cereal

when do you start feeding the babies cereal? i get WIC and as of next month they are giving me cereal too? no one has told me when to start feeding it to them and do i put it in the bottle or spoon feed or both?

 

Different people say different things, so I would ask your pedi. We just started it with DS this week (per our pedi), as he doesn't seem satisfied with his bottles anymore, he's always looking around for more. He just turned 4 months old. So far he loves it, we mix it with a little formula and spoon feed him. We haven't started with DD yet as she is smaller and has enough trouble getting enough formula ounces in.

 

My ped just started my babies on rice cereal and they can have jars of vegetables mixed in. I just usually put a little rice cereal and make sure it is a little thicker than formula while I am adding the water. Then I put a half stage one vegetable in it. Mine have been eating one meal a day for right now.

 

My ped didn't want any of my boys to start cereal till 6 months. Cody also has exema issues & she said food could agravate it.

Spoon feed!

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (as well as lots of other health organizations like the WHO, CDC, etc) recommends not giving any solids, including rice cereal, until 6 months. Starting solids earlier than that puts you at higher risk for allergies as well as future obesity. All babies need for at LEAST the first 6 mo is breastmilk and/or formula anyway, so there's really nothing to gain (except a lot of mess around the high chair!) by starting earlier anyway.

Some signs of babies being ready for solid foods are:

-sitting unassisted (if a baby has to sit in a reclining chair to eat solids, then it's too early)
-trying to steal food off your plate
-able to give signs of being full (rejecting breast/bottle when finished, turning head away, etc)

And when you do give solids, make sure it's with a spoon, not in a bottle. Solids should be for practice only in the beginning, and giving cereal in a bottle can cause babies to take in way too much without realizing it. It's as much about learning to sit at the table and take bites as anything else.

 

We started DS at around 4 1/2 months and DD around 5 1/2 months. This was based upon the ped's recommendation. I would discuss with your doctor.

 

My babies got cereal in their bottles from 2 weeks on for reflux. I started spoon feeding them at 4 months.

 

ok i will ask my pedi when i go there next thursday. both my babies have reflux and they were put on meds for it

 

I started cereal at 6 months with my girls. A lot of doctors say different things, but I say "Do some research for yourself and decide." If the meds seem to be taking care of the reflux, then they most likely don't need cereal yet.

 

When our girls were about 3 months old I was told by their pedi. to feed both cereal anyway because between the two of them they would literally go through 1 gallon of formula every 20-24 hours. the cereal cut that in half and now at 7 months they are eating about 5-8oz bottles each per day, with 3- 2oz containers of baby food each, along with 1/2 cup each of cheerios every morning. Only 2 of their formula bottles get cereal in them (morning and night). And even that is going to get cut to 1 soon, which I will most likely eliminate the morning cereal bottles since they are eating the cheerios now.

I hope you find the answer that you are looking for. Like others have said, I'd ask your pedi.
Lots of love!
Meshell