4Mos Old Starting Rice Cereal

Hello, my now 3 year old was started on rice as well. i noticed a lot of very uncomfortable gas, talked to my mother about it and she said i had the same problem as an infant and to switch to oatmeal as she did with me. no gas problems. i also have a now 8 month old and i started her directly on oatmeal. no major gas problems with her either. hope it helps.

4m is a bit early to start solids, but instead of waiting for a certain age, you should be looking for developmental signs of readiness - sitting up by himself, no tongue-thrust reflex, interest in food, emergence of teeth, etc. Once he's showing those signs, it'll be easier to introduce solids. And at that time, there's no reason to start w/ cereal. Ripe bananas, avocados, and baked yams are all nutrient-rich foods that are easy to prepare (cut into bite-size chunks or mash), and are rarely allergenic.

I find it is best to start any new food during the day, not at night. Than you can watch their reaction during the day and if there is a problem, call your pediatrician.

try giving to baby the ceral mixed with formula (I am assumeing you are feeding with a spoon and not mixing it into a bottle.) in the morning instead of at night. It is good to start new foods for breakfast or lunch, and never right before bed. It isn't good for us to eat before we sleep, it goes to reason that it would be equally as bad for a baby....

we bypassed the rice because we were told that it is a little bit harder on the tummy. we started with the oatmeal cereal and first gave it to him at night before his last bottle. he had a terrible night of sleeping and seemed to be uncomfortable throughout the night. ordinarily, he sleeps very well, the only thing that we had changed was the cereal before bedtime. so we decided to only give him the cereal either in the morning or mid-day, which seemed to work much better and his good sleeping habits resumed. we also didn't give it to him everyday. just a little bit here and there. at 4 mos. the bottle is still all the baby needs, so don't obsess over it either. good luck.

My ped had suggested oatmeal first, but we had the same problem with my first 2. We were very consistent with their new feeding schedule and they got their cereal daily once we started (and this was at 6 months). My third was less interested and quite honestly I was busier (my first 2 are only 2 and 4!) so if I didn't have time, I just didn't fight the cereal battle. So she ended up being introduced to solid foods more slowly. My husband and I joked about "no time today .... we'll feed you tomorrow." By the time she was more interested and would eat without much tricking, her little tummy had gotten used to the solid food very gradually with days off in between for a couple weeks. She was my only one that didn't have a tummy adjustment to the fiber. So maybe giving your little guy a day off will let his tummy process a couple days of cereal and then try again the next day - could do every other day even for a week and see if that helps and then try daily again.

While some babies do fine with cereal as early as 4 months old, normal healthy babies do not have a nutritional need for cereal at this age. So if it is causing your son discomfort, then I'd put it off for another month or so and then try again. Keep in mind that the purpose of solid foods during these early months is really sensory exploration and it should be something you both enjoy so don't stress over it if it isn't working out yet. Good luck!

I would also agree with the others.Use the mylicon it works great & almost instantly. I'd say don't use anything but rice cereal you could try a tsb or 2 in each bottle throughout the day. I use to think doing it in a bottle was just the lazy way of doing it,but boy was i wrong. my peds said ok to rice at 4 months and she did great and at the last bottle before bed i added cereal and she sleep so much better. I would not recommend giving her Oatmeal at all she is still to little and some peds don't even want rice at that age.

If the cereal is giving him gas, he is probably not ready for it. We started my oldest on cereal a little early and he got horrible gas and consitpation, so we quit for a little while. We tried again a few weeks later and he was fine. If the baby's digestive system is not ready for solids, the food is not broken down into useable calories anyway. Basically the solids are empty calories that are doing nothing for him, so why introduce a medicine (with risks and side effects) to combat the empty calories.

Hi K.,
My daughter was the same way when we did that and I used to give her the gasx drops that are for babys and that seem to help out alot. And I would not do oatmeal right yet you just want wait a month to try that. But I would try giving him baby gasx after he eats and see if that helps. Also are you mixing his cereal in his bottels or are you spoon feeding him it? Also they recomend not to give cereal to babys unitl they are 6mos old when they can tolaret at that age.

My little guy had gas from all of the cereals. It has gotten better (he's 5 1/2 months now) as his little body has gotten used to the whole cereal thing. Mylicon sort of helped; we gave it at the end of his cereal meal.

Rice cereal can be binding. If he is having a hard time with bowl movements try switching him to oatmeal. Good luck.

Try giving him the cereal at breakfast or lunch instead.

I agree that it is early to start rice cereal. You might have better luck at 6 months, and avoid having to give her mylocon or any other meds. good luck!

My daughter (now 2) did much better on barley you might give that a try

You don't have to start him on rice cereal yet. It may be giving him constipation. Wsit another month or two till his digestive system is more mature

try a multigrain cereal or oatmeal - if that doesn't work - then gerber makes a "jar" cereal - that is the consistencey of jared baby food - honestly that is the only sort of cereal my kids would eat - they wouldn't eat the box kinds

also - mylecon drops work great - and you can put them into the bottle if they dn't like the taste of them!

hope that helps

S. w

Hi K.,

My advice would be to discontinue the rice cereal. 4 months is a little bit young to be starting solids and his little body may not be ready for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics used to recommend starting solids between 4 and 6 months of age, but they changed their recommendation in the past year. They now recommend starting them at 6 months or older. Babies shouldn't have anything other than breastmilk or formula until they are 6 months of age. Their digestive systems really aren't developed enough before that and it can lead to allergies and digestive problems if you start too early. I would say wait another 2 months and then try again. Also, we are the only country in the world who starts their children on rice cereal as a first food - most start with veges or meats.

J.

Is there a reason he is on cereal at 4 months? I waited to give cereal until 6 months. 4 months is very early. I would stop for a while if it is not a medical reason that he is on cereal and wait. He might not be ready for "soilds" yet.

hi K.! my name's brittany. i'm a birth educator, doula, and breastfeeding counselor. i can understand your concern about your little one's stomach upset! so he is waking up with gas pains and, from what you said, it seems that he is only getting cereal at night, correct? the AAP recommends no solids until 6 months because it is difficult for the baby's system to digest. four months, though it may have been pushed by the pediatrician, is very early. as you mentioned, food allergies can be a result but so can gastrointestinal upset. my suggestion would be to cut out the cereal and wait another month or so before trying again. good luck!
B.

Gas is absolutely one of the side effects of rice cereal. In additon to the gas rice ceral has constipated both of my kids. My youngest is 7mos and I still give it to her but only 1 or 2 times a week and I make sure I now give her pears (or something else that does the opposite) the same day. I would highly reccomend the oatmeal to see what happens and since your son hasn't displayed any signs of food allergies with the rice there's no reason not to try the oatmeal.

Do NOT switch to oatmeal at this age! Oatmeal has wheat in it which is a MAJOR allergen. Wheat products should not be started until AT LEAST 6 months. Use the mylicon it works great & almost instantly. If the mylicon doesn't work for you then consider waiting a little longer on the solid introduction.

K.,
Just from experience rice is very binding and we switched to oatmeal. Mylecon worked well as did working those little legs!
Good luck!

I'm sure there are many schools of thought on this, but i remember my ped. suggesting we wait until 6 months to introduce solids because their digestive tracts are more developed. Just something to think about or look into further. Good luck!