Multiples

when is your pedi having you start cereal?

Mine are starting at 4 mos.  How many x's a day and how much do they get? I can't wait to feed them by spoon. I don't want to put it in their bottles. I might if i'm in a rush or something but don't plan on doing that everytime. What did you do? Did it help with spit up? Help them sleep better?
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Re: when is your pedi having you start cereal?

  • We are foraying into cereal-land this weekend.  New year, new food!

    I got some spoons... I think for us, cereal will be more like "dessert".  If they are still hungry after their bottles, I'll give them cereal.  If they don't eat the cereal, no biggie.

    FWIW, right now they eat about 5-6 times a day, 6oz each time.  Alex will eat 30-35 oz per day, Harry is hovering around the 30oz mark.

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  • My pedi said between 4 and 6 months, but I could skip cereal if I wanted since there's no added nutritional benefit.  I waiting until after their 6 month appointment because they weren't ready.  When she asked, at that appt, if they had started and I said no, she just shrugged her shoulders and said "well, you know your kids.  If they're not ready, you have a good idea in waiting."

    We did a couple days of thin cereal to get them used to the texture.  DD actually wasn't really ready until about 7 months; that's when she stopped pushing her tongue out at the spoon.

    FWIW, it didn't help them sleep better.  I've talked to a lot of moms that say the same thing.  Because it's something new for their tummies to adjust to, it bothers them and actually made them sleep worse.

    Why the hurry to start at 4 months?

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  • My Pedi didn't recommended it around 6 months.  I felt my girls were ready at about 5.5 months so we started then.  I only did it once a day and it didn't really "matter" how much got in their mouth.  It's really just to practice.  Honestly, it's up to you, but I wasn't anxious to start solids.  Once you start, you can't stop, and it's a big pain in the as#!  It's much easier nursing them or feeding with a bottle.  My girls were old enough when we started that it only took them a couple of weeks to get the mechanics of eating down.  My pedi had said if they weren't able to suck the food off the spoon, wait three days and try again.  I had friends that fed their babies early (4 months) and the babies weren't really ready.  They just spit food back at them.  It just depends.  If your babies seem to be able to eat the food off the spoon, go for it.  If not, I'd wait.  It's MORE work!  I understand getting excited for milestones, but it hasn't made my days any easier.  :)

    My babies were good sleepers, so I didn't really notice a big change in sleep.

    And B (who spits up more than A) spits up carrots and cereal now...so I didn't notice a change there!

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  • our doc said to start at 4mo if they were showing signs of being ready - mostly, watching YOU eat, showing interest in it, etc.

    cereal in bottles is not safe - so don't do that unless a doc specifically says to - it can cause choking issues if not done properly.

    start with very watery cereal - they will likely push most of it out with their tongues thrusting- this is normal.... as they get better with it they'll do less of that.

    start with once/day.... it's for practice- not nutrution, at that point.

    we started griffin at 4mo and he did great... the twins really didn't have interest at 4mo, so i waited until 5mo and tried again and then they were ready and liked it a lot.

    make sure to have the cameras ready :)

  • At the pedi yesterday, he said that we should wait at least a month or maybe two (DS might be ready sooner) b/c he wanted them to be sitting up a bit better before we started. He also said he'd like to see DD eating a bit more formula before we start. She is only taking 24+ oz each day, and he recommends not starting until babies are taking at least 32 oz b/c some babies reduce the amount of formula they take once they start solids, and she can't afford to reduce her intake. He also said we could start with rice cereal, but it wasn't necessary. We could start with fruits and veggies if want.

    While I'm excited to see what feeding them solids is like, I'm definitely okay with holding off to 5-6 months. Feeding them already takes so much time that I don't feel like adding something new is necessary now.

  • Real food is so much fun!  I started with steel cut oatmeal (more nutrition/less potential constipation) instead of rice cereal.  We started on our own around 4 months, but at our appointment, my pedi was very supportive of it.

    We did oatmeal for a couple weeks, and then we started on veggies and fruit about 5 months.  I'm making my own, but even if you don't, www.wholesomebabyfood.com is really helpful about which foods to do first and why.

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  • GL! We started a little around 5 months or so and then they both got a GI bug around 6 months so we had a little hiatus in the beginning...

    they hated rice cereal . They ate it for all of like 4 days and once i started offering other things, we never went back & they still to this day won't eat hot/mushy cereals. oh well!

    rice cereal in a bottle is to thicken milk/formula for kids who need that, so no need to even consider it as an option, as others have said, the rice cereal in the beginning is for practicing swallowing something thicker, not for nutrition & it just has a really low allergy potential & is bland, which is why a lot of ppl start with it.  

    GL! it's fun but the solids are just one more thing to have to deal with/clean up ;). And don't stress if they don't take to it right away & spit a lot out. My DD spit out tons of purees for 2 months, I was getting concerned about her swallowing abilities & then someone offered her a muffin at daycare, she gobbled it down, and we just moved on to nonpureed foods after that with full success, so every kid is different! (obviously some do have actual motor problems but most don't, just saying not to stress if it doesn't go 'perfectly'.)

  • My pedi called 4-6 months the "optional age" for solids. He said we could start them if we want to, but there's no real benefit at this age. That, plus the fact that my boys are both on the smaller side of the growth curve, plus the fact that I've read a lot about the benefits of waiting, plus the fact that they don't eat a ton at this point, is why I've decided I'm probably going to wait until 6 months. Breastmilk and formula pack a bigger punch, calorically speaking, so I want them filling up on that stuff for as long as possible.

    I'm planning at this point to skip cereal and start with avocado. Here's why: https://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/avocadobabyfoodrecipes.html

     

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