When Did You Start Cereal?

You have the cues and signs! Grabbing at food is a big one. You should start... Good luck!

I have two daughters, now 5 and 7. Both started cereal at 4 mos. That was the recommended age at the time. However, both hated the rice cereal, so we went immediately to baby oatmeal, much better. We also from very early on mixed a little natural/unsweetened applesauce in for a better taste. Seemed to help and they still love it that way.
good luck.

I would check with your doctor, but i started both of my kids on cereal at 4-4/1/2 months, but my doctor also said i could. When i made th cereal i made it with more of a liquid consistancy (not real thick) They seemed to respond fine to it! but every child is diffferent!

Christy,

My pediatrician recommended starting at 4 mos. I have a daughter who's nearly 5 mos. old and we started cereal right at 4 months. It took a while for her to get the hang of the spoon but now she likes the oatmeal cereal and I've recently added squash and later carrots. It's now filling her up more.

One of the other signs is showing an interest in your food so she certainly sounds ready. My daughter is doing that as well, grabbing at our plates, etc.

A little about me:
I have a 3 yr old son and a 4 1/2 month old daughter and work FT.

A.

Hi Christie,
I do think it is too soon for you to start her on cereal, but I do not think it is too soon for you to put some into her formula bottle. If you use a biger nipple for the flow, and just only put approx. 1 teaspoon per ounce, of course use your own judgement, that might help with her spitting up and get her ready for cereal when she is 6 months or so. My daughter grabbed for food and such at aroung 4 months too and my ped. informed me that her eyes are becoming more focused and she is starting to notice things more now too so I just chalked it up to that. hope that helps somewhat,. Good Luck.

I have three girls, none of which took infant cereal. We began with fruits and veggies and then added in meats. When your baby is able to shows ALL the signs of readiness have a go at it. (signs below) As a side note, putting cereal in a bottle is a dangerous idea. Here's a great article: http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html

Signs of readiness for solids:
Loss of tongue-thrust reflex - This allows baby to drink and swallow liquids with ease; with the tongue-thrust reflex still present, baby may simply drink in liquidy purees or push the food back out. According to Dr. JimSears, in the first four months the tongue thrust reflex protects the infant against choking. When any unusual substance is placed on the tongue, it automatically protrudes outward rather than back. Between four and six months this reflex gradually diminishes, giving the glob of cereal a fighting chance of making it from the tongue to the tummy

Ability to let you know she is full from a "meal" with signs such as turning away from the bottle or breast. This is important so that baby is able to self-regulate the amount of food being eaten. This helps stop baby from accidentally overeating as parents may continue to feed baby thinking that she is still hungry.

Ability to sit up and hold head up unassisted

Interest in your food

I started my son on both cereal and purees at 4.5 months. (I wanted his first "meal" to be at Thanksgiving!) He took to them immediately, but only liked them mixed together. He also spit up a lot, but when he started eating solids, that pretty much stopped. Since your daughter is interested in what you're eating, she definitely seems ready. If you feel she may not be, you can always try it, and if she doesn't want it, stop and try again in a few weeks. I have a feeling she'll be fine with it!

Our pediatrician suggested starting our daugter on cereal at 3 months old. We started by mixing a little in her evening bottle. Once we were sure she was accepting of it, we were spoon feeding her cereal within another week!

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids at 6 months. It is mainly the baby food companies that recommend 4-6 months.

A newborn baby's gut is sterile and gets colonized by bacteria over time. The gut is "open" i.e. not completely colonized and more sensitive to allergens and irritants before the age of about 6 months. It has to be colonized with the right amount of the correct bacteria in order to properly process foods. As an interesting side note, babies who are breastfed get colonized with a different balance of bacteria than babies who are formula fed which is why there is a difference in rate of allergies.

Giving solids, especially highly allergic foods, before 6 months can increase the risk of sensitivies and allergies. Rice cereal has no nutritional value and is really just a filler with little allergy risk.

If she is fussing, she is probably not very hungry. She only wants what you're eating because that's what you're putting in your mouth. Babies are little monkeys. They mimic everything you do. She is attentive and alert. Her tummy is not ready for people food unless the dr. allows a small anount of rice cereal mixed in her milk. You have to follow the drs' orders for the stomachs production of growth. You could try cutting 1 meal out and that should cause her to eat more at the other meals. Maybe only an ounce more at those meals but that's enough to make up for the meal you cut out. Always discuss these topics with the pediatrition. They know best.

We followed the recommendation of the pediatrician and started at 4 months. Since every child is unique and different, ask your pediatrician.

Started my son at 3 months and my daughter at 3 1/2 months! Our pediatrician advises to start cereal by 4 months and veges, fruits and meats at 6 months.

I started all three of my kids on cereal at 4 months. they are 8, 7 and 3. this was through my peditrician. Nothing changed from the time even though there is few years difference between the oder and the younger. I would however ask you doctor. Follow what they say. But it seems like your baby is hunry and the cereal will help

I am a mom of 3 and I nursed each of my kids, so I was more than ready to start them on cereal at 4 months. Although, doctors recommmed starting with rice cereal, I always started with single grain Oatmeal. The rice cereal was too binding for my kids.
I also found that when I would feed my daughter cereal once a day vs. 2 or 3 times a day me she had more trouble passing it through her system.
Use your mommy sense, and your baby's cues and as long as she is not pushing the food out of her mouth with her tongue instead of swallowing it, she is ready.
Good Luck!

My pediatrician advises anywhere from 3-6 months unless they were born early then closer to 6 months. The first time you make it you will make it very thin. See how your daughter reacts. If she's gagging too much then she's not ready. You can always call your pediatrican to see what he/she advises. My first child started around 3-1/2 months my second around 5-1/2 months. Have fun :)

Some Pediatricians say wait until the child is 4-6 months. Some say no earlier than 6 months. I started my daughter at 5 months and my son at 5 1/2 months. My kids gave no signs at all! In fact, my son hated eating and I gave up and waited until he was 6 1/2 months old.

My daughter was a preemie (2 months early) and my ped. still had me start rice cereal at 4 months. It was basically breast milk with a little bit of cereal at first. Once she stopped the automatic tounge thrust we moved on to thicker cereal and finally mashed banana with milk and cereal. Check with your ped. to see what they recommend and then just go with the flow. Your little one might take right to cereal. Two books that helped me get a good idea of when to start different foods and how to make my own are Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel. You don't have to make your own baby food to use these books. They are a good source of information on when to try different foods for your little one. Good luck and happy messes!!

The reason doctors now say 6 months doesn't have anything to do with tongue reflex it is because of Open Gut disease. It doesn't matter what signs a child may developementally show, it doesn't make their belly grow any faster. Many studies have been done in the last 3 years that show that children under 6 months don't proberly tolerate solids and open gut can result in surgery. That being said cereal has no nutrition it is pretty much just a filler with some added iron and is not necessary. Cereal in bottles is also a HUGE choking hazzard. Please do some research on Open Gut before hand. One of the major developemental markers according to all the studies is the ability to sit up for extended periods of time unassisted as it helps digest better.

My daughter started grabbing our food at around 4 months, but that is when they start grabbing at everything! I waited until she threw a fit one night because I wouldn't give her what was on my plate. I then shoved a piece of banana in her mouth and she was as happy as could be. That must have been around 5.5 months. I didn't give her much cereal because in terms of nutritional value, there isn't much --so I didn't see the point! I started her on banana and avocado.

Go to the baby care center and look up the signs for "baby readiness.' They are something like 'able to sit up by self,' 'pincer grasp,' etc.

We started my son on cereal at 4 months. Just the recommended amount 3x a day!

We started both our girls about 3 1/2 mos. because that is when they were ready as many have stated. I nursed and supplemented with formula early because my kids at a much earlier age developed quickly. I could not keep up on my own. This what they needed to thrive. If she is promting you then do it!!

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Mother-Baby-Fertility/dp/...

check out this book by nina planck...i'm reading it now as i figure out the next culinary move for my 6 mo twins. realizing that they have very different needs/tastes. wish i'd had this book for my now 5 year old.
keep in mind...
every baby is different. cereal may not be the best first food.
just keep reading and talking to people (you will get tons of contradictory advice!), then trust yourself to make the most informed and thoughtful decision you can...

good luck and enjoy new motherhood!
om

I started with rice cereal between 4 & 5 months for both kids, and they were showing those same signs. They didn't love it at first, and had to get used to it, but both turned out to be good eaters. After a few weeks, I started adding a fruit or veggie baby food to the cereal, since they were already used to that. Oh yeah, I also made the cereal really "runny" at first, then gradually thickened it up as they got used to the texture.

Hi Christy,

I have 5 children. 20yrs. to 2 1/2 yrs. I started everyone of my children on cereal when they were one month old. My 5th child I started at 3 weeks. I went on cereal for a month and then every week tried a new jar of food. All my children are healthy and great. Yes, you do need to watch and see how your child reacts to new things but I am very confident that your child is hungry and will love the food. Good luck, J. J.

Christy,

I was a professional nanny for twenty years and the children I cared for had some of the top pedestrians in the U.S. They all said wait until 6 months old. I know it seems that if a baby is watching you and grabbing at your food it seems like they are ready. If you took a toy and put it to your mouth and acted liked you were eating it they would grab at that too. Babies’ tiny tummies are not mature enough to handle and digest the food so early. My son was 9.5 lbs at birth and I waited until he was 6 months to start cereal. Make sure that you daughter can sit up for a long time before you start feeding, it will help with digestion. If she is having a hard time with the cereal, stage 1 baby food like apples or pears are much easier to digest than cereal. Good luck.

K.

Starting solids early is associated with food allergies. On the advice of our pediatrician, we waited until after 6 months when he was sitting up unsupported, grabbing for food on our plates and not thrusting food out of his mouth. We started with rice cereal mixed with breast milk, but he got constipated. We switched to oat cereal which worked much better.

Christy, My daughter started on cereal at about 10 weeks old. but she weighed in at 10lb's at birth. my sons all started on cereal between 3 1/2 months and 4 months. just rice cereal to start and then on to oatmeal then barley. my kids were weird lol they liked the barley. i started them on stuff like carrots and green beans at about 5 months . again my mom with the sense of humor said they had their own porkchops at 9months. that may be a little earlier than doctors say but my boys are all healthy 6 foot tall young men. so it didn't hurt them. it may help with you little ones not sleeping.

I am the mother of a 5 yr old and an 8 mo old. Both of my children started cereal at 4 mos. Your statement above is your sign that she's ready. ("She recently started grabbing at our food and eyeing everything that goes into our mouths".) Put about 2 teaspoons in 6-8oz of formula 1st at lunch time. If she's in daycare do this yourself on the weekend. Then mix the same amount of cereal with a little formula, make sure its a little 'soupy', in a bowl and spoon feed her. She will prob try to suck the spoon but be patient she will eventually get it. Hope this works for you.

I would say try like a tsp or two and see how she handles it and if that helps you and just go from there. I had to start my son on it when he was only a week old for the same reason, but my daugther still was not ready for it at 6 months...Every kid is diffrent and it drives me nuts that the doctors cant see that....Good Luck and if she dont want it she will let you know, just dont force it.....The doctors told me not to start the cereal with him so young but when i did he ate 2 tsp full and loved it, so i started mixing some with his bottle and he started holding his bottle in with out spiting all of it back up....and i did something right he is now 12 and very healthy and not over weight at all.....Good Luck

as a mother of a 20 year old and a 14year old, i am constantly amazed at these questions! Why isn't your pediatrician telling you when to start cereal, fruits and veggies? That is what you pay the doctor for. I followed our doctor's recommendations to the letter when my kids were little. They had no problems, grew well and have no allergies. I would suggest that you speak to your doctor about these questions.

Most doctors are now saying to wait until 6 months because of food allergies. Younger than 6 months, babies tend to push the food out of their mouths with their tongue. If this is the case, she is not ready. We skipped cereal and want straight to baby food at 6 months.