My doctor told me to put rice cereal in my 6 week old daughters bottle to help her so she dont spit up and so that she will sleep longer...He said it was ok if her tummy could handle it......Im just curious if anyone else has been told to do this or has done it and what results you had....There is also a girl down the road with a child 4 days oldder then my daughter..and she is giving him cereal and baby food like peaches and pears..is that safe?

I have read that feeding your baby rice cereal or any solid foods that early can have a number of bad consequences. It puts your baby at greater risks for diabetes, food alergies and obesity. My child only recieved breast milk until he was four months old and slept very well through the night. My stepsister has a child the same age and fed him cereal at an early age. It didn't help him sleep through the night, it only made him fat.

Both my children recieved a little cereal in their bottles at about 6-8 weeks old. What I have found is that it made them better eaters (at least till about 16mo cuz then they are in the no eating phase) It is all in how much you put in there. I only put in half of a formula cup ( the little cups in formula cans). And it never bothered my children.
As for the peaches and pears I held off until they were three months old. And again they both took to it like a fish to water. The trick is to try it for a few days and closly watch your daughters reaction to it. If she spits it back up or she seems irritaded by it stop and try again in a few weeks. As for the obesity factor, that all relies on WHAT you feed you kids not WHEN. My daghter(19mo) is at 50% weight on her chart and my son(almost 3) is actually 42%, under average. So I personnally can say my children didn't get fat due to feeding them early.
They slept good through the night and it helped the tummy's learn to digest more solid foods.
Try it and determine for your self. She won't choke and die and get fat if you try it for a few days. And listen to your instinct if something is telling you not to do it then don't. Drs. usually tell you that because babies are physically able at that point but you don't HAVE to if you don't want to.
Good luck

I sure hope that this works for your daughter. I just sent you an email so I am going to close for now. Take care and hope to hear from you soon!

My youngest niece had a problem with acid reflux. She would spit up everything she ate and was not gaining any weight. She was in pain and crying all the time. Her doctor told my sister to start adding rice to her bottles. She has improved greatly. Is there a reason ur dr told u to or that is just his belief of when to start? If there was a reason then it's probably best to follow, if that is when he thinks it is best, then it's ur decision. HTH!

Cereal that young IS NOT reccomended until at least 4-6 months. I am surprised your doctor is suggesting this. That is really old school thinking. Read ANYTHING current and you will find what I am saying is true. Nothing other than breastmilk or formula for the first 4-6 months.

Actually it is considered standard practice to thicken formula with rice cereal for chidlren with acid reflux. For some children it works well for others it does not and in some may even cause more problems. If your doctor has given his approval you can try it but if it does not work and the spit -up appears to be causing your child pain or has other problems like refusing to eat, not sleeping well talk to your doctor about other things you can do for reflux. For example elevating the head of his crib for better sleeping, have him sit 30 degrees upright after feeding, trying different formulas and for more severe cases medication may help.

You shouldn't give the cereal to your baby through a bottle. Sit her up in a chair (like a Bouncy seat) and feed it to her on a spoon. Make sure it is really soupy so that she doesn't choke. The reason you shouldn't give it to her through a bottle is b/c she will eat too much that way and thus making it pointless for you to give it to her anyways. I started giving my daughter cereal when she was 5 weeks old. I gave it to her b/c she was always so hungry. I started giving it to her at night to help her sleep, but when i started school, it was more convenient to give it to her in the morning and she still sleeps through the night. She could sleep up to twelve hours if I would let her. I don't know much about the acid refulx or the spitting up part and cereal helping that, but you should definitely give it to her on a sppoon instead of a bottle, plus the nipple will most likely get clogged and then she will get very frustrated and mad!

Oh and I forgot, My daughter is Four months old and perfect height (24 inches, average) and 12 lbs 12oz(under average), so I don't think that it makes babies fat either.

There is no need AT ALL to give you baby, who is under 4 months, solid food!!!!! They do not need it. Maybe if your child has acid reflux, but there is a big difference between acid reflux and spitting up a lot. Breastmilk or formula is designed to meet all your baby's nutritional needs. And it doesn't just make them fat, it can cause Type 2 diabetes and food alergies. Their digestive system is not yet ready for solid foods. That is why God made milk in your breasts! Any current magazine or writings by physicians will tell you that, it's not like I'm making it up.

beyond magazines and articles and all that, i took what my dr told me and did with it what was best for me. which was no solids until 4-6mns, best to breastfeed exclusively until then, adding formula after that. well, with my first dd, i started her on cereal between 7- 8 months, and before that, she had formula every now and then when i couldnt get to a spot to breast feed. always had a bottle handy just in case while we were out. she is a petite little girl, she is just over 35inches, and somewhere around 27lbs, she is 2 1/2. now as for my second dd. she is now just 5 months, she has had formula only once, she doesnt like it. and i have already started her on cereal, once a day just before bed. she was already sleeping through the night, but for a few nights in a row she was waking up for an extra feeding, that is why i started her on the cereal. she is around 26inches or so, and about, by now, close to 16lbs.
now the articles all say certain things and you can find articles upon articles and some even contradict each other. what you have to do is find what is best for you and your baby, if you are finding that your baby is hungry a lot more then ask your dr first if introducing cereals at an earlier time would hurt or do anything down the road that would make life a little more difficult for him/her. otherwise wait, put up with the extra feedings and just wait till the appropriate time.
bethany
jmo.

My daughter is 2 months old today and I have been putting rice cereal in her bottles since she was six weeks old because she threw up so much and she wouldn't sleep through the night and she is doing exceptionally well. She doesn't spit up as much and she is sleeps like a champ so that I can be well rested and able to get up in the morning and go to work.

My baby's doctor just told me to start feeding my daughter oatmeal cereal at her first (1 month) well-visit. I give her a small amount everyday and i water it down with formula. I was told not to put it in her bottle so i just feed it to her. She is tolerating it very good and she seems to be liking it. It definitely helped my daughter sleep better. She had her days and nights mixed up and know she sleeps a good 5 hours straight at night before waking up for a feeding. It has helped us be able to get more sleep.