At what age do you start cereal?

Kissty · October 2012

I'm a ftm so I'm new to all of this. Everyone keeps telling me to give the lo a small amount of cereal at night to get him to sleep longer. He is only 6 wks old and that sounds a little young to me. He goes about 3-4 hrs. at night and 2 hours between feedings during the day. He is ff.

bigbootyjudi · October 2012

We started him on cereal at 6 weeks because of his reflux. After a week on it, I can tell you: It did not make him sleep through the night longer. It made him extremely constipated. We ended up stopping it after ready for it a week. His system just wasn't ready for it, we'll try again in a month.

Neener73 · October 2012

DS's pediatrician said we'd talk about solids at DS's 4 month appointment. My mom and older relatives also tried to convince me to give DS cereal because they gave it to me and their kids. I just ignore them or tell them we're going to discuss it with his doctor.

amil798 · October 2012

4 month is what I heard, is the right age to add cereals to baby's diet. Sleeping through the night happens when it happens. Just make sure the little on is well fed throughout the day!

tiffanynicolemartin1988 · October 2012

I started my DS on single grain Rice cereal at 6 weeks. I just mixed a little in his bottle with breatmilk or formula. He loved it! Then at 8 weeks I started adding a little of 1ST FOODS like pears, or apples in the mix too. The fruit keeps them from getting constipated. I kept the mixture pretty thin for a while. You will have to cut the nipple on the bottle though. it did help him sleep longer at night and keep him more full during the day. my son is now 11 weeks old i switched him to single grain oatmeal and fruit mixed with his formula and he sleeps a solid 6 hours during the night and then is up for a feeding and then back down for another 6 hours. Just use your instincts. Remember you are the mom and you will know if they are ready. Just listen to yourself and not anyone else. If you do try the cereal I would try it for the first time during the day instead of night. GOOD LUCK!

CLLDLL · October 2012

Introducing anything but formula or BM before 4 months withot the supervision of a Dr./GI is dangerous!! Baby can develope allergies, be constipated, develop sores in his/her intestine, even get too many calories and not enough vitamins/minerals. Don't do it please. 6 months would be better.

bullybutt · October 2012

LoisLane23:

tiffanynicolemartin1988:
I started my DS on single grain Rice cereal at 6 weeks. I just mixed a little in his bottle with breatmilk or formula. He loved it! Then at 8 weeks I started adding a little of 1ST FOODS like pears, or apples in the mix too. The fruit keeps them from getting constipated. I kept the mixture pretty thin for a while. You will have to cut the nipple on the bottle though. it did help him sleep longer at night and keep him more full during the day. my son is now 11 weeks old i switched him to single grain oatmeal and fruit mixed with his formula and he sleeps a solid 6 hours during the night and then is up for a feeding and then back down for another 6 hours. Just use your instincts. Remember you are the mom and you will know if they are ready. Just listen to yourself and not anyone else. If you do try the cereal I would try it for the first time during the day instead of night. GOOD LUCK!

If this is what you do, your instincts are broken.

Why would you do this at such a VERY young age ?

Mrs.PinkPearls · October 2012

Our family keeps telling us to do this too and I refuse. He is too small. Plus I also heard that it is not good for his digestive system which PP stated as well.

scottsarab · October 2012

Oh my god, do you even have a pediatrician? This is wrong wrong wrong.

scottsarab · October 2012

tiffanynicolemartin1988:
I started my DS on single grain Rice cereal at 6 weeks. I just mixed a little in his bottle with breatmilk or formula. He loved it! Then at 8 weeks I started adding a little of 1ST FOODS like pears, or apples in the mix too. The fruit keeps them from getting constipated. I kept the mixture pretty thin for a while. You will have to cut the nipple on the bottle though. it did help him sleep longer at night and keep him more full during the day. my son is now 11 weeks old i switched him to single grain oatmeal and fruit mixed with his formula and he sleeps a solid 6 hours during the night and then is up for a feeding and then back down for another 6 hours. Just use your instincts. Remember you are the mom and you will know if they are ready. Just listen to yourself and not anyone else. If you do try the cereal I would try it for the first time during the day instead of night. GOOD LUCK!

Oh my god, do you even have a pediatrician? This is wrong wrong wrong.

heymommy · October 2012

You can start introducing at 4-6 months.

heymommy · October 2012

Here are the guidelines ...

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Switching-To-Solid-Foods.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:+No+local+token

heymommy · October 2012

What the AAP says..

https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/Starting-Solids-Too-Early-May-Increase-Obesity-Risk.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:+No+local+token

sadsadie · October 2012

DON'T give cereal (or anything else besides BM/formula) unless your pediatrician specifically directs you to. The PP who was feeding her kid cereal and fruit is nuts. The WHO recommends nothing but BMfor the first six months of life. Your infant isn't ready to be STTN, so don't try to force it by introducing solids and things that could really mess with LO's digestive tract.

JameyR · October 2012

Pedi told us at DD1s 4 month appt. it doesn't make your baby sleep longer at night, that's just an old wives tale. Baby will STTN when they are ready!

SuperCuteBenz · October 2012

tiffanynicolemartin1988:
I started my DS on single grain Rice cereal at 6 weeks. I just mixed a little in his bottle with breatmilk or formula. He loved it! Then at 8 weeks I started adding a little of 1ST FOODS like pears, or apples in the mix too. The fruit keeps them from getting constipated. I kept the mixture pretty thin for a while. You will have to cut the nipple on the bottle though. it did help him sleep longer at night and keep him more full during the day. my son is now 11 weeks old i switched him to single grain oatmeal and fruit mixed with his formula and he sleeps a solid 6 hours during the night and then is up for a feeding and then back down for another 6 hours. Just use your instincts. Remember you are the mom and you will know if they are ready. Just listen to yourself and not anyone else. If you do try the cereal I would try it for the first time during the day instead of night. GOOD LUCK!

I hope this is a joke. FFS.

Like the others said, cereal is not recommended before 4 months at the very earliest unless due to reflux. It is better to hold off until 6 months or skip cereal all together. It has no nutritional value, and can cause wicked constipation and gas. Sleeping better/longer is a old wives tale, and if it does happen, its likely a fluke.

noahchristopher · October 2012

I will agree that it probably won't help your LO sleep longer. However, we gave our son rice cereal in his bottle at age 4 months because he was on a hypoallergenic formula (Allimentum) and it was very thin, causing him to reflux quite a bit.

I heeded the advice of my beloved Aunt, who is, yes, OLD SCHOOL, and it really worked wonders for him. We only added a little bit to give it some weight, and I read extensively online of others who also used rice at that age. He not only stopped the excessive spitting up, but the rice held him longer between feeds during the day.

You have to make sure you don't overdo it with the rice, which is why I think the use of rice gets such harsh criticism. I don't believe it should be used to get your child to sleep longer, but there are circumstances where it can help.

Of course talk to your pedi, but some old school ways really do carry some weight and should not always be tossed aside. I was so against a lot of them, but have to say some will save your life. You have to think how crazy things have become nowadays with the internet and WAY TOO MUCH information, weigh in your own situation, and then make a decision.

Kasi80 · October 2012

According to my pedi the recommendation used to be 6 months for cereal but now it's changed to between 4 and 6 months. She gave the OK for us to start at 4 months if we'd like.

gingerfamily · October 2012

Sometimes giving cereal in a bottle is recommended for reflux babies. But it shouldn't be done unless your baby has reflux. The fruit in the bottle thing has got to be mud.

Hyaline · October 2012

Well, I think it's overstating to say it's an old wives' tale--at least, I've known enough "old wives" who had the exact same experience that introducing cereal led to STTN. And people didn't know a generation or two ago that introducing cereal so early was a bad idea, so it makes sense that they would encourage doing so--after all, baby sleeping longer is a good thing for mom! But that does NOT mean that you should rush introducing it. Like pps said, baby is not ready for that kind of digestive action yet. Four months is the soonest I've heard pedis suggest cereal, and six months is more standard.

SuperCuteBenz · October 2012

Hyaline:
Well, I think it's overstating to say it's an old wives' tale--at least, I've known enough "old wives" who had the exact same experience that introducing cereal led to STTN. And people didn't know a generation or two ago that introducing cereal so early was a bad idea, so it makes sense that they would encourage doing so--after all, baby sleeping longer is a good thing for mom! But that does NOT mean that you should rush introducing it. Like pps said, baby is not ready for that kind of digestive action yet. Four months is the soonest I've heard pedis suggest cereal, and six months is more standard.

Then it would be called a coincidence.

Jessfulller · October 2012

I call this the " 80's" thing. My mother in law and my mother BOTH were pushing for me to put cereal in ds's bottle at 4 weeks. My pedi said it would be discussed at his 4 month appointment. Although I have considered skipping cereal. I cannot wait to start solids though I'm looking forward to it! Also DS has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 weeks, 8-12 hour stretches. We keep to a strict routine every night and he knows it means go time!

Hyaline · October 2012

SuperCuteBenz:
Hyaline:
Well, I think it's overstating to say it's an old wives' tale--at least, I've known enough "old wives" who had the exact same experience that introducing cereal led to STTN. And people didn't know a generation or two ago that introducing cereal so early was a bad idea, so it makes sense that they would encourage doing so--after all, baby sleeping longer is a good thing for mom! But that does NOT mean that you should rush introducing it. Like pps said, baby is not ready for that kind of digestive action yet. Four months is the soonest I've heard pedis suggest cereal, and six months is more standard.
Then it would be called a coincidence.

Or, you know, empirical evidence. When you collect it formally it's called data and the basis for modern science. Would be interesting to do so for this question.

ETA: I have the feeling that most pedis refer to it as an old wives' tale not in reference to whether it's effective (ie, does cereal keep baby full longer so less wakeful) but in reference to it being a bad and outdated idea. Like "Mother's Little Helper" from the early 1900s--yeah, it worked to quiet baby down, but feeding your baby opiates is a bad idea.

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