Adding rice cereal

Baby-Boo · January 2015

My LO is 4 and a half months old and EBF. Lately, he has been getting hungry earlier and earlier between feedings. Since I have been pumping to breastfeed him, I always have a little more in the bottle should he want it. He usualy eats around 6 to 7 oz a bottle. He has been wanting more lately. My MIL (a doctor and mom of two herself) suggested putting a little rice cereal in his bottles with the milk to more it more hearty to satisfy his hungry longer. I've never heard of this before and wanted some opinions on it. I can't think of any reason not to try it and her advice is usually great. Any ideas?

Melody330 · January 2015

Here are some great links with updated research:
https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-sleep/

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

At the end of this page are some soothing techniques instead of offering more in bottle -
https://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/fussy-evening/

That being said, nope, wouldn't do it. The AAP specifically says to never put anything in a bottle besides BM or formula. Unfortunately your MIL is working with very outdated information.

Also, 6-7 oz is a ton of BM to be supplying for each feeding. Most BF babies will never take more than 4-5 oz at a time. The composition of BM changes as baby gets older so the amount of oz should not change. Here is an excerpt from kellymom about cereal in bottles:

A little more about feeding baby cereal from a bottle…

Doctors and other experts recommend that you never give baby cereal in a bottle unless recommended by baby’s doctor for a specific medical condition. Here are some of their reasons:

It is a choking hazard.
The cereal takes away from the amount of milk in the bottle (adds carbohydrates and dilutes the nutrient density), and baby may not get adequate milk volume for proper growth and development.
Baby is being given a higher concentration of calories without being able to regulate her own intake. This can lead to weight problems in the future.

nunzchucks · January 2015

Echoing what everyone else said - do not put rice cereal in LO's bottle. Period.

Baby-Boo · January 2015

Ok. I thought that sounded odd anyway. BTW why does it matter how much he is drinking if he is still hungry with smaller amounts?

Melody330 · January 2015

Research shows that most BF babies take between 25-30 oz a day. So I'm assuming you EP and your LO is having 6-7 bottles. That's 42-49 oz of breast milk a day. Way too much.

Try to soothe other ways first. My LO is almost 12 months and when he took bottles he topped out at 4 oz. DC said he was still hungry, but I made sure they were using paced feedings, we had slowest nipple and they were not going to feed him any time his hands went to his mouth and he cried. It worked out great.

BM changes as baby gets older. The calorie intake increases so the amount of oz will not. Here are some good links.

https://breastfeedingusa.org/content/article/breast-versus-bottle-how-much-milk-should-baby-take

https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

surpriseaddition · January 2015

My LO always took 5 oz bottles of BM at daycare, but she also STTN and only received 6 feedings per day....so 6 x 5 = 30oz. I don't see where you said how many bottles LO gets each day. If you are doing bottles further apart, I would try doing 5 oz bottles more frequently so the time between bottles is shorter. Agree with PP that rice in the bottle is a no-no, but you may want to try just a teaspoon of really diluted (with BM) rice cereal on a spoon once a day. GL!

amackattack · January 2015

Question. I have a 7 month old baby. Why would it be bad to put oatmeal cereal in her bottle, since she could be eating oatmeal cereal for one of her meals anyways? Especially if I'm still putting the same amount of Bmilk in her bottle, so it's not replacing any Bmilk but just upping the amount of solids she consumes per day?

Additionally, and I'm sure I'm missing something, how could oatmeal cereal in a bottle possibly be a choking hazard?? It's coming through one or two tiny tiny holes. How could a chunk big enough to choke on possibly come out of a nipple hole?

amackattack · January 2015

Amy- thanks for the answers! So baby gets some BLW/finger foods once or twice a day and also gets offered a puree twice a day. She will eat anywhere between 4 bites to a full jar of puree at each sitting and will eat some finger foods depending on what it is. She is definitely getting used to textures and flavors, etc. Pincer grip is really coming along nicely.

Yes, of course, adding in a teaspoon or whatever of oatmeal would be me just trying to get more hours of sleep.I am positive she gets at least 25 oz of milk during the daytime, yet she still wakes up to nurse several times a night. Since she is getting enough milk during the day, say she took in 120 calories before bed rather than 80. Then instead of getting up in 3 hours to eat another 40 calories, she sleeps instead. It's the same amount of calories....she just slept longer. And her nutrition is still okay because she got the 25-30oz of Bmilk during the day. The issue with this is that she ate too much at one time and she needed that to be spread out? It just seems weird since a lot of babies are sleeping through and not eating as much overnight. Other babies must be eating more at one time and sleeping longer stretches whether they've had oatmeal added or not, no?

I think suggesting I'm lazy for wanting to try it is kinda a stretch.

Melody330 · January 2015

I feel your pain, but giving LO more food before bed isn't going to solve your sleeping problem.

My LO is turning one tomorrow, and still wakes up 2-4(bad night) times a night. He nurses 6 ish times during the day, eats three meals and a snack before bed. Doesn't matter what is in his belly. He's just not ready yet.

Yes, it sucks. But this too shall pass.

fusionbride · January 2015

to OP:
I agree with others about no cereal in bottles. But just wanted to let you know that my LO drank only breastmilk (both nursing and pumped) and around 5 months she went to 5oz, and then 6 months she went to 6oz in her bottles. So it is possible for babies to be on the far ends of the "normal range" for amount of BM to take at a time.
I had an oversupply issue, so I think LO just got used to big servings. She was always fed on demand, so never forced to finish bottles etc., and I think she turned out fine.

Also, 4months is a classic time for sleeping problems and maybe LO is also going through a growthspurt where they would clusterfeed if you were nursing-- so I agree with other suggestions to also offer smaller bottles more frequently for a few days in case it is a growth spurt.

babym6705 · January 2015

Babies suck for nutrition but also comfort. Talk to your pediatrician about the number of ounces you should offer. Some babies will overeat if offered.

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