Should you put cereal in the baby's bottle?

[Sharon]

Here's the question--

What do you think about mothers that put cereal in their baby's bottle?

I ask this because I've never done it and don't consider it good for the baby.  They need to learn how to suckle liquids first and when you start cereal it should be with a spoon not in a bottle.  

My step-daughter had a baby 16 days ago (yes DAYS!) and she is already putting cereal in the bottle.  To me this seems like laziness just to fill the kid up because it wants to eat every few hours.  I also read somewhere (a long time ago) that it can lead to food allergies, which her other son has.  She did the same thing to him but I remember he was about a month old when she started this.

Another thing is that infants stomachs aren't ready for this type of thing yet and when they learn how to swallow solids it should be done with a spoon.  My kids are 16 & 18 so it's been a long time since I've fed an infant.  Have things changed since then and is this common practice?  I remember feeding my newborn babies every 1-2 hours because they were so small that they could only drink a few ounces at a time and I never put cereal in their bottle.  I thought infants had to be about 4 months old or so before solids were started.  

Am I off my rocker?  Don't even get me started about why she isn't using breast milk, pumped or straight-up.

 

[RoseRed]

I added a small amount of cereal to my daughters bottle once she was about 4-5 months old, but only at night.  It seemed to help her sleep longer, but then again, she was never a bad sleeper.

I also agree that 16 days is way to young to start cereal.

 

[Sharon]

cariblue on 11:25 am on April 25, 2002[br]Additionally, since this isn't your baby you should not intervene unless the babies health is at risk.  I know it's hard, but you just can't do it.

I would never say anything to her for the exact same reason you stated.  Neither her father nor I have ever butted in to her business.  I was just wondering if this was commonplace now-a-days.

 

[Guest]

My son is 10 months old and I have had to put cereal in his bottle on every feeding since he was about 5 or 6 months.  He has reflux and problems with his bowels I don't have a choice in the matter.  He is a very good sleeper and has been since the day we brought him home from the hospital.  However once he was old enough to learn to eat from a spoon he has been spoon feed with a spoon since.

My oldest son was not given cereal until he was 6 months old and he has know allergies.  But my youngest one does.  He can not have any dairy products.  

I think that it depends on the baby.  If the child has reflux you can't avoid not putting cereal in there bottle.  If they are satisfied with just the milk and can make it every 3-4 hours then I don't see the need for cereal.  If not I don't see why an half an ounce of milk or even an ounce increase will hurt.

My youngest son was almost 10lbs.  He required more milk than a baby of 6 lbs would require.  

 

[vraiblonde]

I had the same experience as Cariblue - the baby wasn't nursing enough to satisfy him for more than an hour or two.  He was also projectile vomiting what looked like everything he'd just eaten.  And cry!  The child would bawl constantly - even my girlfriend, a maternity nurse, said she'd never seen a newborn sleep so little and cry so much.  After watching me go crazy for two weeks, my beloved angel of a next-door-neighbor said, "That child is hungry" and coaxed me into putting a smidge of rice cereal in a bottle of breast milk. I figured she knew more than me because she had successfully gotten through 3 babies at that point.  Worked like a charm.  Dougie not only kept his food down but slept for 4 heavenly hours.  He was two weeks old at the time and is now a completely healthy 19 year old.

Rice cereal won't hurt a baby, if it's just a pinch.  The reason peds don't suggest it is because some parents think they can give thick cereal, which decreases the amount of fluids the baby takes and can end up dehydrating them.  Plus that, their digestive systems aren't mature enough to process solid food.  But some babies seem to need a little more food than others and, man!  If it keeps a young mother from losing her mind, I'm all for it.  Doug's pediatrician frowned on me putting cereal in his bottle but he's not the one who was only getting 4 hours of sleep a day, broken up in half hour snatches.

 

[hippiechick]

I am not a doctor, but we did it in my day. When the child was over 2 months old though. M children grew up fine No allergies or obese problems, so who knows?

 

[Topper]

Has anyone asked a doctor?

"Actually, nature didn’t intend for babies to eat solid foods until 4 months of age or older. Your baby’s natural instinct is to suck, not eat, during those first 4 months. And contrary to what you may have heard, there is little evidence that feeding very young babies solid food will help them sleep through the night."

This is a quote from MSN "Solid Foods, Dos and Dont's".  Keeping in mind that this is submitted by Enfamil, it still seems like good advice.  

Why does your step-daughter want to feed her baby solid food?  Perhaps, if she is having difficulty getting up at night, someone could spell her a few nights a week.  A helping hand is always a welcome hand.

Topper

 

[Sharon]

Topper on 9:31 pm on April 27, 2002
"Actually, nature didn’t intend for babies to eat solid foods until 4 months of age or older. Your baby’s natural instinct is to suck, not eat, during those first 4 months. And contrary to what you may have heard, there is little evidence that feeding very young babies solid food will help them sleep through the night."  This is a quote from MSN "Solid Foods, Dos and Dont's".

My research on a few sites can to the same conclusion.  But who knows for sure.  Seems like a lot of people do it, so I guess it can't be all bad.

The baby was huge at birth (10 lbs.)  She was drinking a full 8oz. bottle every two hours.  According to her, the baby is hungry all the time.  She lives (in another state) with her boyfriend and cousin, so she should have plenty of help.

 

 

[BL]

I don’t see what the problem with feeding the baby cereal at a very young age is.  Unless it causes a lot of gas.  Which could happen.  My wife and I never fed my first daughter cereal until she was about 9 months.  What a big mistake.  My second daughter has been eating cereal since she was 5 days old.  She sleeps better and does not always want a bottle.  But again, I think it depends on the child.  If he or she gets a lot of gas from it I would hold off for a while.  Why not put it in a bowl.  You might be amazed at how fast they learn to eat off of a spoon.

 

[angelic]

As a new mom, I have the pleasure of having the most up to date nutrition information for infants from pediatricians and nutritionists at the health department.  First of all, babies shouldn't eat solid foods until they are at least 4 months old.  They have a natural reflex to push things out of their mouths with their tongues that doesn't go away until they're about 4 months old, so trying to get them to eat with a spoon before then will be a tedious and most likely failed attempt.  Secondly, unless directed by your pediatrician, cereal should NEVER be served in a bottle.  This leads to poor nutrition habits and promotes tooth decay.  Common sense should tell you that an infant who is a few days old has a very weak stomach, and giving them cereal will do more harm than good as they aren't supposed to eat a lot at one time.  Babies need to eat every two hours at that age.  Their little tummies can't hold much and it also helps in building their sense of trust.  Imagine how you'd feel if someone would rather fill you up and whisk you away to bed for hours on end rather than spend that prescious feeding time bonding?  In my opinion, feeding infants cereal is copping out of taking the time to give your baby what he/she REALLY needs.  As for pediatricians not "knowing" you're baby, I agree, to an extent.  Yes, you know your child better than anyone in this world, but your pediatrician knows what's normal and can guide you in making decisions.  Furthermore, your aunt/sister/friend/neighbor knows even less about your baby than your pediatrician, so in most cases, instincts first, then medical advice.

 

[vraiblonde]

Sharon, what exactly are we talking about here?  Thick cereal in a bottle or just a pinch of cereal in the milk?

 

[Sharon]

Your guess is as good as mine.  She said that the baby got constipated and she had to lay off the cereal for a day or so and give her water.  Being that the baby is just a newborn, I don't think it would have the strength to suck thick cereal, but what do I know.  Wouldn't thick cereal make a baby gag?  Hubby has a business trip this month, so he's going to stop in for a visit and see his new "little angel".

 

[BL]

Angelic,

First of all you are a NEW mom.  No one here was saying force a child to eat cereal.  If they get gas from it then you should hold off like I said in a previous post.  I also don’t think it is a cop out to feed your kid cereal at a young age.  But if you enjoy waking up every 2 hours, feel free.  My point was that I have noticed a big difference between my 2 daughters.  The first one who is now 7 years old only had formula and was a lot more cranky than my second daughter who is 7 months old and has been eating cereal and stage 2 baby foods since a very young age.  She adapted to a daily routine or schedule very quickly which is a lot better for your child and YOU.  (Trust me on the routine and schedule thing).  She has been sleeping for 10 to 12 hours a night for a while now.  Which is good because she grows so fast.  She also has developed certain skills a lot faster than normal.  Like holding a spoon, eating from a bowl, sitting up in a high chair and other fine motor skills which my first daughter lacked.  That is what it is all about, getting your child on a schedule or routine and learning things instead of just laying there every 2 hours sucking on a bottle.  My wife and I were like you with our first child and like I said before it was a big mistake.  I refused to listen to my mother who raised 3 boys and other experienced parents.  Who all told me to start young and now I see how right they were.

Sharon,

I have never heard of putting cereal in a bottle.  I started putting it in a bowl and feeding it to my daughter on a spoon.  At first she spit it out but after a couple of attempts she got it and loved it.  

 

[Tonio]

We have been on a formula roller-coaster with our 7-week-old daughter. We tried two lactose-free varieties before switching back to her original formula. This is because she gets really fussy at 6 p.m. each evening, almost like clockwork. Some nights she won't settle down until 10 p.m., and other nights she calms down after 30 minutes. It seems to depend on the amount of stimulation she gets during the day. She also seems to get hungrier in the evening.

One family member urges us to try cereal now, although many books don't recommend it until after 4 months. I'm a little leery of giving high-carbohydrate food to our baby. Won't that make her gain too much weight? It just sounds too much like feeding a lot of bread and potatoes to an older child.

 

[Guest]

I am no expect with baby's.  But I have two kids of my own.  Both of my kids were on schedule's.  The same thing every day at the same time if possible.  How many ounce of milk is the infant taking and how often.  You may have to increase her intake of milk by an ounce.  She many have to much gas on her stomach.  My second son had alot of gas at night.  Our doctor taught us a trick when we went to burp him.  Hold her in a sitting position on your lap.  Take your hand and cup it around the babies neck to hold her neck up.  (Not to tight just enough to support her head)  Let her lean forward just a little with her head up.  Make sure that there is no pressure on her stomach area.  You should not have to pat her back to get the burp out.  The air should release on its own.  (May take a second or two).  You may need to burp her more often.  When we started that with our son he was a different child.  Sometimes you could barely hear him burp.  I would not try cereal yet.  Enfamil products are alot less harsh than the Similac products.
She may be getting fed to much and may have a touch of colic because of it.
Both of my son's came home sleeping through the night.  They both were on schedule's and were feed every 3-4 hours.  If they were not able to make it then I would add 1/2 to 1 ounce of milk.  But I would not go past 6 ounces.
In the evenings when she tends to be hungrier it just maybe gas.
Try what I said and let me no if it worked.

 

[Tonio]

Thanks for your advice. She is doing much better. We switched her to her original formula, and are sticking to her schedule as much as possible.