Rice Cereal ?

MrsAMR · January 2011

My son (and daughter to some extent) have a crazy, screaming, crying witching hour between the hours of 5 PM and 10 PM. We recently discovered that part of it is that he is hungry. If we give him extra in his evening bottle he spits it all up. We don't want to give him a snack since we're trying to keep them on a schedule (and then he'll be able to go past the 4-hour mark and my daughter won't and then he'll over feed and spit up everything - vicious cycle).

We were thinking of putting some rice cereal in his evening bottle to help him 'get over the hump' and maybe calm some of the screaming due to hunger (I understand that it won't stop the screaming 'just because'). (We have the pedis approval). The only problem is, how much? He takes 4.5 ounces per feeding.

Did anyone try this and have success?

Thanks ladies!

christiney06 · January 2011

interesting. your pedi ok'ed it to help them stop crying?? that is a very common time frame to be super fussy. why do you think it's b/c they are hungry?? adding rice cereal isnt' going to help there. ask around, it's an old school myth. PLUS , putting rice cereal in a bottle is a choking risk. i have only ever heard it ok'ed for reflux in a baby that young.

RoxBride · January 2011

DD had major reflux issues, and spitting up most of her milk intake was part of the problem for her. We did the added rice cereal with great success, under the advice of the pedi.

I would start with one scoop, and then gradually work to two scoops per 4 ounce bottle and go from there. You may need to get the cereal nipples.

emmyloustu · January 2011

Ok, not to sound harsh, but I think you need to ditch the strict schedule and the rice cereal and simply feed your baby when he is hungry. Maybe smaller, more frequent bottles is what he needs.

Also, sounds like it could be colic or reflux. Rice won't help with colic and is controversial at best in a bottle for reflux. I know there are some on this board that have done it under the advice of a pedi, but it is generally considered outdated and possibly dangerous advice. I would do your own research on that and go from there. If it is reflux, meds are the answer and if you need thickened feeds there are other options besides cereal in a bottle.

Good luck!

rockvillebride · January 2011

I couldn't figure out the whole timeframe from your post, but I do remember that awful time from 5-10pm. I remember weeks in those first few months where I would literally be stuck on the couch nursing DS every hour (for up to 30 minutes at a time) during that timeframe. DH would bring me my dinner to the couch and I'd try to eat it while feeding him. So... I agree with one of the prior posters that maybe smaller, more frequent bottles from 5-10pm might be another option if you haven't already tried it. I don't have experience with rice cereal at that age, so I'm no help there.

And most importantly, just remember that this too shall pass! I remember how hard that was!

MrsAMR · January 2011

christiney06:
interesting. your pedi ok'ed it to help them stop crying?? that is a very common time frame to be super fussy. why do you think it's b/c they are hungry?? adding rice cereal isnt' going to help there. ask around, it's an old school myth. PLUS , putting rice cereal in a bottle is a choking risk. i have only ever heard it ok'ed for reflux in a baby that young.

My son does have reflux, but not GERD so medication is not indicated. We swiched his formula and it helped. The doctor okayed using the rice cereal for spit up, not for crying. I understand (as I stated in my original post) that this won't stop his crying due to his fussy time. But when we give him his night-time bottle he goes crazy for it - indicating that he's super hungry.

MrsAMR · January 2011

emmyloustu:
Ok, not to sound harsh, but I think you need to ditch the strict schedule and the rice cereal and simply feed your baby when he is hungry. Maybe smaller, more frequent bottles is what he needs.
Also, sounds like it could be colic or reflux. Rice won't help with colic and is controversial at best in a bottle for reflux. I know there are some on this board that have done it under the advice of a pedi, but it is generally considered outdated and possibly dangerous advice. I would do your own research on that and go from there. If it is reflux, meds are the answer and if you need thickened feeds there are other options besides cereal in a bottle.
Good luck!

I've seen the thickeners so I might use that insstead of the rice cereal.

When it comes to going off schedule, I just can't with twins. I would literally be feeding all day. They both do great on this schedule, except for the evening hours between bottles. I wouldn't be thickening for all of his bottles - just this one. If it doesn't work, I'll stop it.

emmyloustu · January 2011

MrsAMR:
emmyloustu:
Ok, not to sound harsh, but I think you need to ditch the strict schedule and the rice cereal and simply feed your baby when he is hungry. Maybe smaller, more frequent bottles is what he needs.
Also, sounds like it could be colic or reflux. Rice won't help with colic and is controversial at best in a bottle for reflux. I know there are some on this board that have done it under the advice of a pedi, but it is generally considered outdated and possibly dangerous advice. I would do your own research on that and go from there. If it is reflux, meds are the answer and if you need thickened feeds there are other options besides cereal in a bottle.
Good luck!
I've seen the thickeners so I might use that insstead of the rice cereal.
When it comes to going off schedule, I just can't with twins. I would literally be feeding all day. They both do great on this schedule, except for the evening hours between bottles. I wouldn't be thickening for all of his bottles - just this one. If it doesn't work, I'll stop it.

So, this is strange to me. If he needs thickened feeds per your pedi due to the spit up, he would need them all the time, not just one bottle a day...Not sure if you BF or FF, but the AR (added rice starch) formulas are thicker.

I'm not suggesting ditching the schedule completely, but maybe you need to build an extra feeding into his evening schedule while he is having this issue? Twins or not, schedule or not, growth spurts happen and thickened feeds are not necessarily going to fill a baby up or take the hunger away.

How did the pedi determine reflux vs. GERD? Did he have swallow tests or anything? I would not hesitate to request meds, Eliza had silent reflux, but meds made a WORLD of difference in her. A low dose of Zantac and she was a new baby.

If it is colic have you tried gripe water? Mylicon drops?

roaringrock · January 2011

we too had a witching hour right after sunset. are you sure it's not colic?

OrangeSmoke · January 2011

Hey hun -

First of all - big HUGS, I remember those witching hours well.

Second - I doubt rice cereal will help you. If they are truly starving, then regular formula will do (if you are ff). What I've discovered was that while they may be able to keep the 3 hour schedule all day long, they liked to cluster feed towards bedtime and I was stopping them from STTN!

Once we figured that out, I would basically just feed non stop between 4 and 7. At 7, we start our bedtime routine and they get their final sips of food.

Hugs hun - these are the hardest days. Let me know if you need more specifics. I'm here!

jds0521 · January 2011

I know Enfamil makes this formula with rice cereal in it - have you considered trying that or something similar from the brand your kids drink?

As far as the witching hour, I agree with PPs that it may be colic. DD has just recently started turn a corner on this (right around the time she turned 3 months/I went back to work), so if that is the problem then even adding the cereal my not help. Usually colic has something to do with gastrointestinal issues - I agree to try Mylicon or gripe water. GL sweetie - it will get better, I promise!

christiney06 · January 2011

MrsAMR:
christiney06:
interesting. your pedi ok'ed it to help them stop crying?? that is a very common time frame to be super fussy. why do you think it's b/c they are hungry?? adding rice cereal isnt' going to help there. ask around, it's an old school myth. PLUS , putting rice cereal in a bottle is a choking risk. i have only ever heard it ok'ed for reflux in a baby that young.
My son does have reflux, but not GERD so medication is not indicated. We swiched his formula and it helped. The doctor okayed using the rice cereal for spit up, not for crying. I understand (as I stated in my original post) that this won't stop his crying due to his fussy time. But when we give him his night-time bottle he goes crazy for it - indicating that he's super hungry.

it could also be b/c his tummy hurts and the sucking helps the gas bubbles. my son had colic badly and he would comfort nurse from 5-8pm every night at that age b/c it helped him feel better, not b/c he was hungry. I am not saying that it's not possible, but there are other reasons it could be. I had very good luck w/ Colic Calm. good luck, esp. w/ twins I am sure you are dying for some relief.

MrsAMR · January 2011

I think it's a combination of colic and hunger. We've tried everything - gripe water, homeopathic drops, mylicon, new formula. Nothing really stops the screaming. However, he shows hunger signs - rooting, smacking his lips. However, if I give him extra in his evening bottle (anytime from 4-7 PM), he spits it back up.

My son doesn't really have any signs of GERD - he sucks down his bottles and now that we switched formulas he spits up much less. My daughter is on medication. She has some screamin episodes, but nothing like my son (even the doctor noted how loud he is).

The rice cereal suggestion comes from my baby nurse (not a certified nurse - just a title) and approved by my doctor. (More like a 'try it and see' rather than 'what a great idea' approval). While my baby nurse doesn't have a degree, this is her full-time job and she's been doing it for over six years and she says this is something that works.

sasa625 · January 2011

DD used to scream like that, and nothing worked for her. We tried all forms of gas drops (before, after, and during feeds), gripe water, feeding smaller amounts, larger amounts, switching formula... nothing. Putting her to sleep in her swing helped, but that was about it. So I definitely feel for you, especially with two of them!!

Our pedi said that research actually doesn't suggest that the rice cereal helps in any way (he's pretty young and pretty up to date on the latest info out there) and I spoke with some other people who agreed, so we never tried it. DD did have reflux (although she didn't really spit up much... she was pretty gurgly/gassy/burped a lot and hated sleeping flat on her back). It took awhile to get the zantac dose right, but it made a huge difference for us. We weren't planning on giving rice cereal at all (and never did), so that was partly why we didn't. She also had some feeding issues (probably due to reflux) so we didn't want to mess with her formula/BM at all.

Honestly, it probably won't hurt to try and see if it helps (as your pedi said). Our pedi is of the mindset that if it won't be harmful, go ahead and try it if you feel the need.

Million$$Baby · January 2011

I agree with most of the PP that rice cereal in a bottle won't help keep him fuller longer - I believe that's just a myth. For a baby as young as yours I would try smaller, more frequent bottles in the evening if you think he's hungry. That being said, my kids were ALWAYS a hot mess that time of night when they were small. It took me a long time to realize that they needed to sleep. I was trying to keep them up later to get one more feeding in, when really they just needed sleep. Have you tried putting them down for a nap around 5:00, or maybe bed at 6:00? Just a thought!

roaringrock · January 2011

my vote is still colic. ginny's crying was every night and nothing seemed to really calm her except a lot of pacing back and forth. my pedi also suggested BioGaia probiotic drops and they did give her some relief. I don't know... I wouldn't rule it out though. the good thing is, the colic disappeared one day, just like that. hang in there.

sara1014 · January 2011

Do you think it could be something like colic? I completely understand you wanting to keep twins on schedule. I was as strict as I could be with scheduling mine...but maybe just feed him earlier and see if it even helps?

Here's how things went at our house: Every night at 8 PM on the freaking nose M would just go into fits. It wasn't hunger, because 8pm was a common time to have a bottle. So we were lucky if we could get that bottle in him with him screaming and clawing (it was so awful I've seriously blocked it out). Our pedi said it sound like classic colic and it would go away by about month 4. About 2 days after the 4 month mark...he was the happiest, sweetest baby...even at 8pm. It was CRAZY.

Also, after M got better...H started. She also had weird poop issues and it turns out she had a belly ache due to a milk protein intolerance and we had to start feeding her Nutramigen...so if it continues you might want to keep an eye on his poops for signs of absorption/belly ache problems.

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