3Month Old Not Getting Satisfied with Breastmilk??

T.,

Give her a teaspoon of rice cereal mixed with breastmilk, but feed it to her with a SPOON! Feeding cereal through a nipple can cause aspiration, so please don't put it in a bottle.

Peace,
C.

Mama, PLEASE do not give cereal to a 3 month old and NEVER in a bottle. This is old advice that is NOT supported by the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, La Leche League, nor any pediatrician with up to date training.

Your child is going through a growth spurt, and she needs to nurse on demand in order to make your supply meet her demand. If you allow her to eat when she wakes (and any other time) she can help your body make the milk she needs. The waking will decrease eventually. Also, many babies about 4 months old start really noticing the world around them at that age and eat a little less for it. So they start waking more at night. Perfectly normal.

Most breastfed babies do not sleep through the night before 6 months old (and many not even then). Some do. It should not be concerning. But starting solids (even just a tiny bit of cereal) this early is not good for their immature digestive systems. This is a great page to read about signs to look for before starting solids. http://kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

If baby is waking, nurse her. She'll go right back to sleep with a full tummy. It's also considered a myth that cereal helps babies sleep longer.

Only you can decide what is best for your family, but cereal in a bottle at 3 months old is not a good idea. The only time cereal in a bottle is recommended by (good) pediatricians is SOMETIMES in the event of Infant GERD or severe reflux and even up to date pedis are not recommending this anymore.

Growth spurts usually occur at 3, 6 and 9 weeks and then again at 3, 6 and 9 months. Nursing through them is key!

good luck, mama. your milk should adjust soon if you nurse her through her spurt, and then perhaps you'll sleep some more!

I agree with the advice to *not* give cereal and to just nurse more to increase milk. 3 months is, as a poster mentioned, growth spurt time, and she likely just needs to train your body to keep up with her new needs.

I agree with the other moms who have said this is a growth spurt and you are going to have to nurse through it. I would not recommend cereal for a baby this age. Wait until much closer to 6 months (or talk to your pediatrician, but I doubt they would recommend it at this age). Good luck to you. Your milk supply should adjust in a few days. Hope you get some sleep again soon!

Okay. Firstly anything you do is your decision but I would never give a 3 month old any cereal no matter how smaller amount. In fact most Pediatricians say you should only give milk (either formula or breast) for the first 6 months. Otherwise children have the potential to develop allergies. Secondly when breast fed children have growth spurts they often feed more often. It is natures way of increasing your milk supply. Sometimes this will go on for a couple of days and then they settle back down to feeding less again. If this doesn't happen I would recommend contacting a lactation center as they can give you come help and ideas. Their service is free so you just need to get yourself over there. I used the one at North Central Baptist and they were great but I believe methodist hospital also have one. Feeding needs change as a baby gets older but it is always good to talk to a professional. I breastfed both my kids to 1 year and there are always going to be questions that you have.
Hope this helps.
S.

She is most likely going through a growth spurt. This happened with my daughter at around 3 months also. Your body will produce more milk as more is demanded of it, so you just need to nurse more until your body catches up. If you add formula or cereal, your body won't be triggered to produce more milk. In a week or two, everything should even out. Good luck!

1) Latch issues or supply issues- Is she happy when she eats during the day? My first three couldn't latch on properly so they didn't get enough milk and they were NOT happy after eating. They cried a lot and didn't pee enough and weren't pooping. They obviously needed supplementation (if this is the case one should always consult a lactation consultant. I did and I was doing everything right, it was an issue with mine being preemies and one was tongue tied so she never was able to nurse.)

2) growth spurts- My fourth (full term) was happy after nursing and having appropriate diaper changes. When she went through growth spurts she nursed more frequently and it took a week or so of nursing more frequently to build up my milk supply where she needed it to be. She never had an once of formula and weaned herself at 15 months.

3)cereal- my oldest two had reflux and the dr told me to give them cereal with every feeding. When my third had reflux the dr told me that they were no longer suggesting this because it was causing allergies and diabetes. He said that a breastfed baby should not have cereal until after 6 months and a formula fed baby shouldn't have it until they are AT LEAST 4 months, but it's better to wait longer.

For any breastfeeding questions, a great website is www.kellymom.com

Definitely do not give her cereal. Babies really shouldn't have any solid food until they are 6 months of age. Three months is a known growth spurt age. Unfortunately, this is what makes being a mother so hard; just when you think they are sleeping well, something changes.

Sorry to hear about your daughter's sleep troubles, and obviously they impact you, too!! Question: are you nursing her to sleep, or is she awake but drowsy when you lay her in her crib?

I, too, was pressured to start cereal when my baby's sleep habits changed around 3 months. I didn't start that early, but finally caved in at around 4.5 months. However, in looking back now, and in talking to other friends who went through similar sleep troubles at 3 months, it seems to me that this is an age where sleep changes happen. My baby, who was until that point content to be rocked and nursed to sleep and then put to bed for 4 to sometimes 7 hours was unable to stay asleep and/or re-settle himself in the middle of the night and so woke up to nurse/fall asleep again. Starting cereal at 4.5 months probably didn't do any harm, but it absolutely didn't solve the problem either. I could have fed him steak and potatoes right before bedtime and then nursed him to sleep and I guarantee he still would have woken up screaming to be nursed. It was a SLEEP problem, not a hunger problem. It was the need for comfort and soothing when he got to those "light sleep" phases in the night.

Who knows? Maybe your baby truly does need more breastmilk, but I certainly wouldn't look toward cereal as the magical answer. If the troubles continue even with increased nursing throughout the day, you may need to look into some dreaded sleep training to let her learn to re-settle herself in the night. Good luck and hang in there! Don't you wish these little people came with instruction manuals?! :)

Welcome to another growth spurt!!!! This is the right time for one to occur. Don't give up---it will get better, probably will take a couple of days to a week. We just went thru one ourselves, and it sucks, but it resolves itself. try to rest...if it's any consolation, the next one won't happen until around 6 months !

growing spurts will make them nurse more and she may have hit one it will not last long

You may want to consult your pediatrician about how much to give. When my son was starting on cereal, my pediatrician told me to never put cereal in a bottle. When the little ones get full, then they will only associate getting full from a bottle. Mix the cereal in a small bowl and feed by spoon. The babies will then get used to the texture more on the tongue and get used to being fed from a spoon.

Before I give you advice, let me say that I am a Registered Nurse and a mother. I am very aware that doctors and WHO and many more do not recommend feeding baby cereals at that age; however I do not agree that every child fits in a box. Doctors are not Gods. Every child is different. My child would have starved to death if I did not start her on rice cereal (at 3 weeks old). 2 tablespoons mixed with your breast milk, water, or formula fed by spoon will satisfy your child and she will sleep again. Who can sleep if they are hungry? No one. I fed my daughter rice cereal at 3 weeks old because she wanted to breast feed constantly and would cry if I did not do it, then she just cried non stop and could not sleep, once I feed her the cereal she was so happy and satisfied and could finally sleep again. She does not have any allergies at all and no digestive problems, she is in fact extremely healthy and happy. (I also bought the fast flow nipples and would put the cereal in her bottles, you just have to get the consistentcy right for her to be able to drink it and not choke on it)
I really hope this helps. Please do not think that your child has to fit in a box of norms set forth by WHO or doctors or anyone else. Each child is unique, do what is best for your baby, feed her if she needs it.

Honestly, she's probably going through a growth spurt and it is all a part of helping increase your milk supply. If you are wanting to continue bf'ing for some time to come I would deffinately suggest just letting it play out. It's probably just a phase that she will be through in the next week or so. Every couple of months my son would do the exact same thing when he was a babe. When he was 3 months he would sleep from 5-8 hours a night and every 2 months or so he would wake up every 2-3 hours to eat and we would be over it in about a week when my body finally caught up with his growing appetite. GOOD LUCK!

I also wouldn't recommend cereal in a bottle as it could be a choking hazard. When she gets a little older you could try a feeding bottle, it's specially made for cereal and baby food.

Also you may want to try tandem pumping to help your milk production. It's true that babies and toddlers go through growth spurts every 7-9 weeks. Tandem pumping is when you pump one side while breastfeeding on the other. If you don't already you may want to pump the opposite side immediately after feedings to keep the milk production up.

I'm sure it's just a phase!

I read how everyone is against cereal in a bottle or at that age, but I will just say I did give my daughter oatmeal cereal in her bottle when she was about 4 months. She is 18 months now and healthy and beautiful. I actually got a fork and pushed one of the prongs into the nipple to open it up more to allow more formula/cereal to flow from the bottle. I mixed the oatmeal with the formula until it was thick but could still move easily if I turned the bottle. I fed her this before bed so that she could have a full tummy. She loved it and gulped it down. I am also a first time mommy and all I can tell you is to do what you are comfortable with-it is your baby. No doubt the other mommies know way more scientific information on this than I do. I got this advice from a mommy of 4 and all her kids are healthy as well. Good luck and hope you get to get some rest!

pedis suggest you dont give your kid any cereral till 5 or six months. we did try to give our son some cereral in his milk ( at 3 months ) but it had no effect. when he seemed hungery we uped his formula amount an ounce at a time.( i never produced enough breast milk) can you pump to see how much milk your actually producing? try one table spoon first you dont want it too thick that she choaks, also be sure the cereral can flow threw the nipple hole otherwise it will make her mad not to be able to get anything! good luck.

Growing pains. Every time my son grew we didn't sleep good. As for the cereal I would try a little in the morning while you are with your baby to make sure there are no reactions. My son ended up going on oatmeal because rice made him gassy.

I would say 2 tbsp would be fine. Your baby will on take what she can handle.

FYI the bm will change with cereal added to the diet. Thicker. Watching what comes of the baby seems to be a past time of parents.

I think there could be 2 things going on and neither of which would I respond with giving cereal. 3 months is too young for that. 1 is that she could be going through a growth spurt which is common at 3 months, so you just feed her more (especially during the day). 2 is that you aren't making enough milk. You could check your production by pumping, but remember the baby can always get out at least 1 extra ounce from each side than the pump can. Do you wake her from naps during the day, so that she is feeding at least every 3-3.5 hours? If she doesn't get the calories during the day, she'll want them at night. I would also call the store, Special Addition and ask them some of your questions, knowing that they will tell you not to do the cereal. Also, the book, The Baby Whisperer (or the web site) is a good resource. Good luck and congratulations on making it to 3 months. I bet you are closer than you realize to sleeping through!

Your daughter may be having a growth spurt and needs more milk more often. I did not give my daughter cereal until she was 5 months. She was a big baby. I was nursing all the time by the time she was 5 months. I am not so sure her stomach can handle cereal at 3 months. I hope you get your rest. Enjoy those moments during the night. This time will go by fast. Have a great day.

Sounds like a normal growth spurt. Give her a week and it will pass. In the mean time, let her nurse on demand.