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how much rice cereal in 4 oz formula?
After a sleepless night last night, DH and I are thinking of giving DS some rice cereal in his formula as his last feeding for the night. I wanted to give it to him by bottle and was wondering how much rice cereal I should add to about 4 oz of formula? Should I start with a small amount like 1 teaspoon? TIA!
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Re: how much rice cereal in 4 oz formula?
we've been putting cereal in parker's bottles for his reflux since he was 4 weeks. as long as you don't put a ton of cereal it's not a choking hazard.
We also started putting cereal in DS bottle at 4 weeks b/c of his reflux, also it def helped with sleeping. He went to waking between every 1-2 hours to 3-6 then. My pedi has us spoon feeding him cereal now, and DS refuses it in a bottle now. LOL!
I was told 1 tbs per every 2 oz. I would just try 1 tbs or less, and see if that helps any, if not, then add a little the next night!
ETA: One sleepless night is really nbd. It seems horrible, but this, too, shall pass. Filling your child up with empty carbs just so you can get a little bit of extra sleep is not such a good idea. If your child has reflux and needs the rice cereal to help him, that's a different story. Take turns to feed. When one gets up, turn the monitor off until you come back to sleep. That's what DH and I do, and it works well.
OP, the only reason to give a baby rice cereal in a bottle is for cases of reflux...a medical reason. A baby's stomach can only hold so much and waking constantly is usually indicative of a growth spurt. These happen every 2-4 weeks in the first few months of life. All it means is your baby needs more food (formula or breast milk) to fuel growth, which rice cereal will not do.
Sucky and inconvenient? Sure it is. Parenting involves a ton of sacrifice and the sleepless nights won't last forever.
Jamie
https://babygooroo.com/2013/11/rethinking-rice-cereal/
- Ava - 11-29-11
- Violet - 10-9-13
DS1 2-26-07
#4 Due May 2015
IT'S A BOY
I was the OP of the thread that caused so much trouble a week or so ago. And honestly I don't think that adding a little cereal to a 'formula' bottle will cause them to get any less nutrition. And a little extra sleep never hurt a baby either.
FYI due to all the posts about how adding cereal makes you a selfish outdated parent that wants to malnourish and choke their child I have held off.
But it is nice to see that some mom's are having some luck not choking their children and getting a little more sleep. Even though how dare anyone want more sleep with a newborn, don't we all sign up to never sleep again when we have children?
We should be supporting each other as new mothers, not preaching our OPINIONS as though they are gospel.
I'm about as much of a doctor as you are I'm sure.
@laciegregory - You didn't cause problems in that thread, FTM did. But you seem to be in the "I didn't realize that babies nee to eat every few hours and that means less sleep for me so I'm just going to try to rectify that by shoving my kid full of empty calories for funsies" camp, so I'm going to say it again - bad idea.
No medical studies have shown an impact on sleep. Period. You'd think with so many people telling you that it's a bad idea you'd listen. But I guess you're one of those people that only hears/sees opinions that agree with yours.
She was not having, nor had she ever had a miscarriage. I'm not that fucking heartless, but thanks for assuming the worst of me.
We got it when you said it the first time.
Yes - it is being criminalized and for good reason. I'm not sure what about this escapes you so I'm going to literally spell it out for you again.
In an infant this young (under 6 months of age), rice cereal is undigestable. Even in an infant six months+ may have a hard time digesting rice cereal. So yes, by giving your 0-3 month old rice cereal at night, you are giving him/her filler and depriving him/her of the nutrition that they need. Their metabolism requires them to eat every few hours, even at night, despite whether or not it's convenient for you.
I'm not saying this to be mean, but honestly, if tending to your child's needs are this inconvenient for you, consider not having any more children.
Yes - it is being criminalized and for good reason. I'm not sure what about this escapes you so I'm going to literally spell it out for you again.
In an infant this young (under 6 months of age), rice cereal is undigestable. Even in an infant six months+ may have a hard time digesting rice cereal. So yes, by giving your 0-3 month old rice cereal at night, you are giving him/her filler and depriving him/her of the nutrition that they need. Their metabolism requires them to eat every few hours, even at night, despite whether or not it's convenient for you.
I'm not saying this to be mean, but honestly, if tending to your child's needs are this inconvenient for you, consider not having any more children.
@ Hbirdie and imakeefforts : You two are a couple of witches. No, I was not dropped on my head and no I am not stupid. Nothing either one of you have said has been constructive in any way shape or form. Sure I get it, it's obvious that this subject has been beaten into the ground, and it's OBVIOUS that there are medical studies that don't recommend it. POINT MADE. What I don't understand is where the hateful wench part comes in? And I truly don't understand the shitty little video clips that are also not anything but nasty. Maybe to make you feel better about yourself? Thanks for all the sweet advice though, and thank you for making me think twice before I have any more children. Go Team Mom. <insert nasty little video clip here>
So, if you know it's not safe, why in the hell would you do it? I guess everyone should ignore the "cry it out and leave baby alone while I leave the house" threads, too, because we don't agree with the OPs opinion instead of giving legitimate information regarding the child's well-being. I'll take that into consideration next time to save some face. What a stupid statement.
@laciegregory See above question. We're witches for asking you to re-think what you're doing to your child? ok. Right. Just FYI - I spoke to my pediatrician this morning about this very issue. She said that people that were fed rice cereal before six months of age have shown higher instances of food allergies and diabetes. But we're the "witches" and "wenches" for trying to discourage people from doing something potentially harmful.
Is there a spot on the bingo card for "witches and wenches" or does that fall under general name calling? Just to make sure I mark everything, do you also feel sorry for our DH's and LO's?