Ok, I now understand talking to a lot of moms that I should give my daughter rice cereal with a little bit of breast milk with a spoon. And everyone keeps saying that I will know when to give it to her because she will be hungry a little bit after she eats. But I am still confused she is 4months old and sometimes she just likes to suck on my breast but not really eat so she acts hungry. other times she is eating and then stops and cries, {I thought this had to do with her teeth} and then she starts to eat again. I am not sure what my question really is but can some people give me suggestions or tell me what happened with their kids?
Thank you thank you for all the advice! What I have decided still isnt clear but I bought some rice cereal just incase. But she is becoming more interested in what I am eating and she is sitting up more.
hi.....I have a son that is 5 months old and I started giving him cereal when he was about 4 months old, because he still seemed hungry too. I use formula. First I make him a regular bottle, then I put some cereal in the bowl and then add formula until the cereal is a little waterier than oatmeal. Feeding her the cereal will get her used to eating from a spoon, for when she eats baby food. Hope this helps!
A lot of people recommend holding off solids until 6 months of age. Rice cereal is not that good for them. You might want to start with advocado or banana if you want to introduce them to solids.
Good luck.
I can just hear the backlash now....but I can safely say that my 11, 9 and 6 year olds are happy and healthy and we had no negative side effects from the following:
I only breastfed my oldest. I did not enjoy it, so I chose not to with the last 2. We started the rice cereal well before 4 months, and with the 9 year old, he was only about 3 weeks old....he just wasn't being satisfied with bottles. My experiences with any of the cereals was to catch the babies before they were so hungry that they were crying uncontrollably...I'd feed the cereal and THEN the bottle (or breast in the case of my first). At first, it was only a spoonful or 2, but as they got used to it, and realized that milk was on the way, we had no problems with them eating off the spoon. We didn't do jarred baby food till 4-6 months, and then by 9 months, maybe 10, they were eating the same things as we were at the table.
Just wanting to share my experience. We as mothers need to do what we feel is right and how it fits in with our family and lifestyle. If you disagree with the way I fed my kids, you'd REALLY have a field day with how I put them to sleep!!
B.
L.
some say start at 4 some say start at 6 months. the latter one is because babies do not develop their digestive system at 4 months, this does not go for all babies.
you may need to talk to your baby's doctor about this. when mine were about 4 months i asked and they said they prefer to wait at least until 5 months preferably 6 months. i did try at like 4 and a half but did not go well, so i didn't continue. how did i know they weren't ready? well, they gagged, spitted and got really frustrated and kept pushing their heads aside. at a little over 5 months they were so ready. how did i know they were ready? they showed an interest in eating the stuff PLUS they were not being filled with formula only. good luck
vlora
Rice cereal is nothing but filler. At 4 months, she can't really digest it anyway. I will prevent her from geting the nutrition she needs. Just keep breastfeeding. Your breastmilk has everything she needs right now. Some children nurse for comfort at times. That sounds like what she seems to do and there is really nothing wrong with that.
When she gets fussy, it may be that she is a little uncomfortable. Try changing her position. If you do think it is teeth, run a clean finger along her gumline and see if you can feel anything. At 4 months, I don't think it's teeth though.
I wanted to add that my son NEVER had cereal. I highly recommend the link to KellyMom that was posted previously. Very good solid advice there.
L.,
The reading that I have done suggests to hold off on rice cereal and all other grains until after 1 year. The reason being that babies do not have the digestive enzymes needed to properly digest grains. Those enzymes are present in your breastmilk. So if you feel your daughter really needs something in addition to your breastmilk, then mix the cereal with you milk. Your daughter is ready to try solid foods when she shows interest in what you are eating, wants to put food in her mouth and is able to sit up by herself. Some websites for you to check are www.westonaprice.org (a nutrition site with LOTS of info, check under children's health in left column); www.kellymom.com; www.breastfeeding.com; and www.lalecheleague.com
J.
You DONT need to start solids at 4mo. that is a total myth and your baby will be just fine since you are breastfeeding and EVERYTHING they need is in your breastmilk. baby's don't even eat for nutritional value till they are around 12mo of age. The reason for you baby being like that at the breast is that she is gaining awareness about the world around her and she gets distracted while eating. All 4-6mo go through this whether breast or bottle fed. When to start your baby on solids is a very personal decision that you will have the make yourself. Just be informed about the facts of starting solids and watch your baby closely each time you feed her a new food.
I started my baby on solids at 6mo, he HATED it. So i waited some more time. Finally around 7mo, when i noticed him VERY interested in what I was eating, reaching out for it, and pretending to chew we tried again, and this time he LOVED it. These are other signs you can look for to tell if your child is ready. My pedi said when the baby does these things, as well as sit up unassisted, have his tongue not thrust out forward when you feed him, and has developed the ability to grasp with thumb and first 2 fingers, than your baby will be ready to try solids. Good luck
L.,
My advice is if you feel your baby wants more, offer it. If it comes right back out, don't offer it again for a little while. If she swallows and then wants more (opens her mouth), then she is ready to eat. Don't fight it! My son is almost 11 months. I was not willing to fight and have food everywhere... At 9.5 months, all of a sudden, he wanted to eat, his mouth opened and he couldn't get enough. This is what you are looking for, the eager open mouth! My son was completely breastfed up until that point. He just skipped the baby food stage and went straight to table foods, and my doctor said some breastfed babies tend to do that. So follow your gut, don't listen to time-tables, every child is different. Remember feeding should not be a fight or a chore! As long as she is breastfeeding and gaining weight, don't worry!
Your baby will let you know, with my oldest daughter, she started cereal at 6 months and still breastfed. With my youngest daughter, she nursed for one full year without ever really wanting to eat. She was a very picky eater.
Children will let you know when they want more to eat, both of my girls did! If you do decide to try the rice cereal, you can try giving her a little with some breast milk, make it really soft, mushy and mostly liquid. Sit her up in her chair and place a little on her lip or tongue using a very small spoon. If she responds well to it, then she's ready.
So good luck, have fun, give lots of hugs and kisses, take tons of pictures and remember everything because they grow up so fast ... mine are 8 and 3 now ... time really does go by so fast!
I nursed both of my little ones and started both of them on cereal and followed with food at 6 months.
I would talk to your ped in reguards to when to start rice cereal.Some babies are ready before others.I dont think I started till my daughter was a little over 4 months.Your right though, give her the breast first.I usually fed my daughter her cereal like an hour before bed.I understand about the "Just wanting to suck on the breast".I was the human pacifier.There is nothing abnormal about that.When she stops and cries after she is actually eating, it is because you prob have not let down fast enough or she has drained you to the point that it isnt fast enough for her.Babies are funny.Have you ever pumped to see what you are actually making?It also could be her gums, and teething.Good Luck, and enjoy her.
She is 4 months old, I don't see why she couldn't have cereal. Just make it watery, and then as she gets used to it, use less milk and more cereal.
You seem to have gotten a lot of responses, all with different advise. So, I will just share with you how I did it, and let you choose which advise you want to try. I started my now 7 month old son on cereal when he was 3 months old. He is a very good eater so the experience was a good one for me. Anyway, I would breastfeed him when he woke up, then about an hour later I would give him cereal. I started with one tablespoon and he's now up to three tablespoons. He likes it a little thicker, so also play around with how much liquid you add. If she's a good eater then she'll probably like it thicker. good luck
I just also wanted to add that there is a camp that is pretty anti-rice cereal, mostly because it has very little nutritional value, just empty carbs. The APA (American Pediatrics Association) and WHO(World Health Organization) recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed until at least 6 months, and recommend that they be breastfed until over a year- WHO even says 2 years.
Here is a good link about starting solids from a site that I like a lot called kellymom.com. http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html
In my own experience, my daughter hated the baby oatmeal and cereal- and I don't blame her- taste it and see... its awful. I learned to try whatever I was offering her- ever taste formula? Ugg. And that helped me decide what she was getting fed. We delayed solids until 9 months of age, and her first food was a green bean- straight from the table.
She showed an interest in food by "tracking" us when we were eating, trying to imitate our eating actions, and if she was on our lap while we ate something, she would parrot the opening of the mouth like she was expecting the food to come to her mouth, instead of ours.
As it is, we use some baby food, but mostly give her what we eat- we cook without salt, and add it to the adult food later if we want it.
I started my baby at 4 months and that was with my doctors advice.
My son was breastfed and we started cereal from a spoon at 4 months. Just make sure to use the single grain. Ask your pediatrician before you start, but yes ... she is ready.
My son is now 5 months and eats the following:
breakfast: 4 tablespoons of oatmeal cereal and a 7oz bottle
mid morning snack: 1 container of fruit baby food (gerber stage 1)
lunch: 2 tablespoons of barley cereal, 1 container of vegetable baby food (gerber stage 1) and a 7oz bottle
dinner: 2 tablespoons of rice cereal, 1 container of vegetable baby food (gerber stage 1) and a 7oz bottle
before bed: 7oz bottle
Hope this helps!
I think when my children were that young they were eating a small bowl of rice cereal twice a day. I don't think making sure they eat it all is the most important thing, I belive this is helping them learn to eat, etc. The main part of their nutrition still comes from breast milk/formula.
Everyone is telling you different stuff. The best advice is to talk to your ped. If you give the baby food to early there could be problems. If diabetes runs in your family you need to be careful, because a new study shows that feeding to early can lead to Diabetes in some children. Talk to your doctor. they usually tell you the right thing. All kids are different, so your doctor can best judge by the history of your childs health, their weight, etc. Good Luck, and since your a new mom, know this, All people will have something to say about the way you parent, just do what feels right for your baby and you.
Hi. My baby was born in August too. I am not nursing. I started her on rice cereal at about 4 months. I mix about 1 -2 TBSP of it w/ some formula and water and spoon feed it. The first few times it was hard for her to adjust to the spoon but shes a real pro now!!! I found she was looking at my food a lot and she was eating over the amount of formula the dr suggested. She also is eating 1x a day jarred food. She has been through almost all the step 1 veggies so far. Good luck!
K.
rice cereal is nothing but sugar. that is how your body deals with it, just like sugar. and if your baby has only had breastmilk, adding anything extra will disrupt the flora in her gut, which means stinky diapers. If she has already had formula or something that is not a concern but if you still have non-stinky diapers then hold off as long as she will deal with! and when you do start solids do not feel you have to feed her all the typical junk in the stores. babies can eat anything we do mushed up a lot, with the exception of choking hazards and highly allergenic things
At 4 months it's not important for her to eat the rice cereal for nutritions sake, it's just for practice for when you start the fruits and veggies in a few months. Feed her the breast first and then offer the rice cereal. Breast is most important of course. Good luck.
