starting cereal...

I know the DR suggests between 2-3 months, but my mom and the infant teacher @ work, swear that I can give him a tiny bit now... (off a spoon not in a bottle)

Part of me feels he could use a little more...but Im terrified to do it differently from the way the DR says...

Any of you start early..?

I thought you did Stef... how old was Jared..???

Re: starting cereal...

Lots of people say that it will help the sleep longer if you give it to them early. I tried it 3 nights when Nate was 2 months old and he still woke up 2-3 times and for his 3am feeding.

Nate was 10lb+ at birth and a very good eater so I didn't feel the need to continue feeding it to him early especially since it didn't help him sleep longer. I also didn't want him him to start putting on weight too fast. We didn't start him on cereal (using a spoon or in the bottle) until he was 4 months as suggested by our Dr.

Go with your gut, you know what's right for your baby.

Message edited 12/5/2005 7:51:56 PM.

Re: starting cereal...

I was thinking about this also. I'd love to hear everyone's experiences.

My friend's pediatritian recommends starting it as soon as the baby is 12 lbs or more reguardless of age -- so she started it at like 2 months and her baby is HUGE now.

Re: starting cereal...

well Ryan is just about 12lbs...but he is soooo LAZY.... he eats, but takes forever, and alot of time falls asleep (at night time) before he finishes eating...which imo is why he is still getting up at night....

For ex: the nights he takes his whole bottle plus some before bed.... he'll sleep almost 8 hrs. straight through, the nights he dosent he's up in 3hrs..

Same goes for his feeding in the middle of the night...he gets up because he's hungry, but yet is so tired, he'll eat an oz or 2 then gets up an hour or so later...

So Im thinking if I feed him a little cereal b4 his last bottle....he'll feel fufilled...

I know thats the theory ( cereal is heavier on their tummys thats why the sleep longer) but everyone told me when I stopped BFing he'd sleep longer for formula was more fufilling...and I saw no difference!!!!

Is it bad to start this a little early...???

Part of me thinks he needs a little more at night.... but then the other part feels like Im doing it to see if he'll sleep through the night...

Re: starting cereal...

My understanding is that making the baby eat more, or giving him formula or cereal before bed will not make him sleep any longer. He will sleep longer when he is ready, and nothing you do will affect that.

My pediatrician told me too many parents feed their children too much - they're overfeeding them. Just because a baby will eat it doesn't mean you should let them. Some babies will eat even if they're not hungry.

My mom was trying to get me to feed Jesse solid food when he was three months old. We waited until he was about 5 1/2 because I am BFing, and you are supposed to wait until 6 months if you EBF. Most babies are not physically ready before four months anyway, which is why they push so much food out of their mouths.

I still BF Jesse, and he's been sleeping 10+ hours since he was just shy of three months.

Take into consideration what everyone advises you, and then do what you think is best for your baby. You'll make the right choice.

Re: starting cereal...

I started at a month...he was drinking so much formula...I thought he needed a little something extra. You can take the doctor's advice so far...but then it comes down to you, the mother, who knows your son better than any doctor.

Re: starting cereal...

If your reasoning for starting cereal is just to get him to sleep through the night, I would say don't bother. If it's because you feel he's not satisfied with formula and he's already taking 32oz, then it sounds like he may be a big eater.

Think about it...you sleep through the night and don't wake up because you are hungry, right? Same for babies. The theory is that food has nothing to do with how long a baby sleeps. Plus to me it sounds like it's partly just habit for him at this point since he's getting up and only drinking 2 - 3 oz. The fact that he's sleeping through that 3am bottle also tells me he's almost ready to sleep through the night, but he's waking up out of habit. Same thing happened with Jake when he was just about ready to sleep through.

I think once they are over 11lbs they are metabolically capable of sleeping through the night.

Anyway, I was tempted, but I did not start Jake on cereal until the pediatrician gave the go ahead. Even then, he wasn't ready until a week later. And when he did start taking cereal, he did not sleep any longer than he used to.

They say the risks of developing food allergies are higher if you start them on solids too soon, so just take that into consideration also. But in the end, like Stefanie said, you are the mommy and you know him best so trust your instincts.


ETA: Jake was 4 months when we started cereal.

Message edited 12/6/2005 9:32:28 AM.

Re: starting cereal...

Re: starting cereal...

I wouldn't rush to start any solids before 5 or 6 months...
I found this article...


1. Baby's intestines need to mature. The intestines are the body's filtering system, screening out potentially harmful substances and letting in healthy nutrients. In the early months, this filtering system is immature. Between four and seven months a baby's intestinal lining goes through a developmental growth spurt called closure, meaning the intestinal lining becomes more selective about what to let through. To prevent potentially-allergenic foods from entering the bloodstream, the maturing intestines secrete IgA , a protein immunoglobulin that acts like a protective paint, coating the intestines and preventing the passage of harmful allergens. In the early months, infant IgA production is low (although there is lots of IgA in human milk), and it is easier for potentially-allergenic food molecules to enter the baby's system. Once food molecules are in the blood, the immune system may produce antibodies to that food, creating a food allergy . By six to seven months of age the intestines are more mature and able to filter out more of the offending allergens. This is why it's particularly important to delay solids if there is a family history of food allergy, and especially to delay the introduction of foods to which other family members are allergic.

2. Young babies have a tongue-thrust reflex . In the first four months the tongue thrust reflex protects the infant against choking. When any unusual substance is placed on the tongue, it automatically protrudes outward rather than back. Between four and six months this reflex gradually diminishes, giving the glob of cereal a fighting chance of making it from the tongue to the tummy. Not only is the mouth-end of baby's digestive tract not ready for early solids, neither is the lower end.

3. Baby's swallowing mechanism is immature. Another reason not to rush solids is that the tongue and the swallowing mechanisms may not yet be ready to work together. Give a spoonful of food to an infant less than four months, and she will move it around randomly in her mouth, pushing some of it back into the pharynx where it is swallowed, some of it into the large spaces between the cheeks and gums, and some forward between the lips and out onto her chin. Between four and six months of age, most infants develop the ability to move the food from the front of the mouth to the back instead of letting it wallow around in the mouth and get spit out. Prior to four months of age, a baby's swallowing mechanism is designed to work with sucking, but not with chewing.

4. Baby needs to be able to sit up. In the early months, babies associate feeding with cuddling. Feeding is an intimate interaction, and babies often associate the feeding ritual with falling asleep in arms or at the breast. The change from a soft, warm breast to a cold, hard spoon may not be welcomed with an open mouth. Feeding solid foods is a less intimate and more mechanical way of delivering food. It requires baby to sit up in a highchair – a skill which most babies develop between five and seven months. Holding a breastfed baby in the usual breastfeeding position may not be the best way to start introducing solids, as your baby expects to be breastfed and clicks into a "what's wrong with this picture?" mode of food rejection.

5. Young infants are not equipped to chew. Teeth seldom appear until six or seven months, giving further evidence that the young infant is designed to **** rather than to chew. In the pre-teething stage, between four and six months, babies tend to drool, and the drool that you are always wiping off baby's face is rich in enzymes, which will help digest the solid foods that are soon to come.

6. Older babies like to imitate caregivers. Around six months of age, babies like to imitate what they see. They see you spear a veggie and enjoy chewing it. They want to grab a fork and do likewise.

Re: starting cereal...

I started Sammy on cereal when he was almost 5 months

Re: starting cereal...

Wow Im surprised that pediatricians are saying 2-3 months or even a month old. I never heard that from any doctor and my kids are young so Im not that out of the loop. Im not saying they arent saying it, Im just shocked by how many responses there are with peds recommending it. But they're (the experts) always changing the "what's best for babies" advice so I guess my question is - is this the new trend? My son started at 5 months and my daughter maybe a few weeks older than that.

Re: starting cereal...

My Dr sadi between 4-6 months an dwe were going to florida at the time so she told me to wait.. alos they should be able to hold their head up..

try switching to a faster flow nipple....

Re: starting cereal...

i have never heard starting solids at 2-3 months, i have in fact heard it is dangerous as wll for their immature GI systems, my doc has always recommended between 4-6 months. be careful it can cause problems in the future for their bellies, PLUS their is much more nutritional value in breastmilk or formula than in rice cereal, and if you start feeding too early they will fill up on cereal and not take as much breastmilk/formula.

Re: starting cereal...

My doc told me about 5-6 months or when Jack doubled his birth weight. My mom kept telling me to give him cereal and he would sleep throught the night, and I tried it and no way. It made absolutely no difference. So I'd wait to be sure that baby's stomach and digestive system can handle it. No matter what you do, there is no miracle approach to getting a baby to sleep through the night. Eventually they just do and at 2-3 monhts old I think it is a little insane to think a tablespoon of cereal is going to conk out your baby for the night.

Re: starting cereal...

Jacob is 14 lbs at 3 months and our pediatrician has not even mentioned giving him cereal. She said he is doing well on the formula and gaining weight. That is really want you want. I am sure at our next visit I will bring it up since we are 4 months...

Also I asked my brother and he said he tells his patients between 4 and 6 months NOT before. He says there systems really can't handle it before then...

I don't think my brother would gear me the wrong way...

I would listen to what your pediatrician recommends...

Re: starting cereal...

I started my son at 3.5 months - by dr advice. He was drinking over 32 oz of formula in one day and changed from sleeping thru the night to waking up for food. The dr had told me not to go over 32 oz so I called and asked if it was fine to increase formula and she recommended to start cereal. Something about the amount of iron in formula after that would be too much for his age, etc. He was also a big boy (probably about 16 lbs or so). I started very slowly however and only did rice for until he hit 4 months.

Personally, I don't think starting cereal makes all babies sleep better. In fact many of my friends said things got worse before they got better since it takes time for a babies bdy/digestive system to learn to digest and deal with the change in food.

I have heard some dr starting cereal at 2-3 months which I found strange because most research today shows starting too early is not typically best for babies. To each their own though.

Message edited 12/6/2005 9:45:34 AM.

Re: starting cereal...

I started marissa on cereal at 2 months I would give her a tablespoon of cereal mixed with formula and gave it to her on a spoon at her lats feeding and then gave ehr the rest of her bottle after she was done with the cereal and she slept through the nite and loved the cereal she couldn't get enough of it.

I jsut made the cereal very liquidy