How Much Cereal

I think it's ok to give children food before bed. If he has teeth clean them after he eats. Has far as how much is too much, he'll let you know. If he's full he won't be interested.

C.; yes its ok, my middle son was very hungry and needed food, he was not happy with a milk diet, aahhah feed them till they are full , that depends on every child, some children are full with that , others are not, just mix about the amount of a small baby food jar, see if he eats that, if he needs more, make more, if not make less, its good you give vegatables too, i used to mix fruit with his cereal that helped too, it also helped with the poo poos, ahahaha any way , have fun and enjoy your little one, D. s

If he wants more, give it to him.

My 5 month old eats a lot more. A lot more. ;-) But he's also off the charts in height/weight (28 inches, 21 pounds).

Breakfast: 3tbsp cereal + stage 2 fruit, 5-7 oz formula
Lunch: (2) stage 2 foods, 5-7 oz formula
Dinner: (2) stage 2 foods, 5-7 oz formula
Bedtime: 6-9 oz formula

At his 4 month well-baby visit, the pediatrician said as long as he's getting about 20 oz of formula a day, let him eat what he wants. Most "experts" suggest giving the bottle first, then supplementing with solids. I feed my son his solids first and then he takes a bottle when it's time for his nap.

If he mows through what you give him and he doesn't seem finished, give him some more. Let him direct you on how much he wants to eat/drink. Believe me, he'll let you know if he doesn't want solids/bottle. My son is teething, so some days he eschews "real" food and other days he will barely touch a bottle. But he is definitely capable of (sometimes loudly) indicating what he wants. When my son tries to eat my face/shirt/buttons, he wants real food. When he wants a bottle, he'll act like he's sucking. When I'm not sure, I try one or the other and whatever he takes - that's what he eats.

Experience says it's "ok" to give him what he wants to eat, whether that's more than you're offering or less. I don't count what he eating in terms of food anymore. I know how much cereal he gets because I dish it out in the morning ;-) but other than that I just feed him "containers". Sometimes he finishes them, sometimes he doesn't. I was counting calories until he was 4 months old and became so focused on the numbers that it was nearly an obsession. So we stopped doing that and now we just play it by ear.

Basically we follow his clues and feed him accordingly.

L.

C.:
This is probably not Dr. approved, but I would let your son eat until he lets you know that he is full, either by turning his head or not opening his mouth. It is rare, in my experience (daycare provider) that a baby will overeat the way children and adults do. Also, I would watch that his milk consumption does not diminish right now as a result (in the next few months it will naturally...watch the guidelines) as most of his nutrition is still found there. I hope this helps.

i dont know how much cereal to feed him... i guess feed him until he starts refusing. however, 'filling' him wont make him sleep better, it might make him sleep worse since you dont sleep well when you are digesting.

but anyway, just feed him little bits until he refuses it or consistently spits it out.

www.askdrsears.com is a good resource.

Give him as much cereal as he will eat. You can't overfeed a baby because they will stop when they are full. I have a 9 month old who has been waking up as well. I make sure to feed as much as possible with only a little drink here and there so he doesn't wake up at 3 a.m. and want milk!

E. Beaumont
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I always used to give my girls (who are now 4 & 6) as much baby food as they would eat (until they purse their lips or turn their head away upon introduction of the spoon)--and then I would nurse them or give a bottle. Babies do not have the unhealthy overeating tendency that adults do, so you can't go wrong by letting your baby determine how much food he gets.

It's funny how as a first time mom you are so carfull what you do. I have a 4 year old and 8 month old now. Kids are kids. you can feed him as much as he will eat at night. When he is full he will tell you.

Try a tablespoon or two mixed in formula at bedtime - helps them sleep.

SAHM of seven

C., I have 2 children and both of them slept through the night until they reached 5 months. It took me a little longer to figure out why with my oldest. turns out he was teething. So it didn't take me as long for me to check my daughter.
For some reason my kids teeth seems to bother them more when the are sleeping. Something to think about.

Your son may be waking up in the night for comfort and out of habit rather than because he's hungry. Adding in an extra feeding of cereal won't fix that if that's the case. Babies really don't get much of their nutrition from solids until closer to a year old. Until then, the solids are more for experimenting and the majority of their calories should come from formula or breastmilk. Since you're already feeding him cereal, it's not going to hurt him any if you give him another feeding before bed. But if you're just doing it to get him to stop walking up at night, I would recommend decreasing the amount of time he's allowed to breastfeed at night. Each night, cut it down by a couple more minutes, so he's eating less and less at night. It may take a few nights of no nursing at all (at the end) to get him to go back to sleep easily, but he'll eventually get the message and stop asking to nurse at night.

Also, if you want to cut out the nighttime diaper change, either move him up to the next size of diapers for nighttime only or try Huggies Snug & Dry for nighttime. He should be able to make it through the night with the same diaper, but expect the diaper to be very full in the morning.

What I have done with my two children is make the bottle for them just as I would normally (you said he drinks 8oz) then I would add the rice cereal to that until it thickens about to the consistncy of a runny milkshake...you also need to change the nipple to one with a slightly larger hole (#3 for Avent is what I use) so that he is able to suck it through. Thickening the bedtime bottle with rice cereal will help him feel fuller and decrease spitting up. I would continue feeding him cereal for breakfast. What I do with my daughter is make her 7 oz bottle and pour one ounce in a bowl and add cereal to desired consistency followed by the rest of the bottle. I hope this helps!

C.-
I had similar issues with my son until I finally just gave into him being a bottomless pit. :) The kid eats constantly so I just used the target of 24 ounces of formula/breastmilk and started giving him 2 "meals" and quickly moved to three. Maybe it's just boys! Good luck and remember you're both doing great, trust your gut because you know more than you think!

I agree with you - when my daughter first started on solids (cereal and jar foods), I was so confused about how much, what and how often to feed her. I think that you should definitely try feeding him more cereal. It's very likely that he is still hungry and wanting more, which he realizes later on in the middle of the night. You could try feeding him his cereal closer to bedtime. Don't worry, soon you'll have it figured out - it was trial and error with us too when it came to feeding solids. Every child is different and what the doctor and your baby book say for quantity is sometimes a guideline and based on an average of what children tend to eat at that age - so perhaps he's just ready for a bit more. Good luck - and have fun!!