Those of you using cereal for reflux

laswett · February 2016

So at his 2 month, pedi said G had reflux, but not bad enough to treat. He said if it bothered me, I could put cereal in his bottles. G cries when he spits up, and does it every time I lay him down even at an angle and even after extended time upright. I've been doing it, but only 1 tbs to 4 Oz. I'm having major mom guilt over giving him solids too soon. For those of you doing this, what age did you start, and are you seeing any negative effects from starting early?

ShianeNicole · February 2016

My pedi recommends cereal at 3 months for any baby. Elliot will be 3 months on the 22nd and I'm thinking she needs to wait a little longer because we just introduced formula. I want her to get used to that first. I know a lot of people say 4 to 6 for anything solid but every baby in my family has started cereal at 3 months. I asked my pedi what was a good age she said around 3 months. You know your baby best. Do what you think helps! Nothing to feel guilty about if it helps your LO. Good luck!

laswett · February 2016

ShianeNicole said:

My pedi recommends cereal at 3 months for any baby. Elliot will be 3 months on the 22nd and I'm thinking she needs to wait a little longer because we just introduced formula. I want her to get used to that first. I know a lot of people say 4 to 6 for anything solid but every baby in my family has started cereal at 3 months. I asked my pedi what was a good age she said around 3 months. You know your baby best. Do what you think helps! Nothing to feel guilty about if it helps your LO. Good luck!

He will be 3 months on the 1st. For now, I'm only putting it in his night bottles since he will always lay down after a feeding, so he doesn't eat it all day. I'm hoping the slow intro doesn't do any damage.

GoogleMD · February 2016

My pedi does not do anything other than breast milk or formula prior to 4 months and really perfer to wait till 6 months in order to allow the digestive system to better develop, which recent research indicate takes closer to 5 or 6 months. That being said you have to weigh the risks and benefits and what is best for your family and LO. Don't feel guilty no matter your decision.

laswett · February 2016

GoogleMD said:

My pedi does not do anything other than breast milk or formula prior to 4 months and really perfer to wait till 6 months in order to allow the digestive system to better develop, which recent research indicate takes closer to 5 or 6 months. That being said you have to weigh the risks and benefits and what is best for your family and LO. Don't feel guilty no matter your decision.

I know. That's where the guilt comes from. I've done so much reading since I got pregnant and I know you should wait. I just feel bad for LO because it is clearly unpleasant for him to spit up.

sammyjopp · February 2016

What type of bottle are you using? When I put Cereal in my sons bottle it gets clogged. I've tried cutting a hole in the nipple to make it bigger but it still gets clogged.

laswett · February 2016

sammyjopp said:

What type of bottle are you using? When I put Cereal in my sons bottle it gets clogged. I've tried cutting a hole in the nipple to make it bigger but it still gets clogged.

I'm using Nuk bottles. I'm only using 1 tbs per 4 Oz feeding, so the 1 nipple are working fine. I picked up some 6 month nipples in case we needed to thicken it.

Bootsie81 · February 2016

My kid's pedi said 3 months for cereal too. We're waiting until at least 4 months I think. We tried cereal in my sons bottles when he was around 2 months for reflux but he refused to drink them.

Bootsie81 · February 2016

sammyjopp said:

What type of bottle are you using? When I put Cereal in my sons bottle it gets clogged. I've tried cutting a hole in the nipple to make it bigger but it still gets clogged.

You could try running the dry cereal through a blender/food processor before mixing it into the bottles.

alynny · February 2016

My daughter doesn't have any issues but has been eating cereal off a spoon since she was about a month and a half.... She loves it but it seems like I'm the only person out there doing this. Btw I got the okay from her doctor.

ShianeNicole · February 2016

I hope I didn't come off wrong, just saying if she recommended it for any baby at 3 months, then I think he will be just fine at 2 months if it truly helps him!

alysa03 · February 2016

Lurker from d15

my son had a horrible time keeping things down and not gaining weight like he was supposed to. If you don't want to do actual cereal you could try enfamil a.r formula. That is what his pedi put him him instead of going straight to adding cereal to his bottle. I personally noticed a difference right away!

VexedMommy · February 2016

sammyjopp said:

What type of bottle are you using? When I put Cereal in my sons bottle it gets clogged. I've tried cutting a hole in the nipple to make it bigger but it still gets clogged.

It's not a very good idea to cut the nipples on the bottle. It compromises the plastic on the nipple and can lead it to break down and possibly for bits to come off while your child is eating. I'd highly recommend just purchasing the nipples designed for older babies. You could also try a slightly lower ratio of cereal to formula/milk. If none of those options are possible you could also try only giving warm bottles (if you're not already) so the rice breaks down further.

sammyjopp · February 2016

VexedMommy said:

sammyjopp said:

What type of bottle are you using? When I put Cereal in my sons bottle it gets clogged. I've tried cutting a hole in the nipple to make it bigger but it still gets clogged.

It's not a very good idea to cut the nipples on the bottle. It compromises the plastic on the nipple and can lead it to break down and possibly for bits to come off while your child is eating. I'd highly recommend just purchasing the nipples designed for older babies. You could also try a slightly lower ratio of cereal to formula/milk. If none of those options are possible you could also try only giving warm bottles (if you're not already) so the rice breaks down further.

I went and bought the y cut nipple for the dr Browns bottles. So I got rid of the one I cut. Hopefully it works, I haven't tried it yet.

helsbels222 · February 2016

laswett said:

ShianeNicole said:

My pedi recommends cereal at 3 months for any baby. Elliot will be 3 months on the 22nd and I'm thinking she needs to wait a little longer because we just introduced formula. I want her to get used to that first. I know a lot of people say 4 to 6 for anything solid but every baby in my family has started cereal at 3 months. I asked my pedi what was a good age she said around 3 months. You know your baby best. Do what you think helps! Nothing to feel guilty about if it helps your LO. Good luck!

He will be 3 months on the 1st. For now, I'm only putting it in his night bottles since he will always lay down after a feeding, so he doesn't eat it all day. I'm hoping the slow intro doesn't do any damage.

He'll be fine. We did this with DS and started when he was about 2 or 2.5 months, I don't remember exactly. The pedi suggested it because the zantac alone wasn't helping.

Edited: second response was to the wrong person

helsbels222 · February 2016

sammyjopp said:

VexedMommy said:

sammyjopp said:

What type of bottle are you using? When I put Cereal in my sons bottle it gets clogged. I've tried cutting a hole in the nipple to make it bigger but it still gets clogged.

It's not a very good idea to cut the nipples on the bottle. It compromises the plastic on the nipple and can lead it to break down and possibly for bits to come off while your child is eating. I'd highly recommend just purchasing the nipples designed for older babies. You could also try a slightly lower ratio of cereal to formula/milk. If none of those options are possible you could also try only giving warm bottles (if you're not already) so the rice breaks down further.

I went and bought the y cut nipple for the dr Browns bottles. So I got rid of the one I cut. Hopefully it works, I haven't tried it yet.

We used the y cut nipple from dr browns and it worked great! I even tried using regular nipples going up a size but the y cut worked the best.

I agree with @VexedMommy. Never cut the nipple!

violetigerlily · February 2016

Our baby is on Zantac which does seem to be helping. One thing our pedi suggested, specifically for the crying in his sleep and eating fussiness was to try to encourage him to sleep more (earlier bedtime, rocking him after shorter wake periods, etc) since overtired babies can do that too and reflux babies are usually overtired. It seemed to help him. His nursing and bottle fussiness also decreased the longer he slept. She didn't suggest cereal so I can't help you there though. Good luck.

Knottie35278873 · February 2016

My sister had her son 5 days before I had my son. Her son started having reflux issues after 2 weeks so she started him on cereal after my mom suggested it. Honestly I've been kinda against adding cereal so early until my son was a month old and was puking (not spit up, puking) all over the place and was so upset because he was hungry and couldn't keep his food down and it was pitiful and I could hear the acid coming up in his throat and he'd swallow it back and my sister was like "that's exactly how my son was, try some cereal and see how it goes" and I did and to this day, a dash of cereal and some gas drops is the only way my son can keep formula down. Both boys are 4 months now. My son is in the 99th percentile and my sister's son is in the 4th percentile. My son has been big since birth though and her son has been little since birth. So if you're at all worried about excessive weight gain from the cereal, don't be. All babies are different. Also, I use the Dr Browns bottles with a number 2 nipple. My son is eating 8 ounces and I just do a tablespoon of cereal. My point is, do what's best for your baby and go with your insinct. You know your baby better than anybody. Don't feel guilty if you do something that in the end benefits your child. Sorry for all the run on sentences and for being all over the place lol

laswett · February 2016

Update: I used cereal for a bit and it did seem to help. I switched him from Enfamil gentle ease to Enfamil AR. We had trouble with the latte like foam, but after a bit of research I found that adding gas drops to the bottle gets rid of that. He also had violent spells of spit up when he first started. He still spits up, but I don't wake up to the sounds of him choking at night after I lay him down after a feeding. I feel much better about his comfort level and he hasn't shown any signs of distress as far as his digestion goes. Finger crossed. Thank you ladies for your input and advice!!

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