Cereal at 2 1/2 months?

Soxgirl07 · May 2013

I have a friend of a friend with a DD 2 weeks older than DS2 (7 weeks.) I heard through the grapevine yesterday that her daughter slept through the night because she put cereal in her bottle.

I just smiled and said how great that was, but in my head I was kinda side-eyeing. Isn't that way early?

Then I was thinking about it... A lot of people have done that and their kids don't seem to have issues. What's so wrong about it? It's not even an option for me because I nurse and we haven't introduced bottles yet. But if it was and it was a way to get us all some extra sleep, would it be so wrong?

So, what does parenting think, cereal in the bottle at 2 months good or bad? Sorry for the PR question!

theimpossibleastronaut · May 2013

I've read that it really has little nutritional value. It's just filler, so that's why we will avoid it. I don't really want to introduce any solid food before six months though.

However, both my father and my older brother keep telling me we'll get sleep relief when we do this. I still don't think we'll do this though. I'd rather her get more nutrition.

Soxgirl07 · May 2013

FWIW, I wouldn't actually do this. DS1 was EBF until 5 months when I tried to intro pureed sweet potatoes. And I plan to do the same with this baby.

After I got over my side-eyeing, I just started wondering if maybe I was being a mommy martyr about this.

Edited because autocorrect hates me.

acaudill75 · May 2013

I did with DD1 but I don't remember her age, probably 1216 weeks. It helped fill her up because she always seemed hungry. I didn't put much, perhaps half a scoop for the entire bottle. She didn't get it for long, until I started solids at four months.

DD2 didn't get any, and didn't even want solids until seven months. DD1 was STTN much younger than DD2, but I doubt it had anything to do with cereal.

emriley84 · May 2013

We started cereal at 2.5 months with DS#1 due to reflux. It didn't help with his sleep at all. Also, just a fun fact I learned when thickening DS#1's bottles, rice cereal will not thicken breast milk, there is an enzyme in the milk that breaks it down. You have to use oatmeal. My pedi didn't know this, my LC told me after a week of us using rice with no relief for DS. Added oatmeal instead and he was a new kid!

ASmallWonder · May 2013

Beyond the choking and the immature digestive system, allergies, the fact that it really doesn't help sleeping and all that, rice cereal is to babies what rice cakes are to dieting adults - a way to feel full without "unnecessary" calories. Except when you're talking about a baby, the calories ARE necessary. If the baby is hungry it means his or her body has burned through the fuel you've given and it needs more. Adults need food to maintain but babies are growing and changing every minute and they need every calorie to count and help those efforts, kwim?

NotSharknado · May 2013

What do people expect when they have a baby? It's their job to wake every few hours to eat. Babies don't sleep through night that young. Period.

Doing it for reflux is one thing, but doing it for selfish reasons is another.

RayRay007 · May 2013

Unless there is reflux or something other than not STTN that you are trying to address with cereal in the bottle, it's side-eye worthy IMO. I know of a girl who posted a picture of her feeding her 6 wk old cereal with a spoon on facebook. I side-eyed that too.

proudworkingmom82 · May 2013

DD started cereal around that age but it was with the pediatricians permission. I see no harm with it as long as it's pediatrician approved. I am not sure it really helped her STTN though but she did start STTN shortly after.

Cereal at 2 1/2 months?

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