Adding Rice Cereal to Bottle

I know people will say I'm wrong, buy my daughter started with cereal in a bottle very young. It helped her tremendously. I cut a little bigger hole in the top of a nipple so the cereal could come out. Or you could even try spoon feeding it to her, just make it a little runnier than usual. As far as allergiesl, my baby doesn't have any, and she's been on cereal since she was about 5 weeks. The way I see it is, i was was given cereal at a young age and made out just fine. It's totally up to you though!! Good luck!!

My youngest also had reflux. I don't like putting ceral in the bottle and unless the doc tells you to I wouldn't give it to him. The meds didn't help with my baby. I just tried to feed her and keep her sitting up for at least 30 min after a feeding. Now my doc did tell me to feed my kids ceral in a bowl at 6 weeks because they were so hungry they just couldn't eat enough of me. All that helped me get through until she was 1 and was over it. Good luck!

S.

I would check with your baby's doctor prior to adding any type of solids to his diet. Although he may suggest you do just that, add some rice cereal...some would prefer you wait until the baby is older. You may want to ask the ped. if you should change the brand of formula you are using..to something that your baby may tolerate better. I know that there are different types of formula that are just for the baby who has reflux, allergies, etc... Good luck!

Those are my only suggestions. The other mothers out there may have other ideas.

my older daughter was insatiable... she was always always ALWAYS hungry! I know that some people say it's ok, but I've heard and I believe that their stomach's are just too immature for solids until at least 4 months. I know it's tough constantly feeding the baby, but it will pass before you know it! Good luck!!!!!

wow check with the Dr. My guess is they will say no. Adding cereal to a bottle at any age was a big no no with our pediatrician. Good luck

M.,
Your little one sounds like a mommy milk fed baby. Always hungry ... it's in their design. But given the chemical nature of formula he definitely should be feeding less often. It is also possible he's overfed and very uncomfortable.

Proper burping is KEY to both the spitting and the feeling full. Work on burping your little man half way through the bottle and then again after he's finished. Have your Pediatrician show you the best ways to do this.

At 7 weeks old, I would have to say that the possibility of reflux as opposed to the even stronger possibility of a gastrointestinal discomfort caused by the formula itself is pretty slim. And as one posted mentioned babies are not designed to digest anything but the real deal or formula until they are at least 4 months old, minimum. So cereal is always a bad idea, and I'm shocked that it's so often prescribed by their Dr's along with the meds for reflux.

I would say start with the burping, make sure the nipple on the bottle is the right flow for your little one and go from there. <http://www.aventamerica.com/pdf/pdf/flow_rate_chart_rev5....;

Wishing you the best!

Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

Do NOT do that. At 7 weeks old your baby should still be taking a bottle every two to three hours anyway. You should never put cereal in a bottle. If you start giving your child cereal too early you could run into problems with allergies later on...talk to your doctor again. Maybe you need to switch formulas. I had to do that with each of my children at least twice before we found a formula that worked well for them. Hang in there, with patience and determination everything will work out. Make sure you are taking care of yourself as well. Try to make sure that you are getting plenty of good food and rest. That will help you both in the long run as well!! Best wishes.

My now 10 mo had reflux when she was little also. Well reflux and colic, anyway we tried zantac- didnt do a bit of good, so we switched her formula to soy(our decision) which helped the crying and also added some rice cereal to her bottles (althought I dont think she was that young) You really just have to be careful because of the choking hazard it poses. It did help keep formula down for my little girl- but we still had to make sure we burped her frequently and tried to feed her in the more upright position and kept her that way for a while after feeding. It was a nightmare!! My 6 year old was an angel when she was a baby- and I thought I was gonna go nuts when this little girl cried all the time, harldy slept, and was hungry all the time. I think it was kind of the Drs fault at first because he didnt think she had reflux- just colic-but gas drops didnt help-nothing helped- I just could tell it was something more for the discomfort she was having. She pretty much was held for the first 3 months of her life- the only sanity we got was when we were rocking her. The doctors may tell you not to do something- but you are a mother and you should be confident in your ability to make the right decisions for your child to help make them be more comfortable and thrive!! I wish I had found this website when I had just had my little penut!! Good luck- I hope this helps- probably knowing you are not the only one out there with this problem helps!!

Hi M.

My advice about the cereal is to check with your doctor first. Other than that I feel for you with the crying and sleep deprivation but 7 weeks is still so new that he probably needs to eat that often. Get the reflux under control ( with the pediatrician) and then you may see some sleep improvement. My DD is now 6 months old and didn't have reflux but had colic, let me tell you about screaming, yikes. It is so hard, maybe you could get a family member to come over once in a while for a few hours so you can get a nap in.
Good luck!