Issues w/ cereal in the bottle

The ped recommended adding cereal to the bottle to help with spit-up. But we're having a hard time getting the thickened formula to come out of the nipple. I've tried widening the hole, but then she chokes or lets it run down her chin. I've also bought the nipples for thick liquids, but the cereal still gets stuck in the hole and then she gets nothing out. (The cereal has also made her constipated - ugh.)

I'm trying to avoid having to use a hand mixer or a blender, so I thought maybe we should try a different brand of cereal. We're using the Wal-mart Parent's Choice brand right now and even if I use one teaspoon per 4 ounces, it still clogs the nipple. We stopped the cereal because everyone was frustrated.... and she didn't poop for 3 days, but now she's spitting up again.

Does anyone have a rec for a cereal that might be less chunky then the Wal-Mart brand? I'll try anything at this point!

 

Yes! You need to get the Beechnut brand rice cereal! It is the only one I used because it worked so well!(I tried PC and Gerber to no avail)

 

Yup...we used Beechnut with "Y" shaped nipples and it worked fabulously.

 

If you can't get this to work, I wouldn't worry about it -- using cereal in a bottle is controversial and has not been proven to really help... (parenting magazine has an article this month about it)

So, don't kill yourself on it... if the reflux is severe, I'd look at protein intolerance as the culprit.

Teri D

 

I'm using the Beechnut brand - the boys have no trouble sucking it down (2 tsps per 4 oz of formula).

 

Wow...ok Beechnut it is! Maybe this will be the answer we've been looking for.

Does anyone think a certain brand bottle and/or nipple work better then others with the Beechnut cereal? I have some Y-shaped ones for our Playtex drop-ins and I just bought some to use with Dr. Browns.

 

Y-cut were too fast for my babies with the Dr. B's. I used a 2 or 3.

 

I'm using the beechnut cereal in Walmart's Parents Choice bottles - DH carefully cross-cut the nipples with a sharp knife. Works perfectly! Why not buy a bottle or 2 (they're super cheap) and give it a shot?

 

My wife & I (this is the husband replying) found that the Dr. Brown's bottles with a #3 nipple worked the best. I ruined many a nipple (Avent & Dr. Brown's) trying to cut the tip just right. Dr. Brown's bottles don't add extra holes for the next stage up in the nipple, they make the hole just a slight bit bigger. I wish the Dr. offices would let parents know this info BEFORE ruining so many!! Hope this helps...

 

You all have given me hope...I won't give up yet!

I have a ton of Dr. Brown #3 nipples that were given to me. If they work with the Beechnut cereal we would be SET!

If that doesn't work, then I'll try the Parent's Choice bottles. I just haven't had luck with cutting the holes myself.

She's growing like a super-weed....the spitting-up and sometimes projectile doesn't seem to bother her at all. I hate the mess and the extra laundry! She doesn't do it everytime....sometimes she doesn't spill a drop. It's kind of like holding a time bomb - you just don't know if or when it will go off!!

 

QUOTE(sunshinetwins @ Jul 23 2007, 03:48 PM) [snapback]341691[/snapback]
If that doesn't work, then I'll try the Parent's Choice bottles. I just haven't had luck with cutting the holes myself.



Pinch the nipple at the top then saw down slowly with a very very sharp knife . . .

 

QUOTE(sunshinetwins @ Jul 23 2007, 06:09 PM) [snapback]341551[/snapback]
The ped recommended adding cereal to the bottle to help with spit-up. But we're having a hard time getting the thickened formula to come out of the nipple. I've tried widening the hole, but then she chokes or lets it run down her chin. I've also bought the nipples for thick liquids, but the cereal still gets stuck in the hole and then she gets nothing out. (The cereal has also made her constipated - ugh.)

I'm trying to avoid having to use a hand mixer or a blender, so I thought maybe we should try a different brand of cereal. We're using the Wal-mart Parent's Choice brand right now and even if I use one teaspoon per 4 ounces, it still clogs the nipple. We stopped the cereal because everyone was frustrated.... and she didn't poop for 3 days, but now she's spitting up again.

Does anyone have a rec for a cereal that might be less chunky then the Wal-Mart brand? I'll try anything at this point!

 

QUOTE(sunshinetwins @ Jul 23 2007, 06:09 PM) [snapback]341551[/snapback]
The ped recommended adding cereal to the bottle to help with spit-up. But we're having a hard time getting the thickened formula to come out of the nipple. I've tried widening the hole, but then she chokes or lets it run down her chin. I've also bought the nipples for thick liquids, but the cereal still gets stuck in the hole and then she gets nothing out. (The cereal has also made her constipated - ugh.)

I'm trying to avoid having to use a hand mixer or a blender, so I thought maybe we should try a different brand of cereal. We're using the Wal-mart Parent's Choice brand right now and even if I use one teaspoon per 4 ounces, it still clogs the nipple. We stopped the cereal because everyone was frustrated.... and she didn't poop for 3 days, but now she's spitting up again.

Does anyone have a rec for a cereal that might be less chunky then the Wal-Mart brand? I'll try anything at this point!



we used beechnut oatmeal cereal with level 3 nipples..we used 1 tablespoon per ounce of formula and that worked out fine...we used Dr. browns bottles and playtex and they both worked doing that.

 

We used the Beechnut with Ariana, but we crushed it with the rolling pin too make it finer. I put a little in a ziploc and made it more like a powder.

 

If the above suggestions don't work, try Enfamil AR. We did exactly what you are doing, and I ruined 20 or more Dr. Brown's nipples trying to get it right. Enfamil AR mixes up just fine for me using a hand mixer and will work with any nipple (even stage 1). The AR really helped our spit up after a few weeks (it says 4 weeks I think, but it really took about 2 to fully work). Good luck!

 

One of my daughters has been on thickened milk since she left the hospital. We have to put in 1.5 teaspooons per ounce, so it's quite thick. I have found that if I grind up the rice cereal in a coffee grinder (food processor would work too I bet) it works much better. I fill up the coffee grinder part, pulse the cereal for a few seconds until it's the consistency of sand, and then we're good to go. We use the Dr. Brown Y-cut nipples some of the time and plain old rubber nipples that I cut with a sharp blade the rest of the time. I'm still trying to figure out which works better... but give the grinder a try if you have one. The cereal will dissolve better and won't clog the nipple as much.