rice cereal in formula clogging nipple! help!

JH516 · March 2012

Our pedi gave us the ok to put rice cereal in LOs bedtime bottle to help her sleep longer so I tried it tonight and the cereal clogged the nipple so nothing was coming out LO got so frustrated she gave up and fell asleep.

Pedi suggested making the hole bigger but I'm afraid I'll rip it or something. I'm worried that if I move to next step nipple the flow might be too much.

Any suggestions? What has worked for you? Thanks!

PinsBride19 · March 2012

What bottles do you use?? I use Tommie tippee and I just bought a cross cut niplple which says its for 0+ months, I haven't tried it yet but I bought for the same reason. I know playtex has the cross cut nipples as well. Good luck!

MDmama519 · March 2012

You need a new pedi.

Auburngirl32 · March 2012

Use a safety pin and make a little slice up top this is what I did. You don't need a new pedi, reading blog sites and literature on what you SHOULD not do with your baby is not a good idea. I use a tsp per 2 oz. My LO does sleep for longer stretches (6-6.5 hrs) I even did two nights without adding the cereal for the naysayers and she woke up every 2 hrs and it was hard to get her to settle back down. I said all that to say this: do what's best for your LO and trust your pedi until he/she give you a reason not to.

katied022 · March 2012

Babies should not have anything but formula/breast milk for the 1st 4 months because their bodies can not digest anything else properly yet.

ASmallWonder · March 2012

Rice cereal is the equivelant to rice cakes for adults on a diet. You use it to fill the belly without adding "unecessary" calories. The thing is, in newborns the calories are most definitely necessary. Baby wakes up because baby's body is telling him/her that it needs more fuel for all the growing it's doing. Give the baby formula/breastmilk to fulfill those needs.

greengirl0909 · March 2012

katied022:
Babies should not have anything but formula/breast milk for the 1st 4 months because their bodies can not digest anything else properly yet.

This. I'm sorry, but the statement "my baby needs to sleep longer" sounds totally selfish. I can't think of one reason why you'd choose to put your baby in danger for your own sleep.

kmm2150 · March 2012

Auburngirl32:
Use a safety pin and make a little slice up top this is what I did. You don't need a new pedi, reading blog sites and literature on what you SHOULD not do with your baby is not a good idea. I use a tsp per 2 oz. My LO does sleep for longer stretches (6-6.5 hrs) I even did two nights without adding the cereal for the naysayers and she woke up every 2 hrs and it was hard to get her to settle back down. I said all that to say this: do what's best for your LO and trust your pedi until he/she give you a reason not to.

I agree you should take things on blogs and forums with a grain of salt, but the American Academy of Pediatrics says no food till 4 months, and preferably 6 months. Their bodies aren't equipped yet to handle it. I would also be looking for a new pediatrician. If your baby is waking up hungry, they need to eat something substantial, not filler, like pps have said. At two months waking every few hours is normal, and there are lots of other things you can try, if you think baby isn't really hungry but just having trouble staying asleep.

mben1119 · March 2012

MDmama519:

You need a new pedi.

This. Your doctor is an idiot, who shouldn't be giving any advice apparently, let alone sleep advice.

gooshbaby · March 2012

your not suppostto put it in the bottle. feed them w a spoon-its less dangerous.

kcl22 · March 2012

gooshbaby:
your not suppostto put it in the bottle. feed them w a spoon-its less dangerous.

Ugh please do not try to feed your 2 month old rice cereal from a spoon. Your pedi sounds outdated and uninformed, OP. I'd hold off on the rice cereal until at least 4 months.

GoldMurphy · March 2012

Is there another reason for the rice cereal? My LO has rice cereal added to all of his bottles due to pretty bad reflux and we're trying to avoid medication. Funny thing is he hasn't started sleeping longer because of it.

Regardless... we started using the Avent variable flow nipples. It works fine on the slowest flow. You can find them at baby stores or online.

Good luck!

aka08bride · March 2012

Momma to two and pediatrician chiming in. In practice and according to the AAP rice cereal may be added to formula/breastmilk to thicken feeds for babies with reflux prior to trying anti-reflux medications.

Rice cereal should never be added to a bottle so that a baby can "sleep longer" and nipples should never be cut to make the opening wider. As previously said this is a choking/aspiration hazard! A baby with a full stomach will generally sleep better but no food is advised before 4-6 months old because the infants gut cannot digest it properly.

There is no evidence that adding cereal to a bottle will help babies sleep better or longer.

Find a new pediatrician.

kiarstin · March 2012

I think giving your baby something he doesn't need so you don't have to wake up is selfish.... When you got pregnant you knew a baby ate every couple hours right? I have heard it also increases obesity since the calories are't what he needs and can't gauge how much to eat.

krismk · March 2014

We started feeding our baby a little bit of rice cereal in her bottle at 3 months and she as perfectly fine. It all depends on your baby and how you feel about it. We are having the problem lately where the nipple gets clogged so we now feed her with a spoon since she is over 5 months. I would suggest only adding a small amount while still young and if it works for you great, if not then thats ok. But everyones opinions are different so don't take everything to heart.

lollipoppoop · March 2014

ITS NOT GOING TO HELP YOUR BABY SLEEP LONGER.

Why do people have babies then get pissed when they don't sleep long periods of time.

cagoldi · March 2014

If your baby is waking up frequently to eat she needs real nutrition, from BM or formula, not high-glycemic starch junk.

I don't accept that giving your LO rice cereal will make her sleep longer. But even if that were the case, do you really want her sleeping through a feeding because her stomach is full of that gross glop instead of you getting up to BF or offer a bottle?

ASmallWonder · March 2014

Aaaand we've got a year old post resurrected.

KariB509 · March 2014

No, no, no, no, no.

And get a new pedi because yours is giving you bad information.

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rice cereal in formula clogging nipple! help!

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