rice and other cereals

milo091511 · September 2015

There is some ranting in here. Just a fyi

So I keep being told to start my baby on rice cereal. I asked the pediatrician about when to start he says not till 6 months. I have had some moms say I started it our right away. Others say 3 months.
My baby is very fussy. I have gripe water to help with the gas and fussing. But it only helps a little bit. I am breastfeeding. And I am getting fustrated with people telling me that some babies can't handle breast milk. (How is that possible. How did people ever live before they made formula!) I do not want to use formula. My body gives my baby what she needs. I have been told to give her a warm bottle of water ( isn't that bad?) She is 8 weeks I feel like the rice. Water. Anything else besides my milk just isn't right.
She is very fussy when we are around people. She she is held a lot. She is happy and content when we are at home. When ever I'm around my mom she constantly says she's hungry even thoughI would just feed her. She just says give her just a little bit more. My mom has been driving me insane.!!
Idk what it is but I have been on edge latley. I am just so emotional it's ridiculous. I get mad at the smallest things. I cry over really nothing. I was never like this before I was pregnant. Pregnancy really wasn't any different. I started to get this way during the last couple weeks of my pregnancy. I think It has gotten worse expecially towards my mom.

pinkspringtulip · September 2015

I'm sorry that your mom is upsetting you.

Unfortunately I don't know the answer to your questions about the rice or water, but I agree that I would think breastmilk is best for your baby. Maybe speak to your doctor before making any decisions about how you're feeding your baby.

milo091511 · September 2015

I feel bad every time I yell at her. She never wants to listen to me. It's her way of raising a baby or no way at all. It drives me nuts. Im trying to get a hold of my self. I never knew this would be so hard. I hope I can do it before I go back to work. Lol

907_baby · September 2015

If LO is only fussy like that around other people it's possible she is over stimulated. Breast milk should be all that she needs at this point unless there is a n allergy or deficiency that has been diagnosed by her pedi.
I'm sorry you are dealing with this.

blovemama · September 2015

No advice to give, but I can relate to the mom stuff. My mom has gotten really bossy. I seriously appreciate that she drops everything when I need a nap. I don't appreciate how she always questions everything I do!

hclzmm14 · September 2015

4 months is the earliest you should consider giving rice cereal, and only if your baby is able to swallow food without choking. This is a skill they develop from 4-6 months. Before that their stomachs aren't ready for solids. You should never give LO water under 12 months old unless instructed by your pediatrician for constipation issues.

missliz53 · September 2015

It almost sounds like your lo is in her fussy stage rather than having lots of gas trouble because you would think that with gas, you would see fussing at home too. If it is gas pain, have you tried eliminating dairy from your diet? A dairy sensivity is supposed to be the most common culprit of gas pains. My lo used to just scream and her little belly would be hard as a rock, but eliminating dairy made a world of difference.

jesselayne8 · September 2015

I don't give my babies rice cereal ever. It's not necessary. Rice cereal movement was started back before formulas were fortified with iron like they are today. It certainly isn't the magical cure for fussiness or baby not STTN.
No water until 6 months unless instructed by pedi.

KateDerek · September 2015

Times have changed! My mom says I had it by two weeks and started baby food in the next month or so. She had to learn that things are different now and mostly to accept and respect my decisions.

I will say we are at 7 weeks and Harper is way more fussy than she was the first few. Now she is mad if she is hungry and she's mad if she wants to sleep, and those two things are things she needs a LOT during the day. I don't consider her fussy per say. Just a normal baby. I feed her and try and get her to sleep it seems like the majority of the day. And she fights the sleep something terrible! It's tough but this stage doesn't last forever. Hang in there and tell your mom to piss off!

milo091511 · September 2015

She is completely fine with me. Eats sleeps starting to play with toys. She to me is a normal (fussy) baby. I do know she has gas in her belly but she does a good job of farting. She's breastfed so I know she dosnt have to poop everyday. It's when she's around people she's fussy. And my mom of course has to know everything. She hasn't raised a baby on 20+ years and (I personally don't know) but she didn't have the time to do it. I was raised by my grandparents. My mom is a truckdriver. I remember most of my childhood either in a truck or with my grandparents.
I talked to my grandpa and he told me that she is trying to make up for it. I personally don't like it. I don't think thats something that you can make up. I remember telling my self when I was younger I will never raise my child like.
I know it is me being hard headed. But it's just so flustrating I don't know how to handle it.

MouseMama817 · September 2015

At the risk of sounding naive, what is the purpose of adding rice cereal to the bottle? Or giving rice cereal in any form? Is it something I have to do? We don't plan on transitioning baby girl to baby food. Instead we plan on baby led weaning (although the name suggests it, it doesn't mean weaning her from breastmilk. It just means introducing solids differently). It seems that rice cereal would go against that.

jesselayne8 · September 2015

@messymolly08 We did BLW with our first 2 kids. No purées no rice cereal. There is no reason to give rice cereal (except severe reflux under dr orders). It's an outdated recommendation.

buckleyk · September 2015

I agree- outdated recommendations. Do what feels right for you and ingore others. I didn't start solids with my son until 6 months and my mom occasionally made comments about how hungry he must be and he needs real food but you just have to learn to let that stuff go.

heidi8992 · September 2015

I will not be putting my baby on rice cereal after reading about the amount of arsenic in it!

https://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-safe-to-feed-my-baby-rice-cereal_10384011.bc

I agree the breast is all they need!

milo091511 · September 2015

Thankyou. I don't want to be the mother that does thung because other mothers do it. Thand forn the advice and support.

RBerry14 · September 2015

My family is just like this, every time LO cries, someone says "he's hungry." And my mom always says she started is on cereal when we were just a couple months but that is outdated. Babies fuss. And if your LO is gaining weight and having wet diapers, then you know he/she is getting what he/she needs. That's what I tell my family when they mention it because LO starts crying. I tell them he's gaining weight (and a lot) with breast milk and he's always wet, needing diaper changes

MamaMandy2015 · September 2015

Hmmm, we'll maybe I'm a bad mom but with my previous two when they were about a month old I would add about a half a teaspoon of rice cereal to their bottle at bedtime and I'm doing the same with this LO. It has nothing to do with fortifying it with iron but because adding it keeps them fuller a little longer so they sleep better at night. (and this LO needs it because she would be up every 1.5 hours and eat about 12 oz each night and mom and baby would be very tired, she's a much happier well rested baby now) It's only one bottle a night and the rest are straight formula. As far as letting babies drink straight water my pedi told me to add maybe a 1/4 ounce more to each bottle to help with LO constipation issues (this was before the rice cereal) I guess I'm just old school when it comes to raising kids. Always consult your pedi first before switching up or adding things to your babies diet because what works for one baby wouldn't for another.

LaurenNewph · October 2015

The only person I'd listen to is your pediatrician. They're the medical professionals... Not your mom! Sometimes babies need a little something extra, but that's a decision that you and her doctor should make! It really does sound like your baby just might be fussy!

milo091511 · October 2015

She is gaining weigh like crazy she was 9.14 and is now 15 pounds. We see the pediatrician I'm a couple days. Lol. It would be funny to have the pediatrician write my mother a note. Ha just like school. I don't think she would appreciate that very much. Lol jk

Madisson · October 2015

I would just ask your pediatrician about it so that you can forward the pediatrician's recommendation to your mom. (Or even just SAY that you did, but it never hurts to ask anyways) Then you can just say something along the lines of "I really appreciate your advice and of course want to do anything I can to make sure LO is happy and healthy, so I mentioned trying those things that you suggested at our pedi appointment and he/she says that baby is doing very well on breast milk alone and we shouldn't be trying to introduce anything else. He/she suggested that the reason for LO's fussiness is due to overstimulation when we're out and about which is why she isn't fussy at home. I guess she's a bit of an introvert!" It will keep your mom feeling valued and like her input was taken seriously

in my experience when my MIL hears that information comes from the pedi instead of just me she's less inclined to push her opinion so it's a win win!

jessyluscious77 · October 2015

I'm also breastfeeding. My baby is 9 weeks old. She has been having terrible gas and fussing as well as slow weight gain. Her pediatrician recommended I eliminate all allergens from my diet and see how she does. So far, she's doing better. I eliminated wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, and shellfish. All are known allergens/intolerances of mine which were determined by blood work.

AshleyM0125 · October 2015

I gave DD rice or oatmeal in her formula, but she was around 10-12 weeks I think. She would eat a bottle of formula and it just wasn't satisfying her but she wasn't ready for solids yet. It helped the formula to sit on her stomach longer. It also helped the colic she suffered. It was like the difference in a glass of milk and a milkshake. It just was what worked for us. Ultimately it's up to you.

milo091511 · October 2015

We went to the pediatrician today. He is extremely happy with her progress. He told me no other foods besides my milk until she is 6 months. She is 14.5 pounds and 24 inches long. The nurse askes me how many times a day do I feed her. Shoot I have no idea. I feed her when she cries. I do feel like she cluster feeds. I believe thats what you call it.. she gets so fussy I just give in and she eats and is just so happy nursing. I have been trying to trick her by switching me out with a pacifier. But as soon as she notices she gets really mad and starts screaming. I don't know what to do about that either. I will be going back to work soon and I wont beable to do that with her.

acciocoffee · October 2015

My MIL pushes for the cereal as well. I keep telling her it is no longer recommended and she says pediatricians don't know what they are talking about. Just keep doing what you are doing! I always figure you can listen to advice without actually taking it.

MrsBunz · October 2015

Putting rice cereal in a bottle before 6 months is no longer recommended by the AAP. And babies shouldn't be given bottles of water (that was recommended when I was a baby, so I had a hard time convincing my mother that it isn't anymore). Breast milk is digested quicker and more efficiently that formula, so a BF baby may eat more frequently. As for the cluster feeding, my little guy does that too. He will nurse every 1 1/2-3 hrs during the day, then at about 8-11 he will nurse hourly, and then be able to sleep 3-4 hrs at night between feedings (he is 6 weeks). If she is hungry, or crying and you think she may be hungry, try to feed her. She may be going through a growth spurt and needs more, and she is too little to be put on a ridged BFing schedule. What kind of pacifier are you using I know my LO will only use the MAM ones and will spit everything else out.

Have yo tried weighing her, feeding her, then weighing her again so you know how much she is taking? It may help your mom realize your LO is getting enough.

milo091511 · October 2015

I'm not sure what kind of pacifier she has she has a couple different ones. I normally feed her when she gets really fussy.

I didn't know that you could do that. Thankyou thats a fantastic idea. I will deffently be doing that. I have been guessing off of how much I pump.

MrsBunz · October 2015

Another thought...

You could try feeding her before she gets really fussy, since fussing and crying is a late sign of hunger. I know from experience there is nothing more frustrating than trying to feed a hangry (hungry/angry) baby. If it don't get a chance to feed my LO before he reaches the hungry phase, he will pull on and off for the first minute and cry because he is frustrated waiting for the let down. This also causes him to swallow a lot of air, causing gas, which in turn makes him more fussy. If you have the option of seeing a lactation consultant, I really recommend it. Seeing a LC helped me get over a lot of my BFing troubles early on as I dealt with and oversupply, over active let down, severe engorgement, and a baby who wouldn't latch due to both a lip tie and a tongue tie. I went from crying on the shower floor thinking I would never finger out BFing and always have a fussy baby, to a LO who latches great and is drinking 4-6 oz in a feeding and is very content.

I also really like the Mommy's Bliss Gripe Water, they have a daytime and a nighttime formula (it has chamomile and lemon balm to promote seep) , and it may just be a placebo effect, but I think they have made a huge difference

mchildress1126 · October 2015

My lo is now 9 weeks and he was always very fussy. My mil would say he is hungry and I found out he was so what my peditrician advised was to give him one teaspoon of rice cereal for every 4 oz. It is thin enough where they can swallow it it does not make it thick at all and if you think your child has colic which mine does they have a medicine you can get prescribed it's called hyoline it's oral drops they helped a lot along with over the counter mylocone drops

tarheelgirl8 · October 2015

Sib4jojo said:
If LO is only fussy like that around other people it's possible she is over stimulated. Breast milk should be all that she needs at this point unless there is a n allergy or deficiency that has been diagnosed by her pedi.
I'm sorry you are dealing with this.

This. DD acts fussier around others and eats more frequently. I think it's just her way of trying to get back to her mommy when she's tired of strangers!

Robinette720 · November 2015

My DS is 10 weeks and his doctor is really pleased with his weight gain from 7.9 lbs to 11 lbs in one month. He has reflux but it's not bad enough to put him on medication which I'm thankful for! His doc is also older and conservative and only prescribes things when really necessary. He suggested a little bit of rice cereal in his milk at night to help him sleep so I'll try that and see how it works. Also,
We are flying on a plane in another month and he said to start giving him distilled water in a bottle. If he's thirsty he'll drink and if not he pushes the bottle away. I'm supposed to give it to him on the descent to help relieve the pressure in his head... 2 oz of water or less in a 24 hour period is all. So far he likes it!

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