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Question:

Wow! Denise, you give terrific non-judgmental replies which also include excellent information and advice! With people like you in these groups, they actually have hope!! I post my questions directly to you next time!! Thanks!! Kristina Mommy to Aidyn Lea 1 year

Response:

     Why does it seem so important for family members to feed a kid when the Dr. suggests not to. Have the courage to wait. My first 7lb 6oz baby was fed at 6 wks. Lots of problems. The next 9lb 2oz and the last 8lb 7oz wasn’t on cereal until 4mths. No problems and healthy happy kids.My family acted like I was starving them. Size doesn’t matter. Listen to your Dr. You need to do the best for the baby, not satisfy the family. It’s not easy but eventually they leave you alone.      Good luck, you’re on the right track.                           mainmom

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>My baby was 9.3 at birth and nurses or gets formula very frequently.   I >wish i had the guts to give her some cereal, but my pediatrician >recommends waiting 4 months.  she said starting any sooner could cause her >to have gas pains, cramping, or develop allergies.  Did your kids have any >of the above reactions? >What did your ped. say?  My mom & aunt would love for me to give her some >cereal! >Bree

My kids were 8.3, 8.12, 8.8, and 7.6 at birth.  And I had a hard time with my MIL who not only wanted me to give them cereal at 3 WEEKS but also would try and feed them the homemade formula she had given her son (my hubs).  And I was breastfeeding.  She didn’t do this to sabatage me, but because that’s what she had been told when her kids were born in the 40’s & 50’s. My oldest daughter (the 8.12) actually had projectile vomiting (we called it "spitting up for distance") after drinking formula, so she was exclusively breastfed until she was 6 mos. old.  She was briefly sensitive to strawberries around age 2, but is no longer, and is only sensitive to bologna–which she can live without.  She also developed asthma at age 9. She’s almost 11 now. You didn’t say how old your baby is, but they do go through growth spurts at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks.  If you are nursing them, they want to nurse every 2 hours.  Those were the days where I fed the baby, changed the baby, put the baby down for a nap, got myself something to eat, then fed the baby again.  If my hubs came home from work and Sesame Street was on and I was asleep in the rocking chair, he learned not to ask, "What did you DO all day today?"  He’d just go into the kitchen and start dinner! The growth spurts are shortlived and you and your baby will be much happier if you wait until 4 months before giving solids.  It just feels like forever now!  Take care of yourself (the house will wait), drink plenty of fluids, eat good foods, and have your mom and aunt do "fun" things like give the baby a bath.  Learn some noncommital replies for those times they offer advice that you don’t particularly want to follow. (Such as , "Oh?"  "Really?"  "Hmm, I’ll think about that.")  Take your baby for a walk in a "Snugli" or a stroller–variety and fresh air can help stretch the time between feedings and you won’t feel so housebound.   Hope this helps, Denise

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My baby was 9.3 at birth and nurses or gets formula very frequently.   I wish i had the guts to give her some cereal, but my pediatrician recommends waiting 4 months.  she said starting any sooner could cause her to have gas pains, cramping, or develop allergies.  Did your kids have any of the above reactions? What did your ped. say?  My mom & aunt would love for me to give her some cereal! Bree

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> Hi- > I have a four week old little boy and I’ve heard of people giving their > three week olds cereal at night in the hopes that they may sleep longer. > I’m wondering if anyone else has heard of this and what their experience > has been with it.  I’ve heard of people putting the cereal in the bottle > or actually trying it on a spoon.  Any comments would be appreciated… > Thanks- > Kari

There are a few points I would like add to this discussion. "Ask your doctor" – As a family physician, I had little to no teaching on the proper ways to add solids to a baby’s diet. And I suspect the same is true for most pediatrician. It’s just not something covered in medical school or residency. So much of what your doctor tells you is from personal experience, "common sense" (which often times turns out not to be right), or from other unproven sources. "Studies show" – I have seen very few studies that address the feeding issues. I read one that found added solids didn’t help infants sleep through the night. There have been some that showed adding solids too soon may increase the risk of allergies and increase the risk of obesity. Some foods interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients, such as iron. "My baby’s experience" – Basing decisions on anecdotal information is not always a good thing to do. One person’s experience has very little to do with the experience of others. You can find children who did well with all sorts of feeding histories, but that doesn’t mean it will work for most babies. What I recommend – Breast feed as long as possible. If that’s not for you, then use a commercial formula. Schedule or no schedule is a matter of personal preference and lifestyle, babies do well either way. Hold off on solids as long as possible. Most babies don’t need them – it’s really the parents or grandparents who have a need for the baby to start on solids. I recommend waiting until the baby has developed to the point where he or she can indicate that he or she has had enough to eat and doesn’t want any more. If you stuff food into a baby’s mouth, the baby will swallow it even if full. Always give breastmilk or formula first. Lastly, remember that once you introduce solids, particularly if the baby is breast fed, the bowel movements will change – they become larger and smellier! These are my views only. Parents have to make their own decisions. Rich Sagall, M.D. — Editor and Publisher of Interesting! and Pediatrics for Parents-Write for info                    

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It also depends on the size of the baby.  My son was 10 pounds and 23 inches at birth.  Needless to say, NOTHING could satisfy him.  He started cereals at one week.  Yes, one week.  As did my 9 pound 21 inch daughter.  They are both good eaters (they love salads).  Depends on the kid. Sharon

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>>Babies shouldn’t get solids at that age.  It doesn’t help them sleep >through the night.  I have heard that it (Giving solids before 6 >months) can lead to a lot of problems lateron in life,

Exactly what types of problems?  I ate cereal at 5 weeks and I am now 35–NO problems.  Please don’t scare new moms and dad with undocumented "rumors".  They have a tough time as it is. Mom to Michael (7/25/96)  11 months now and 28 lbs. My back aches constantly

Response:

>>My son started solids at 12 months, never had cereal or formula.  We >decided to wait until he could digest food before we fed it to him.

12 months–I think that is a bit extreme.  Most peds recommend solid food after 6 months–even if the child is breast fed. Mom to Michael (7/25/96)  11 months now and 28 lbs. My back aches constantly

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> >>Babies shouldn’t get solids at that age.  It doesn’t help them sleep >>through the night.  I have heard that it (Giving solids before 6 >>months) can lead to a lot of problems lateron in life, > Exactly what types of problems?  I ate cereal at 5 weeks and I am now > 35–NO problems.  Please don’t scare new moms and dad with undocumented > "rumors".  They have a tough time as it is.

Actually, it’s hardly an undocumented rumor.  30 some odd years ago, we didn’t know what we know now.  But more and more studies are bearing out the same results–starting solids of any kind (even the fairly innocuous rice cereal) can (and often does) raise a child’s risk of developing alergies, excema, intestinal bleeds, and malnourishment.  A baby’s digestive tract is not equipped to digest anything other than breastmilk (formula isn’t even as easily digetsted) until 4 months at the earliest in nearly every case.  Feeding cereal before they are physically ready for it merely fills their stomach with indigestible lumps, taking up space which could and should be utilized for the calories and nutrients the child can use found in breastmilk (or formula).  Just because "I did it and I was (or my kids were) fine" is not an excuse.  After all, hardly any of us rode in carseats.  Most of us slept in unsafe cribs and spent time in walkers.  Now we know better.  A baby will give you one huge indication that he or she is ready for solids–the tongue-thrust reflex disappears.  When a baby is ready to be given solids (even soupy cereal) you will notice that if you a put a bite *on an spoon* into the babies mouth, it won’t (after the first few bites) get automatically pushed bak out.  If you must sneak it to the baby in a bottle, the baby *isn’t ready for solids*.                           Phan

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>Hi- >I have a four week old little boy and I’ve heard of people giving their >three week olds cereal at night in the hopes that they may sleep longer. >I’m wondering if anyone else has heard of this and what their experience >has been with it.  I’ve heard of people putting the cereal in the bottle >or actually trying it on a spoon.  Any comments would be appreciated… >Thanks- >Kari

Kari ask your childs MD.. I tried this with my 2nd child at 2 mos.  and she wound up crying all night with the cereal bottle.  I held off a bit then introduced small tsb’s of rice when she was just shy of 4 months.. she had been sleeping well since 6 weeks. If you haven’t already done this make bed time a ritual routine and maybe your baby will fall into the habit.  [bath/cuddle time then a feeding] Its always best to go by what your doc. believes is best for your baby. You hear so many contradicting things.  Good luck. kelly

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My son started solids at 12 months, never had cereal or formula.  We decided to wait until he could digest food before we fed it to him. Anne

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>Hi- >I have a four week old little boy and I’ve heard of people giving their >three week olds cereal at night in the hopes that they may sleep longer. >I’m wondering if anyone else has heard of this and what their experience >has been with it.  I’ve heard of people putting the cereal in the bottle >or actually trying it on a spoon.  Any comments would be appreciated…

Babies shouldn’t get solids at that age.  It doesn’t help them sleep through the night.  I have heard that it (Giving solids before 6 months) can lead to a lot of problems lateron in life,  I don’t know > where I read this.   Heather

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi- > I have a four week old little boy and I’ve heard of people giving their > three week olds cereal at night in the hopes that they may sleep longer. > I’m wondering if anyone else has heard of this and what their experience > has been with it.  I’ve heard of people putting the cereal in the bottle > or actually trying it on a spoon.  Any comments would be appreciated… > Thanks- > Kari > Kari: > Breastmilk or formula is all your new baby needs for at least the first > 4 months of life.  All my boys were nursed and I introduced cereal at 4 > months of age with no problems.  I know mothers who introduced cereal > earlier and it did terrible things to their stomachs.  They aren’t old > enough to digest the cereal properly.  I would wait if I were you.  If > you are still not sure, talk to your pediatrician and I’m sure he will > give you the same advice.  Good luck. > Karen

Kari, I’m sure you’re exhausted and would like your little boy to sleep longer through the night, I know I did at that point, but four weeks may be a bit young to introduce the cereal in the bottle.  I don’t really totally agree with Karen’s statement that you wait at least four months though. Personally, I started putting a bit of cereal in my daughter’s bottle when she was about eight weeks old, and I had no problems as long as I used a rice cereal rather than a mixed or wheat-based cereal.  When I did use a mixed type, my daughter did get a bit constipated, and when I called her pediatrician she said that there was no problem adding the cereal, in fact she said that it would fill her tummy and she’d sleep better, but that I should only use a rice kind, as it is much lighter and more easily digested.  Maybe if you could hold out for a couple of weeks, it might make the transition easier. Good luck! Nicole Discher

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>We started my son on cereal at 6 weeks.  The ped said to make him eat it >from a spoon, not a bottle or one of the food nursers.  We had no problems >at all.  We started out making the cereal really, really thin.  As he got >older we thickened it up.  Now he is a VERY healthy 11 month old.   >I don’t know about the sleeping through the night because we were very >lucky, Michael slept through the night at 2 weeks.

I think that there is a difference between giving a child cereal very early just to get him/her to sleep through the night, vs. giving it because the child cannot get full otherwise.  l.f.

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<<I have a four week old little boy and I’ve heard of people giving their three week olds cereal at night in the hopes that they may sleep longer. I’m wondering if anyone else has heard of this and what their experience has been with it.  I’ve heard of people putting the cereal in the bottle or actually trying it on a spoon.  Any comments would be appreciated… Thanks- Kari >> I gave both my sons cereal at about 10-12 weeks of age.  I used the spoon and put it in their bottles.  I would check with your doctor and see what he/she has to say…   Good luck, Jen mom to Tyler 4 years old and Conner 16 mos

Response:

>>I have a four week old little boy and I’ve heard of people giving their >three week olds cereal at night in the hopes that they may sleep longer. >I’m wondering if anyone else has heard of this and what their experience >has been with it.  I’ve heard of people putting the cereal in the bottle >or actually trying it on a spoon.  Any comments would be appreciated…

We started my son on cereal at 6 weeks.  The ped said to make him eat it from a spoon, not a bottle or one of the food nursers.  We had no problems at all.  We started out making the cereal really, really thin.  As he got older we thickened it up.  Now he is a VERY healthy 11 month old.   I don’t know about the sleeping through the night because we were very lucky, Michael slept through the night at 2 weeks. Mom to Michael (7/25/96)  11 months now and 28 lbs. My back aches constantly

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