How old can u give your babies cereal?

I was just wondering how old everyone started giving their babies cereal?? and if so how much did you give them?? my ds can drink 4.5ozs and 2hrs later he is hungry again and when i try to give him 5ozs he dont drink it all so i was wondering if i should give them alilttle bit of cereal now..And Also have another question...

My DD her tear ducts are crustin up and i was wondering if this is normal or not??? ive been cleaning her eyes with hot water and washcloth to help but it seem not to be working for me..so i was wondering if i should call her doctor and see what is wrong with her...any thoughts would be greatly appreciated..

 

I would call the doctor with both questions.

We started cereal at 4.5 months. Not because my girls needed it, but our pedi's office starts at 4 months. I have heard of people starting sooner because of hungry babies.

Emma's eyes were like that too. I was told by the pedi to do exactly what you are doing...a warm washcloth to clean it up. She also said that it would eventually take care of itself, and it did.

 

It's totally normal for young babies to be hungry 2 hrs after a feeding. Their stomachs are just so tiny that they can't always fit enough in there to keep going for longer. It could also be a growth spurt.

You definitely don't want to give cereal at this age - they can't even digest it yet, so it would just take away space from the breastmilk/formula they really NEED to grow and be healthy. All the experts (American Academy of Pediatrics, World Health Organization, CDC, etc) say to feed ONLY breastmilk and/or formula for the first 6 months.

I'd call the doctor about the eye thing - could be normal, but it's probably a good idea to make sure it's not an infection...

 

Hi there. My sons were also frequent eaters. They rarely went more than 2 or 2.5 hours during the day until about 5 months - that was just their style. They were about 6 lbs as birth and 21 lbs each by 6 months so they did a lot of growing and evidently needed the nutrition. I would not introduce cereal before 4 or 5 months. The intestinal tracts of little babies are not mature enough to effectively digest cereal. In fact, little pieces of the food can actually enter the bloodstream through the immature intestinal walls, causing the body to develop an allergy. This is my understanding anyway. Also, a young baby is too little to participate in the feeding process at all, so overfeeding and/or stress can result. The WHO recommends 6 months as a good starting point for solids, but if you have hungry little guys then you might get the OK from your doc to start at 4 or 5 months. I started at 5 months with cereal once a day.

My sons' tear ducts didn't normalize until about 12 or 14 weeks. I know it's a pain and it looks all gunky and gross (our blocked ducts coincided with hair loss and cradle cap - I had a couple of super models for a few weeks, I'll tell you!) but it's temporary. Just keep the area as clean as you can.

 

I totally agree with pp about not starting any kind of cereal. Their digestive systems are not mature enough and it is just empty calories for them. My babies ate every 2-3 hours until they were 5.5 months old. As for the tear duct it is very normal for babies that age to have this happen. They will usually clear up on their own. My DS had this and I did the same thing you are doing and it cleared up just make sure his actual eyeball isn't red at all because that could indicate infection. If it doesn't clear up shortly make sure to to take her in.

 

I'd call your dr on both questions.

We started cereal at 5 months.

My DD had a tear duct clogged and we used a wet cotton ball and swept away from the eye and it cleared up pretty quick.

 

When my older DD was 2 months old we went to her regular check-up. I told my ped that my DD just didn't seem satisfied. She said it was okay to put cereal in her bottles but not every bottle. You could do every other bottle like I did. First thing in the morning, afternoon and the last bottle before bed. It helped my DD sleep through the night. I hate to give conflicting advice here, it's very interesting because mine is opposite of what pp are saying. Call your ped if you still aren't sure. HTH and GL!

Kellley

 

QUOTE(Stephanie27 @ Dec 31 2007, 02:47 AM) [snapback]551614[/snapback]
I was just wondering how old everyone started giving their babies cereal?? and if so how much did you give them?? my ds can drink 4.5ozs and 2hrs later he is hungry again and when i try to give him 5ozs he dont drink it all so i was wondering if i should give them alilttle bit of cereal now..And Also have another question...

My DD her tear ducts are crustin up and i was wondering if this is normal or not??? ive been cleaning her eyes with hot water and washcloth to help but it seem not to be working for me..so i was wondering if i should call her doctor and see what is wrong with her...any thoughts would be greatly appreciated..



Colby had that tear duct issue and tried the washcloth/cotton ball thing but it didn't work. We took him in and the duct was blocked. he needed medicine to clear it up. If your efforts to clear it up haven't worked, you should call the pedi.

We started w/a little rice cereal in their bottles at about 2 months, due to reflux. but that was on the pedi's recommendation, so you should ask before starting that.

 

We started Katie on cereal at 2 months, I put it in her bottle. The fisher price nipples are really good for that, the cereal comes through the hole smoothly without clogging.

I also started the boys on cereal at 2 months, but for reflux issues with them.

For the eye, our DR prescribed Gentamicin eye drops, cleared it right up!!

 

i started at 6 or 7 weeks with DS but because of reflux. We were told to give his a table spoon with every 2 ounces.. a formula scoop for 4..

 

I would not start cereal at that age. I waited until 5.5 months and when my kids were showing signs that they were interested in real food. It is really hard on their digestive systems, and doing it early I don't think their bodies would be ready for it.

 

Thanks for all the replies..her eyes did clear up i just kept putting warm cottonballs on them for a few days and went away...i have an appointment on the 18th and im goin to find out about the cereal cause my DS just dont seem satisfed wit his formula...thanks for all the replies...

 

I agree with asking the pedi first.

If you think they are hungry, they will typically get more nutrition, fat and calories to satisfy them from breastmilk or formula than they will get from cereal.

We started cereal with Ethan at 6 mo and Tony at 7mo.