Starting cereal...pros and cons...

DS is 2 1/2 months and is already taking 6 oz at each feeding. My doctor suggested started cereal at 3 months because of this. He weighed 13lbs 10oz 2 weeks ago so I am assuming by his 3 month checkup he will be about 15 lbs. Her criteria for cereal is usually 15lbs or 6 oz at every feeding.

Any thoughts or opinions on when to start cereal?

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

My son was 16lbs at 10 weeks old, I asked my Dr about cereal and she said not until 4 months. At the time DS was taking almost 7oz per feeding every 3 hours.
She said as long as he is gaining weight and sleeping well, there is no reason to start cereal before then.

ETA: I used to put alittle cereal maybe 1/2-3/4 tsp in his bedtime bottle because he was a spitter upper. But we started spoon feeding at 4 months and it was an easy transition. I dont like the idea of starting too early for lots of reasons, first I think its important to give their little systems time to mature enough to really handle the foods, second when DS started although he didnt get constipated, he did have to work harder for the BM in the beginning and third although I dont know how I feel about the correlation between food allergies and starting foods early, I felt comfortable with the 4 month marker.

Message edited 5/7/2008 10:07:10 AM.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

DD went for her 4 month appt. yesterday...i asked about cereal...he said not till 6 months...he said i COULD start anytime, but hold off if i can...shes sleeping through the night so i figure im not messing with it!

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

My doctor recommends starting at 6 months unless he is really hungry and needs it sooner.

Her main reason is that their immune systems are not fully developed at 4 months, and there is a greater chance of him developing food allergies if he is fed sooner. Since we both have family histories of food allergies, we're trying to wait to give him solids.

Also, his head really isn't so steady yet, so I'm happy to wait until he can really hold it up. I do worry a bit about choking, eventhough the cereal is so mushy.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

I don't kmow if I would start that early.

My DS is a big boy and he was 16lb 4 oz at his 3 month visit. My doc wanted me to wait until 4 months unless he maxed out at 8 oz. per bottle and 40 oz. per day. She didn't want him taking more formula than that. So she told me that if that happened before he hit 4 months to start on cereal. we came close, but he didn't hit 8 oz per bottle until after his 4 month checkup, so we started cereals at 4 months.

I feel like I have to give him solids or else he will just want more and more formula. I also thought he was ready developmentally - he held himself up well, was watching everything we ate and he loved cereal right away and did well with it.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

I was told 6 months and that is what I did

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

I started both my kids at 6 months.

My youngest was 13lbs her her 2 month visit and almost 16lbs at her 4 month. She was drinking 36-40 ounces a day at that time and PED said that was just fine, no need for cereal. Both PED and I agree with the research about starting solids prior to 6 months old.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

the con i was told by my dds old ped when i wanted to start dd on cereal was: "Introducing cereal early can cause the onset of diabetes."

I see alot of babies on here introduce their child to cereal early, so i guess their peds dont think that is true. Either way we waited until 5m b/c i have diabetes in my family, and i was GD.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

The AAP and the WHO both recommend starting solids at 6 months, no earlier. Early introduction of solids, including cereal in the bottle, can lead to diabetes later in life and food allergies. I sometimes wonder if that's why food allergies are so common these days. They also have an open gut until around 6 months of age, so they can't properly digest the food.

I personally started cereal at 5 months.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

We started at 4 months. My ped said that the window is 4-6 months.

Re: Starting cereal...pros and cons...

I am not sure I would start that early. Is he satisfied for 3 hours with the 6 ounces, is he sleeping through the night?