So our son just had his 4 month appointment and the doctor said we can start giving him cereal of course. She said to start at night. So I figured to feed him right before his last bottle before bed. Well he SCREAMS every time we try to feed him cereal (I'm assuming he is to hungry and just wants milk). What do I do? Anyone have any good suggestions on when to try feeding him? Maybe an hour or two before his last bottle of the day?
Oh and he's a breastfed baby...so he eats every 3 hours.
Suggestions would be great
Re: Feeding baby cereal...
I personally always start any new food whether it's cereal, veg or fruit, first thing in the morning. I never give them anything new at night before bed because you never know how it's going to digest in their tummy's and the last thing I want at night time is a fussy baby with an upset stomach. With my kids I always give them anything new either first thing in the morning with breakfast or at lunch time (veggies). That way if it doesn't sit well it's not going to keep them up all night. After a day or two once I know how they are handling it I add in another feed.
I know that all doctors/people have a different opinion on whether to give solids or bottles first but my doctor told me to give the solid food first followed by the bottle. That's what I've done with my first two kids and will do with this one as well. I should add that I never start my kids on solids until they are 5 months old. Maybe your LO is just not ready yet? I tried my older daugher on rice cereal at exactly 5 months and she wanted no part of it. She refused to open her mouth and would scream the entire time. I took a break for two weeks and tried again and that time she was fine and took it no problem. If your LO keeps refusing I'd suggest giving him a break for a week or two and then try again. Four months is the minimum for solids so he's still pretty little.
We try for lunch feedings mostly, and I do an attempt before he's hungry all the way. He can go 3-4 hours, so if he's showing any hunger cues at 3 hours say, I get everything ready. We are mixing 1 tbsp cereal with bm and it is still pretty liquidy. Personally, my LO couldn't fill up on cereal, because he's still trying to learn the spoon. He has interest and opens his mouth for the spoon, it's just most of it falls out of his mouth before he knows to swallow right now. We're learning
He gets his bottle immediately after our cereal attempt.
And PP, I think it's a great idea to do them in he AM with new foods, good thoughts on not wanting any unforseen reactions at night! I hadn't thought of it that way. Yay for sleep!
This kind of depends on your situation I guess. If LO is in daycare, I would rather deal with a issue at night when I'm home than have them miserable at daycare andme not be there. I plan to do evening feedings with solids when we start. That way he can eat dinner with us. He kind of gets bored now and ends up on my lap trying to grab my food most of the time. If I stayed home, I'd probably do morning because that is when he's happiest!