Food for a Preemie?

mdkelly08 · May 2009

Our baby was born 3 months premature and at our last doctor appointment, the 4 month, our doctor suggested that we start baby cereal. Briana's adjusted age is 2 1/2 months. I just feel it may be to early to start. Did any of you ladies go through the same thing? When did you start your kids on cereal?

RRHsMom · May 2009

We do not adjust age so I don't know how helpful I can be but we did not begin cereal until 5 months. We were going to wait until 6 but he just never seemed full after nursing on both sides so we went ahead and gave him cereal before bed for a month. Then we added breakfast the next month.

Did your doc say why he/she wanted you to start cereal now?

mdkelly08 · May 2009

The doctor say since she was almost 6 months we could start but she's just discovered her hands. I just have started putting her in her highchair while I cook to get her used to it, I guess I'm just wary...

FutureMrsDenman · May 2009

Our Pedi also suggested we start at the 4 month appointment. DD was a 28 weeker, so this seemed super early to us. We went ahead and tried ... not very consistently, and at a runny consistency ... for some time. We would do it one day, then maybe skip a day (which probably wasn't super helpful). But it really seemed like she wasn't interested or capable for a while so we didn't want to push it. We just tried again every few days just to see if she seemed to have made progress in terms of interest or ability. Eventually she did ok with it, but she never really liked cereal at all (and we tried rice, oatmeal, etc.). She took off on solids once we started the fruits and veggies - but I can't for the life of me remember when we finally did that.

tmp-303869625008161 · May 2009

My son was a 27 week preemie. His doc told me to start him at his 6 month appt. So 3 months adjusted. He took to it right away. Try her, if she doesn't take to if after a few days wait. That's what I did with my girls. The doc told me to start them on cereal at 4 months and they weren't really into it, so I stopped. I went straight to fruits and veggies at 6 months and they loved it. (They always hated cereal, even mixed with fruit.)

njkaren · May 2009

We did it based on adjusted age so he was 7 months actual, 4 months adjusted since he was a 26 weeker.

kcswifey · May 2009

We started my 28-weeker at 5 months actual. He did okayish with the runny cereal. Once we started thickening it up he did great! He did have some issues with constipation though! He eats like a champ these days!

mek10976 · May 2009

DS was 2 months early, so his adjusted is 3.5 months. Our pedi said we would probably start food at 6 months adjusted due to the maturity of his digestive tract. My family has a history of digestive diseases and issues, so I'm going to wait until the end of summer to start the rice cereal. I don't want to give DS any problems b/c I started foods too early.

BrainySmurfette · May 2009

We started at 4 months, but Katie was only 6 weeks early. My SIL just started her DD (26 weeker) on solids this week. She is about 4 months adjusted, nearly 8 actual.

If you are feeling like your child is not ready, waiting will probably be harmless. Starting too early might not be. Some pedi's recommend waiting until 6 months for full-term babies, so waiting might be the right choice for you. You know your baby best, so either way, trust your instincts.

jehprb · May 2009

We started our 32wkr at 6 months adjusted at the advice of us, our ped., and the nutritionist. DS was definitely showing all the signs of readiness long before that but I'm still glad we waited - just because he thought he was ready didn't mean his little digestive system was :-)

Mrs Manners · May 2009

I personally feel like that's WAY early. We didn't start foods until almost 7 months actual (5 adjusted). Even then, he wasn't ready so we'd stop, wait a few day and try again. At this point, solids are really more for practice than nutrition so I'd stick with the formula or bm so that your dc is getting enough nutrients and calories. A 2.5 month adjusted baby does not NEED anything other than bm or formula.

Oh...and ditto pp. Ds HATED cereal so we skipped it and went right to fruits and veggies after attempting cereal a few times.

Food for a Preemie?

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