BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

I decided to try oatmeal cereal again this morn with Jacob and he finally took it!! He seemed to enjoy it too. No fussing, no crying, and was opening his mouth to take it with each spoonful. So my question is: What was your schedule like with cereal/bottles.. how many times a day did u do cereal? I'm thinking just doing the morning now with Jacob since he has gas issues. If you did 2x a day, when did u do it, and then what was your schedule like when u introduced fruit and veggies?? Thanks so much...

PS. Oh and last night he went down at 9:30 after screaming for like a half hour, and woke up at 4, i went in to put the paci in and then he slept till 5:45, so i gave him a small oz bottle, and then he went back to sleep till 7:30. I hope he continues to improve, with him each night is different. I have a feeling though that he is teething.. he is constantly with his fists and hands in his mouth and he's going thru like 4 bibs a day with drool. So maybe thats whats been keeping him awake. I dunno, but i gave him tylenol a few nights thinking he was in pain and that didnt even make him tired. This kid needs like demerol!!!!!!!!!!

Re: BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

I started with cereal in the morning (it eventually replaced his 10 bottle. I would mix 3 tbspns cereal with 2oz of formula and 2 baby spoons fruit. After that schedule was set I started doing the same thing at 5:30 but instead of fruit I would do squash or carrots. After he is done with the cereal I also sometimes offer him a small bottle or water,.

Re: BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

At five months we had Bella on this schedule.

7 am--8 oz bottle

10 am--3-4 tbsp cereal, fruit, 4-5 oz bottle

3 pm--3-4 tbsp cereal, veggie, 4-5 oz bottle

7 pm--8 oz bottle

This worked well for us after a few days of tweaking because Bella does not like to eat when it is broken up during the day...

THEN you have to up it to 3x a day, add yogurt...it never gets easy, so don't beat yourself up if some days he just doesn't want to eat a meal. Bella does this every few days and we have finally learned just to go with it. THEY set the routine and we are just here to help

She has been a great sleeper for the most part too, but again, they all have their nights and sometime weeks where they wake up a lot and want some cuddles or the binkie or sometimes just to wake up and yell for no reason it seems

Re: BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

@ 4 months I started Frankie on oatmeal cereal. We tried Rice cereal too, but he didn't like that at all. I find that in the morning, Frankie has no interest in eating, so I give him his cereal in the evening before bed. He only gets cereal once a day right now. But now that he is 5 months, I have him eating Veggies for Lunch. So he eats nothing, but BM in morning, lunch he has his veggies and then dinner he has cereal. Some days are good and others aren't, he will totally refuse to eat. I don't push him. He too is knawing away on his hands & fingers constantly and drooling. I don't see any teeth buds though, so not sure if it is teething yet or just leading up to it. Good luck with the feedings!

Re: BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

Since formula/bm should still be the main source of nutrion until 1 year old..the cereal right now is really just for experiementing with. The cereal shouldn't really replace any ounces of formula/bm at this point. I had Molly at 6 months on cereal in the morning only. At 7 months I had her on it 2x a day, sometimes I added a fruit to it. I would try it the once a day for a week or so and see how he is doing. If he has gas issues I would be careful which new foods I introduced since some of the fruits/veggies can cause gas.
I loved Super Baby Food book.

Re: BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

My son's schedule goes something like this. (We don't abide by a strict schedule, so give or take 1/2 hr). He's 5.5 mos old

730am: 6.5 oz bottle and 1.5 tablespoon of rice and barley mixed with 4 tablespoons of formula;

11:00am: 6.5 oz of formula;

2 p.m.: 6.5 oz of formula plus one ounce of fruit;

5:00 p.m.: 6.5 oz bottle and 1.5 tablespoon of rice and barley mixed with 4 tablespoons of formula

8:00 or 8:30p.m: 6.5 oz of formula

So in total he drinks 32.5 oz of formula a day, cereal 2x a day and fruit once a day.

ETA: He's been drinking 32.5 oz of formula since 3.5-4 mos, so we're not replacing any bottles with cereal/fruit. Cereal/fruit are in addition to his formula. Sometimes he doesn't want the cereal or won't eat all of it and that's fine, I don't force it.

Message edited 4/27/2006 3:07:39 PM.

Re: BTDT Moms.. and Moms of 4-5 mth olds..

and

for some sleep!

I started Alex on some oatmeal cereal at her 5:30-6pm-ish feeding. We just do it once a day. I don't give her a TON, but I'm just getting her used to a spoon & she really has fun eating the cereal! She has a 6oz. bottle at that time too. I also like doing it at this time b/c although she's still young, I like that's she's getting used to eating "food" at dinner time, ya know?
...And I know it's an old wive's tale, but it seems to me that when she eats her cereal later in the day, her belly is fuller & she has been sleeping really well (knock on wood).