themselves up to eating a fair amount of cereal, they started sleeping better. They were always watching us so intently when we were eating & always trying to grab food from our plates which the doctor said were signs that they were ready. They were sooo much happier after they started getting solid foods. It's definitely a personal decision, though, and many doctors do advise waiting until 6 months. I just know what worked for us.

 

We just started last week, mostly to shut my mom up, but also for fun. It's not part of our daily routine, we just give it to them almost like a game. Annika really likes it, though Ainsley makes faces and spits it out.
I think you'll know when they're ready by how the react!

 

I have offered it to mine - they do ok with it but I haven't been consistant - I don't give it everyday - but the times I have given it - they do not sleep through the night. as a matter of a fact the reason I don't give it everyday is because I think on the days I do they are fussier. my pedi. told me to go ahead and start feeding them 3 x a day not only cereal but squash, carrots or sweet potatoes - I just think that is way to much for 4 month old infants! I breastfeed and that is all my girls really want right now - I just toyed w/ the cereal to see if they seemed more satisfied but they really don't!

 

OUr pedi gave the OK to start cereal at 4 months, but stressed that BM alone was enough until 6 months of age. So it was really up to us. We tried cereal for a few days in a row after they turned 4 months and they weren't having it, they didn't quite know what to do with it and they were actually fussier at night so we stopped. We are actually going to start again tonight. They seem more ready for it now - they watch what we eat really close and try and grab for our food, are much more active with rolling around and stuff, plus my MIL was watching the boys and found a box of cereal and decided it would be a great idea to feed them cereal even though she watched me nurse them an hour earlier and I mentioned nothing about cereal - didn't even have it out, it was in a cabinet! But I guess Chase ate it all and Con ate some of it, so ... we're going to try again!

 

I started introducing it around 5 months 3 weeks and became consistent on a daily basis at 6 months. I am really happy that I waited as they took to the cereal with fruit immediately. When they were 5 months 3 weeks I mixed rice cereal with EBM and they gobbled it all up. At 6 months I mixed the rice cereal with water and added some fruit to it. They really liked it, especially our ds. I wanted to make sure they were able to sit up in their booster seats before introducing foods. They don't recline back so they needed to be able to sit up on their own.

 

We started at 6 months. My babies were born at 36 weeks 0 days. Our pedi said that we should watch for signs before starting solids - are they interested in what we eat/drink, are they drinking LOTS of formula/BM, are they hungry more frequently than every 3 hours? The cereal can help to provide additional nutrition, but doesn't necessarily help them sleep through the night better.

 

QUOTE(first_second_and_last @ May 22 2007, 03:34 PM) [snapback]264416[/snapback]
We started at 6 months. My babies were born at 36 weeks 0 days. Our pedi said that we should watch for signs before starting solids - are they interested in what we eat/drink, are they drinking LOTS of formula/BM, are they hungry more frequently than every 3 hours? The cereal can help to provide additional nutrition, but doesn't necessarily help them sleep through the night better.


Same here, but my babies were born at 34 weeks.

 

We started at 5 months. I think like everything else- it should be based on the individual baby, not an exact number. I looked for the signs they were ready: head control, looking at my food, and wanting to eat more often. They had also doubled their birth weight at 4 months. I started with rice cereal, but they didn't like it plain, so I added some banana and they've been loving it ever since. I'm still at once a day- mostly because it's going to be hard for me to fit it in, but I do plan on adding breakfast soon. They dropped their night wakings 2 days later! I know it helped them sleep. I'm glad we started!

 

We started feeding the girls rice cereal at 6 mos too. I fed it to them after their breakfast bottle, they love it..
Now I mix it with fruit baby food in the mornings.. it's their FAVORITE.

I've heard others say it's better to wait till 6 mos because of allergies or not being able to tolerate the rice cereal?
I don't know how true all that is..

I was giving it to them in their bottle at 8 weeks advised by my pedi when one of the
girls had constant diahrrea to thicken up her stool.. it kinda worked.. afer diahrrea went away, i continued to give it to her in the
bottle at nite, but it didn't make her sleep any longer..

I wouldn't think it would hurt if you started them at 5 mos if you really want to.

 

Hi,

mine started solids at 5.5 months but even now when they have 3 meals a day (at 9 months) they still do not sleep through -- and their sleeping patterns did not change at all ... I've read that this is pretty common -- so don't start if that's your goal. start when the kids start mimicking you while you eat -- (chewing, etc.) and seem very interested, start slow, cause solids really aren't supposed to provide the nutrition for babies until 12 months. Keep in mind that feeding solids adds a whole new dimension to the day, and you quickly have a new task to complete twice a day that you can't miss -- so, feeding takes away some freedom.

Cheers,

Teri D

 

We started cereal after their 4 month appt our dr agreed it was time and my DS never seemed satisfied with his bottles. I am happy to say since we started the cereal they both have gone thru the nights. So for us it has helped the sleeping.

 

We started at 5.5 months. I mostly waited because I knew they would be more developed in their swallowing techniques. Plus it was easier when they just got bottles!