Rice cereal HELP! (xp Aug 12)

CRey13 · November 2012

My DS had his 4 month checkup yesterday and the doc is concerned that he is in the 3rd percentile for weight. DS usually eats about 24oz a day. The doc wants us to replace one bottle with rice cereal and build up to 3 meals a day of rice. He also says to spoon feed and not put the cereal in a bottle. The problem is DS screams every time we try to give him cereal. We make it the same consistency as his formula and have tried offer at different times during the day with no luck.

So, opinions/advice needed. Should we put it in the bottle? Mix it with something sweet like bananas? Keep trying with the spoon? Give up and go straight to fruits/veggies?

I have no clue what to do. TIA!

unaveragejane · November 2012

I have always heard that there are not enough calories in cereal to really count as a meal, so I would probably do the cereal in addition to the 24oz of formula he was already getting. With DS, I found that feeding him the cereal right after a bottle worked the best so he wasn't starving (and screaming). I tried making it thin at first, but he seems to like it fairly thick...like cream of wheat consistency. I save a little bit of his bottle so he can wash down the cereal every few bites or so. I also found that DS likes oatmeal better than rice, and it makes him less constipated.

lil_jen051708 · November 2012

I have pretty much the same advice as the last poster. Try cereal right after a bottle so he's already satisfied. DS didn't like it the first time because spoon feeding is slower than a bottle or boob.

Too much cereal can constipate LO so be careful with the quantity and I agree that food should be in addition and not a replacement of a bottle.

DS loves oatmeal over cereal and I mix some breastmilk in with it and have started introducing pures by mixing them with oatmeal.

schup156 · November 2012

I've never really understood the whole "choking hazard" thing? Peds recommend rice in a bottle to babies with reflux all the time (my LO included). So babies with reflux aren't prone to choking or something? As long as you're adding small amounts (we do 1 Tbsp of rice cereal per 4-5 oz of formula) and it's well mixed I think you're fine.

mben1119 · November 2012

schup156:
I've never really understood the whole "choking hazard" thing?nbsp; Peds recommend rice in a bottle to babies with reflux all the time my LO included.nbsp; So babies with reflux aren't prone to choking or something?nbsp; As long as you're adding small amounts we do 1 Tbsp of rice cereal per 45 oz of formula and it's well mixed I think you're fine.nbsp;

No, it is just that for reflux, the benefits outweigh the risks.

ASmallWonder · November 2012

I strongly disagree with your pedi. Formula and rice cereal each have about 20 calories per ounce. However, one ounce of cereal (about 2 tbsp mixed with water, which is a normal serving size for a baby "meal") is much more filling than an ounce of liquid. You'd be far more likely to get your baby to drink an additional bottle, even if it's only 3 ounces, kwim?

https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/babyfoodcalories/

bigbootyjudi · November 2012

Cereal has no nutritional value, so it's not going to do anything as far as that goes. I'd just go straight to veggies (supposed to start veggies before fruit). Be careful with the rice cereal...when we gave it to DS in bottles, he got SO constipated. It was ridiculous, we took him off of it, and his system hasn't been the same since. We'll be skipping right over cereal!

jessalynn521 · November 2012

We do oatmeal, but The first time I tried Aiden screamed so I just fed him the bottle. After that we did bottle then Oatmeal and he does just fine. He doesn't get full as fast with spoon feeding and freaks out because he is not getting full fast enough. I would try that order, and it makes no sense to drop out the bottle for those feedings if you are trying to add weight, just add rice as well rather than in place of.

MrsSilky · November 2012

Try thickening the cereal. My daughter gets upset when her cereal is too thin. I mix her cereal with formula or breast milk and then add a little fruit or veggie. Sweet potatoes were her first "food" and they are sweet and thick enough that she enjoyed them with her cereal. She had to get used to bananas, as they were a little tart at first.

Stefaniepr · November 2012

unaveragejane:
I have always heard that there are not enough calories in cereal to really count as a meal, so I would probably do the cereal in addition to the 24oz of formula he was already getting. With DS, I found that feeding him the cereal right after a bottle worked the best so he wasn't starving (and screaming). I tried making it thin at first, but he seems to like it fairly thick...like cream of wheat consistency. I save a little bit of his bottle so he can wash down the cereal every few bites or so. I also found that DS likes oatmeal better than rice, and it makes him less constipated.

this! That said, rice made DS really constipated - as did bananas. With DD, I went straight to oatmeal and fruit/veggies. Once you get him eating, try avocado. It has great fats, although DD wasn't a fan at first. I sometimes mix it with other stuff. Good luck!

Rice cereal HELP! (xp Aug 12)

Re: Rice cereal HELP! (xp Aug 12)

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