Rice cereal?

oceanangel0502

Last week at LO check up my pediatrician said LO is taking the maximum ounces of breast milk/formula in 24 hrs that's allowed up til 6 months of age, he takes 5 ounces every 3-4 hours for a total of 35 ounces a day. LO is 6.5 weeks old. The dr said if he starts becoming unsatisfied by that amount we will need to add rice. Well today he's been extra hungry but have to wait for md to call back tomorrow. I read that it's not good to feed cereal til 4-6 months so now I'm worried about of dr says to start adding it, anyone of experience starting rice yet?

carrieandtim

My honest to goodness first thought? Get a new doctor.

wearebirds

carrieandtim said:

My honest to goodness first thought? Get a new doctor.

This. Rice cereal is no longer recommended as it has no nutritional value and breastmilk really is all LO needs.

Kewii

Thirding the above.  I wouldn't trust that doctor.

Khope87

Yep I agree - new doctor time! New doctor in a different practice on that note too - possible that same practice doctors would possibly give similar advice if they go to same conferences and don't keep up to date on same stuff. Sounds like your baby is as hungry as mine is!!! She is 6weeks old and the advice given to me is to keep feeding if she's hungry! She's on expressed BM. Mine sleeps though in between and plays happily etc so she's not starving hungry. Is yours hungry in the breaks?

oceanangel0502

@Khope87‌ he seems satisfied for a while in between but has been drinking down to the very last drop and getting hungry sooner, but now his two feedings tonight he hasn't taken the whole bottle. It makes me feel so stupid bc I always get nervous about what to do.

As for getting a new dr, I may have to look into it, just a shame bc he came highly recommended by my OB and numerous people at my hospital and he's been really good thus far. But he's older so maybe he's stuck in older ways.

PinupMomma08

Yeah. New doc.

Khope87

If he seems satisfied then maybe just see how it goes? The odd day he may drink more, but other days - like today when he didn't finish those feeds - he may drink less. You may have reached the leveling out point for him. Also, every baby is different and have different little digestive systems. The other thing is, your breast milk may have been more foremilk so more watery for the odd feed which means it's mainly a drink not food so they will need to eat more. There's so many variables I would spend a little longer monitoring what they are actually taking in before using rice. Perhaps it's something you could monitor on your own without a doctor for now? See if it levels? If it's just getting more and more, perhaps a second opinion then

KariB509

Maximum amount of breast milk/formula allowed? Who sets the rule on how much is allowed? I've never heard of such a thing. And rice cereal at 6.5 weeks? I'm so confused.

scrumpfy

At this age,my pedi said rice cereal should only be used in cases of severe reflux.

KTdid81

Definitely look into a new pedi. My little man eats 4-5 oz (but sometimes as much as 7oz) at each feeding....but they all vary. Dr said this is normal.

oceanangel0502

That's why I was confused myself...he said giving more then 35 ounces a day could make him start getting fat instead of growing properly

KariB509

oceanangel0502 said:

That's why I was confused myself...he said giving more then 35 ounces a day could make him start getting fat instead of growing properly

And rice cereal won't make him get "fat"? What's up with this guy?!

dancer7889

If your baby is hungry, he needs fed, not filled up on "snacks". I agree, new doctor.

karacakes98

Sounds crazy to me. I'd definitely get a second opinion.

legallyginger

J bumped up against 35 ounces during his growth spurt at six weeks. He started taking 5-6 ounces at night instead of four at a time. Shortly after that he started going longer in between feeds so now he only usually has six bottles a day instead of eight.

Try not to worry. You're not going to make your kid fat by feeding him when he's hungry. Its not like you've got him hooked up to a feeding tube of chocolate.

amdecker1016

Wow. My first pedi told me to only feed her every four hours. Thats while i was breast feeding...and she was two weeks old.

I switched.

This pedi told me to use rice cereal only after a reflux diagnosis amd after zantac and formula thickening wouldn't work...i havent had to.

I am too judging your pedi hard as well.

clo1982

I agree on gettingn a new doctor. I'm guessing you are bottle feeding but if you were strictly bf how would the dr know how much they are getting to say whether it is too much? Plus who sets that rule about the maximum amount?! That's ridiculous. I have only heard of adding rice this early in cases of very bad reflux. Dd's pedi told us they use it as a very last resort if medicine doesn't work as it will weigh down bm or formula to help keep it from coming back up...but aside from that there is no value to it for bottle feeding.