Adding Cereal

I would not recommend it. That advice out dated advice and a lot of things that used to be done are not done any more. If he seems like he is starving I bet he really is just hungry. At that age they just grow so fast and that takes a lot of calories. I would up his bottles to 6oz or an extra(s) 4 oz bottles. I promise he won't be constantly hungry like this forever.

Not at 6 weeks. He doesn't have the muscle control to learn to swallow it from a spoon and putting it in his bottle is a choking hazard unless specifically recommended by a doctor for reflux.
Please, before you do this, talk to your pediatrician!!

No, it is not safe or a good idea to add cereal to a bottle at all. It's especially not good at that age.
Growth spurts are common in babies, especially at 6 weeks. He may be eating more because he is genuinely hungry and needs those extra calories in order to grow. Growth is rapid at this age.

Increase the ounces per bottle! Feed him. He is hungry.

Hi D. :)

It sounds like he's hit a growth spurt. My babies all did around 6 weeks. My sister had warned me about it and I knew that they were just really hungry. Mine acted starving (and fussy) too.

I breastfed and it always took a couple of days for my milk supply to adjust to the increase in demand. But if you're feeding with formula, I would just try upping the milk to 6 oz or whatever he needs.

Because I breastfed, I never gave mine cereal in their bottles. So I can't advise on that. The information I was given when I had my babies was solids at 4-6 months, and by my last baby, they had changed it to at 6 months.. I think it depends who you talk to. Check with your pediatrician next visit to see what they have to say. They would be able to best advise you.

I would start with upping the formula first and see if that helps.

Good luck :)

MandA M is correct that there are specific reasons why certain babies should have rice cereal (my son was one of them), but unless a doctor or other medical professional has a specific reason why your baby should have rice cereal I would not give it to him.

If he is hungry, give him more formula. He might need to eat more often. He might need to eat more at a feeding. Let him decide.

It's good to know how much he usually eats at a feeding and how often he eats so that you can tell a sitter what to expect. But it is not a measuring stick. It's not a good idea to compare or think that he's eating too much. When he's hungry, feed him. When he's done, he's done. Let him decide.

Why not just increase from 4 oz to 5 or 6? Long as you get a burp halfway through, should be fine. I never used cereal honestly (not that I think there's anything wrong with it, just seemed like an unnecessary fuss and expense for empty calories), only breastmilk until they starting mooching what we were eating, then basically gave them a mushed up version of it. I guess that was between 3-5 months.

:)

he's way too young for cereal. let him eat more if he's hungry.
but just breast milk or formula.
ETA, unless your baby is a preemie in the NICU, and has reflux, and you're a pediatric nurse (which i gather you're not or you wouldn't be here asking this) please don't take what's done for specific high-risk babies under specific highly-controlled conditions for your own playbook.
just feed your baby until he's not hungry.
khairete
S.

Cereal is gunk that goes in his stomach and sits there to rot because he isn't old enough to digest it.

He's HUNGRY! Cereal has NO NUTRITION, it's goo to teach your baby how to chew and swallow solid food.

Formula and breast milk has 100% of what he needs. He need you to feed him as much as he wants. He cries when he's hungry so he uses a ton of energy so he eats more then he spits it up because his tummy got overfull.

So feed him numerous times per day smaller amounts and he'll keep it down and get enough.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/growth/gro...

This article says a month old infant should be feeding 8-12 times per day and eating about 5 ounces per time. According to what you're feeding your child he's only getting about half the food he needs.

Please feed your baby the formula he needs. You're not giving him enough food.

He should be at least 6 months old before you give him any cereal and please remember. Formula is 100% nutrition, cereal and baby food is flavored gunk that has NO NUTRITION in it. It's goo that has no nutrition and it sits in his tummy and he feels full but he gets no nutrition so he's hungry again in a bit. He gets fat from all the empty calories he's eating over and over and over but he's starving inside.

It is way too soon but you could always call the nurses line at your pediatrician office to confirm.

FYI...my kids were fed breast milk exclusively until 1 year old. Then they went straight to table food.

Yes it's safe. (Before anyone here says that his digestive system can't handle it...ground up cereal is the first thing NICU nurses give to newborns with reflux...)
1-2 tsp in his bottle may help. It needs to be fine enough to get through the nipple. I used to put some in a baggie and use my fingers to crush it so that it would flow. (Another trick I learned from a NICU nurse.)

Give it a try. Or, try going up to 8oz bottles. See if he'll take more in a feeding.

I would not.
I breast fed our son till my milk dried up after I went back to work and from 5 months on to just about 1 yr old he was fine on formula.
He was slow to take to solid foods - and that was fine!
Formula is easiest for him to digest (besides breast milk).
Talk to your doctor about it but when our son was that young the recommendation was no solids till at least 6 months and even then there was no reason to rush it.

do not add cereal. is he a normal size baby 6 or 7 pounds at birth.. he should be doing ok on htat much milk.. but you might need to go up to 5 oz per feeding.. he is not ready for food yet..

sometimes they act like they are starving and really they just want a pacifier and then they are happy.

Hi D.,

I wouldn't add cereal yet, maybe when he's about 5 or 6 months. Sounds like he's having a growth spurt...just wait 'til he hits those double digits- LOL.
anyways, maybe try giving him more formula...either another bottle or two or start to introduce the 8oz bottles

Good luck

Way too soon for cereal. He probably going through a growth spurt, just increase his bottles or the number of nursing session.

Increase his bottles to 5 or 6 oz or if he is hungry, feed him every 3 hours rather than every 4. We fed DS on demand and he ate every 3 hours. And yes, they consume an IMMENSE number of calories.

odd mom out here.
both my sons were on cereal...on the pediatricians' recommendation by 4 weeks. Both were big eaters. Both thrived, without excess weight gain.

They are now 18 & 27. Zero health issues due to early cereal. Looking back, I applaud my brave drs. I also have noticed that NONE of the other kids in our circle of friends/family....& we're talking a bucketload of kids...NONE have health issues from doing cereal. :)

Do what is best for you...& I would check with the dr.