Rice Cereal in Bottle at 3 months?

BellaBoo0706

So I just got back from the pedi for a 3 month weight check. My little guy has mild reflux. The pedi says typically, adding cereal to bottles starts around 4 months, but that starting around 3 months to help with reflux is an option he suggests. I am EBF but I do pump for a few bottles a day for the nanny to give him while I work. I am interested to try the cereal at night to see if it helps with STTN. Anyone elses doc suggest this? Do you think it is too early to add cereal to a bottle?

katied022

When I was in nursing school doing my Peds classes they said that babies can not digest anything but milk until 4 months of age. So I was a HUGE believe in nothing but milk until 4 months. Then I had DD... right at 3 months (yes I know there is a 3 month growth spurt) she started eating 8 oz of breastmilk at one feeding (while I was at work) instead of the normal 4. Then when I did arrive home she would nurse every hour. When she was done it was like she just wasn't full. I called the Pedi and asked what he thought... was it just a growth spurt or does she need more. He said that this was much more than a growth spurt and to add cereal to the bottle. Well I don't like adding cereal to the bottle (choking hazard) so I went ahead and did it on a spoon. She spit about half of it out the first time but now she eats it like a champ and loves it. When you first do it make sure that it is pretty watery. I did 1 tbs of rice cereal and 4 tbs of expressed breastmilk.

I know that a lot of people are going to sit here and tell you that it is too soon and to wait. But your baby will let you know if it is too soon. If you feel comfortable with it, and like you said the Pedi suggested it. Then I would go ahead and start it. See how LO reacts if they like it and it helps with the reflux then keep it up. If not wait a week or 2 and try again. Biggest thing to watch for is poopy diapers. Cereal and constipate LO so make sure that they are still having regular dirty diapers. If not slow it down.

 GL Momma!!

jewerner

Same for us. Like pp said, you'll prob get a lot of people telling you not to, but it was absolutely the right thing for us. At first the chunky spit up and back arching got worse, but on the third day, it was a complete turn around. DS is happier, eats better, and we were able to stop giving him baby Maalox. Dont get your hopes up though, he sleeps the same as before. Good luck!

Jen0204

If there is a good reason to do it (like reflux or PP's situation) then go for it - we've been using cereal for about a month or so.  But if your main reason for considering it is because you're hoping it will help your LO STTN, don't do it.  With mine at least, it had no effect on their sleeping and I would hold off until 4-6 months if it's not a medical issue.  Also if there are any concerns with how much your LO is eating then adding cereal would be a bad thing because they will likely take less BM. 

If you do decide to try it to help with the reflux, remember that you can play with how much you put in the bottles.  Our pediatrician said to put 1tsp/ounce in the bottles, but that caused them to take WAY less formula.  We played around to figure out what the minimum we could give them was to still help with the reflux but also allow them to drink enough and we only use 1/2tsp/ounce.  We've never had any issues with choking.  I'm not sure how that even happens since it's not like the holes in the nipple are big enough to let chunks through (not saying it's not an issue, just baffles me how it happens).

kristin172429

I kind of feel like a broken record, but can't help but respond when I see these posts.  

Cereal does not belong in a bottle!  If you have a severe case of reflux and your doctor recommends it, that's one thing.  Otherwise, there are so many reason not to, including:

- choking hazard (child can take food particles into their lungs because they are still developing their sucking and swallowing).

- messes with your child's ability to regulate their calories, essentially teaching them to overeat and increasing their risk for obesity.  They eat by volume, so when you add cereal, you are increasing the calories in the same volume and they take in more than they need.

It is also not recommended to introduce solids before 4 months unless absolutely necessary.  There are many studies that are finding correlations between introducing solids early and food allergies. Plus, their digestive tracts just aren't ready for solids until at least 4 months.

If you do start cereal, please use at least the brown rice one.  Otherwise, it is like feeding sugar to your baby if you feed the simple carb of white rice cereal. 

kayladay

We started adding cereal (rice) in my sons bottle at around 2 months but NOT so he could STTN. He has real bad gas and has some reflux (he is on zantac now too). We only add 1 teaspoon for every 2 ounces, so it's not alot.