Babies: 3 - 6 Months

Rice cereal

My son has his 4 month appointment in a few weeks and I know our pedi is going to tell us to start giving rice cereal. But most of what I've read says to wait until 6 months. What are your thoughts?

Re: Rice cereal

  • With DS1 we started solids right after 4 months but that was because he was a super spewer with bad reflux and our pediatrician thought he would benefit from the heavier solids.  Plus we had already been giving him rice cereal in his bottles for months.

    With DS2 I think we are probably going to split the difference and start at around 5 months.  He is a super strong baby and hefty baby so I am sure he is going to be ready by then.  I'm not sure if we are going to mess with cereal this time around or just go straight for the fruits and veggies.  If we do do cereal we will probably go with oatmeal and not rice.   


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  • Why do you know your pedi will tell you to start at 4 months? At any rate, we started DS1 at 6 months with avocado and we'll do the same this time around. Our pedi recommended 6 months.
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  • I don't think your pediatrician is going to demand you start giving your baby solids! Even if you wanted to start at 4 months some babies aren't ready and will just push all the food back out. This is a great topic to discuss with your pediatrician because you should be taking your kid to a doctor you can work with and trust. If you are constantly disagreeing and not listening to their advice it's probably best to get a new doctor.

    All my pediatrician said was it was okay to start when I'm ready but try to have started at least 2 weeks before his 6 month visit so I can tell him how he's handling it.

    With my first I was excited and started solids just after 4 months. With this one I plan on starting after 5 months just to avoid the extra work!

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  • You're going to get a lot of different answers but it ultimately comes down to what you think your baby is ready for.

     At most, your pedi is going to approve your baby to start solids.  That doesn't mean you have to.  You can wait until your baby is ready.

    My pedi approves solids at 4 months (unless there is some reason not to) but thats next week for my LO and I don't believe he is ready.  He shows no interest in our food, doesn't reach for items on our plate, etc.  I have no problem with starting solids at 4 months because I know some babies are ready at that time, I just don't think this LO is yet.  I just plan on following his cues.  

    Also, we plan to skip cereal and move straight to veggies/fruits.  

     

  • We had our 4 month visit this morning and my pedi said it's up to me but not to give a lot, especially since BFing is going well and she'd hate to see him take less BM. She's fine with either rice cereal or oatmeal once a day.

    I'm not in a rush at all but I'll follow his cues. He's been eating a lot more frequently for the past week or so (went from every 3 hours to every two during the day and is clearly full at the end of each meal), and has stopped STTN and added 2 nursing sessions overnight. He's also able to sit on his own, almost double his birth weight (born at 8 lbs 12 oz, currently 17 lbs even, so 8 oz short of double and up almost 5 lbs in 2 months, so he'll likely be at double by next week) and watching our food with interest. I wouldn't take any of these signs individually but all combined I suspect he may be ready. I'm waiting another week for him to calm down a touch with the eating but if he doesn't then I'll start.

    My older two were ready later. DD1 first ate a week shy of 6 months and DD2 was over 8 months before she was ready. But he is seeming close to ready so I'll likely offer oatmeal sooner rather than later. 

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  • I'm with pp, why would you feel that just because pedi okays cereal, that you have to start right away? If you're more comfortable waiting until 6 months, then wait.

    We plan on waiting until closer to 6 months and when she's showing signs of being ready, but we're also planning on skipping cereal and doing BLW and starting with fruits and veggies.

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  • Well I know she is going to tell me because she said it at his last appointment. And I know she won't demand it and am fully aware that it is up to me. I just wanted opinions.
  • You don't have to follow your pedi.  Do what your gut says.  I skipped cereals and waited until 5 months.
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  • We skipped the rice and went to baby oatmeal cereal at 5months 2 weeks. He loved it. We just started purees a week ago and he likes it too. We started before 6 months because DS is sitting unassisted and he is SUPER interested in our food/beverages. It's really a decision to make based on your baby. Some babies are not ready, some are. 4 months seems a little early for me. 

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  • We started rice cereal at 4 months, followed by oatmeal and whole wheat. We will be starting vegetables at 6 months. Our LO was showing many signs that she was ready...probably even before 4 months but we held off knowing that it was what was best for her
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  • Our pedi told us to start rice cereal at her 4 month appt., but we're going to wait til she's closer to 6 months. I didn't care for his reasoning for starting solids so soon...he said it helps develop their speech patterns as they get older...umm what?! My niece started solids at 6 months and now at 2 years she has the vocabulary of a 5 year old, so I don't really think that holds up. Anyway, I figure she's doing great EBF and gaining well so no need to rush into things.
  • Just like everyone else said, its up to you. No one knows your LO better than you do. DD was 3 months early, and she still started baby food at 4.5 months. I tried the rice cereal and oatmeal first but she hated it. So I thought she wasn't ready, but then she started reaching for our stuff. So we tried baby food and she LOVES it. Now at 6 months she's on stage 2 and eats 1.5 to 2 jars a day. I make sure she still gets enough formula too. But its all up to you. If you don't think its the right time, then hold off.
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  • imageJandK4ever:
    Our pedi told us to start rice cereal at her 4 month appt., but we're going to wait til she's closer to 6 months. I didn't care for his reasoning for starting solids so soon...he said it helps develop their speech patterns as they get older...umm what?! My niece started solids at 6 months and now at 2 years she has the vocabulary of a 5 year old, so I don't really think that holds up. Anyway, I figure she's doing great EBF and gaining well so no need to rush into things.


    What??? How would that develop speech patterns. Dumb
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  • Our ped said we could start our son at 4 months if we wanted to, but there was no pressure to do so. He didn't care if we wanted to wait until 6. Our son is a massive refluxer so we've been having to include rice cereal in his formula daily for several months now or I'd be covered from head to toe in spit up 24/7. We didn't really do official "solid introduction" until he was almost 5 months and honestly it's because he was showing signs that he was ready. He was pushing the bottle away a lot more, and having a much harder time getting formula down. He just was taking FOREVER. Now we do baby oatmeal once a day as snacks and he just eats it right down with no problem, but that honestly was more around the 5 month mark. If he'd not been acting that way, I'm pretty sure we would have waited longer.
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  • You do not have to do everything that your pedi recommends. 

    With DS, I was told that because of his reflux, that he would be better on rice cereal in addition to BM or F. I started at 4 months, and he is generally fine, but while I was pregnant with LO, I read a lot about the recommendation to wait until 6 months of age to introduce solids and read some really informative, science based findings. At the end of the day, I don't care what other people choose to do with their babies, as long as they are being cared for.

    That being said, personally, I will be waiting until 6 months and skipping rice cereal. 

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  • imagejahjbmr:
    imageJandK4ever:
    Our pedi told us to start rice cereal at her 4 month appt., but we're going to wait til she's closer to 6 months. I didn't care for his reasoning for starting solids so soon...he said it helps develop their speech patterns as they get older...umm what?! My niece started solids at 6 months and now at 2 years she has the vocabulary of a 5 year old, so I don't really think that holds up. Anyway, I figure she's doing great EBF and gaining well so no need to rush into things.
    What??? How would that develop speech patterns. Dumb

    I know, right! He said something about them using their tongue when eating food helps develop speech patterns. Which, maybe it could somewhat but probably not enough to merit feeding them solids before they're ready. Usually everything he says is very intelligent and spot on, so I was a little taken aback when he said that.

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