rice cereal questions

eileenm21

ok so I want to give DS a little rice cereal.  I talked to the dr and he said they don't even "need" rice cereal that they transition to it for two reasons.  First because if we just kept giving our kids more and more formula they would get giant lol. he said he recos 32 oz of formula max and then adding rice cereal.  and second so that they learn to start eat solid foods. so all in all he basically said not yet lol - more like 4 months.  But I am telling you DS is starving lately.  They are on an every 4 hours schedule, 7, 11, 3, and 7.  Its been going fabulously until this past week and DD is doing great but DS is a nightmare.  DS sleeps through the night so he eats at those four feedings 7 oz and now I have to suplement him in the afternoon, so he eats more lke 11, 2, 4, and 7 so a total of close to 32 oz - he is 14 lbs now.  I like the eating schedule cause it makes them so much easier to deal with, life easier and they sleep like champs.  I used 12 weeks old 12 hrs sleep and the contended baby  to set it up.  he could be going through a growath spurt, but i don't know. Im babbling.  long story short, it does seem like he is so starving all the time and I cant think a little would hurt (just not at night because of the aspiration issues)  I don't want to ignore the dr. but I have such a sad, crying, crankly, little man all the time.  he attacks the bottle when I give it to him. anyone start rice cereal this early?  how much did you give?

DESXF

Are you talking about adding rice cereal to his bottle?  Or feeding him by spoon?

I have a 'heavy eater' like you.  Noah is the same way with the bottle.  But I am waiting until 4.5 - 5 months to offer rice cereal.  I think at 3 months, most babies really are not ready for it yet.  Some are not even ready until 6 months. 

I think Noah takes in something like 30-32 oz a day (and some days he will do even more) but my pedi is not that concerned.  SHe told me to feed him what he wanted.  He is a big boy with a big appetite lol  He too will attack the bottle like he hasn't eaten in days.

I don't really have any recommendations  on what to do about your DS seeming like he is starving.  I honestly would not reccomend starting rice cereal yet, maybe you could try one of the formulas that has added rice starch like Similac Sensitive RS or Enfamil AR.  I had mine on Enfamil AR for reflux, but it made them a little constipated.

kelliwill

I asked my Dr about it also at our last appt (4 mos) and he said not until 6 mos.  I was surprised since I know my sister started her son at 4 mos nd other people (family members) have been saying that I can do it.  But I am sticking with what my Dr says.  My girls eat less than yours are though....only 5 oz 5-6 x per day max.

janjag

this sounds so wrong to say... can't believe i'm saying it, cause it sounds like going in the wrong direction.  but he might need to eat more often.  4 feedings/day at their age sounds like not enough.  is he taking 8oz per feeding to get to that 32oz max?? 

they have small tummies, and if he is hungry, he might need to eat more often.  can you feed them 5 times during the day 7, 10, 1, 4, 7.   please don't hate me for suggesting this. 

our case was: at 4.5 mos (3mos adj) our ped was getting us to go from 8 down to 6 feedings.  by the time we accomplished this, one of those 6 was overnight, so 5 during the day. 

 

MamaCrystal

Does he seem happy with the extra feeding bringing him up to 32 oz. daily total?  If so, I'd just keep him at that for a while.  (Or, add an ounce or two to his other bottles to try and keep him to 4 feedings a day, if you think he'd take more at those times.)

We did start our oldest son on rice cereal once a day, a few tablespoons (very thin, just thick enough to stay on a spoon) at 3 months.  He was a big guy, very hungry, and gobbled his cereal right up, and it made him happy.  You could try to spoon feed your guy some cereal and if he doesn't seem interested after a few tries, then he's not ready.  You should be able to tell pretty easily whether he's interested! : )

eileenm21

janjag:

this sounds so wrong to say... can't believe i'm saying it, cause it sounds like going in the wrong direction. 

don't you hate when things go backwards?  c'est la vie though with kids, it happens all the time.  I am going to try feeding him more frequently. Maybe it worked for a while since he was littlier, now that he is gorwing bigger he may need it more.  Thanks guys!