Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

DD will be 5 months next week and I haven't started out of pure laziness.

I am having a hard time trying to figure out when to fit it in. Do you just do once a day at first?

Right now she gets 5 six oz bottles. Sometimes she skips a bottle and if so we give her 8oz before bed. She typically gets bottles at around 630, 10, 130, 5 and 730.

She takes a longer am nap and a longer afternoon nap and catnaps as well.

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

WE did it once a day for the first 3 days, I think.

I'd give it to her in the evening, maybe at her 5 pm bottle?

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

In the beginning they really don't eat much so the prep part will take longer than the eating part In my experience the "first" feeding was maybe a teaspoon or two of cereal, not a bowl. Once DC learns how to eat, and swallow from the spoon it goes a little better.

I started first started giving cereal around dinner time and once they seemed to actually eat it we added a morning serving too.

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

We were told to give him cereal once a day from 4 months to 6 months, which we typically did in the morning. Our ped told us to give him the cereal first or he wouldn't take it after the bottle. We didn't find that was the case!

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

we started cereal about 5 1/2 months.
an hour after 2nd bottle of day. u r supposed to give it after bottle b/c u dont want baby to fill up on cereal! at this age, formula/bm is the most important form of nutrition...

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

We'll be starting in about 2 weeks (5 months). Our ped said to start it in the morning after the first bottle so we had the day to look for any possible reactions. I don't know if he says this to everyone, but I told him I was afraid about food allergies because of my own.

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

Jen I didn't start until after DD was 6 months. We started at night in between BFing. Given your bottle times I would try a bit of cereal @ 6PM. That was she isn't starving and refusing, but not so full that she won't even try it. At her age it's just practice anyway.

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

I actually lied. We started cereal twice a day. At six months we were told to give three meals a day.

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

We have been doing it twice a day. We started by mixing fruit with the cereal. They loved it from the very start.
I try to usually do it in the morning (after a nap) and in the later afternoon, around 5ish.

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

Re: Probably a dumb ? Re: starting cereal

We started 1 TB of rice cereal, which usally meant about 1 oz of formula mixed in. In the very beginning, we did this 2x a day - one hour after his 8am bottle, and one hour after his 6:00 bottle. It was tough b/c we did have to time it just right - not too full, not too hungry or not too tired.

We did this at 4 mos old.

Today he is 5 mos, and we are up to 2 TB of rice cereal, and on our 2nd fruit. We give him the cereal mixed with fruit with the 8am and 6pm bottles now. We pour an 8oz bottle, feed him about 5oz, sit him in the bumbo, and feed him the cereal, fruit mixed with the rest of his baba, and save some to wash it down. So, breakfast and dinner are one big meal. He gets 2 other 7oz bottles in between.

The graduation of this schedule is working for us. He loves it mixed with fruit, but don't start 2 new things on day 1.
I'm trying to move toward mini meals with less formula, so bottles become snacks in between - its gradual.