Rice cereal??

Looks like we've had very little action (that sounds weird) on this forum so here goes:  my mil, god love her, is convinced that Noah needs cereal.  Actually she was convinced of this a week ago when he was 6 weeks.  She frequently comments that if he (noah) had been born a generation ago, he'd be given cereal and quit starving.  I know better as my older children weren't started on cereal until 4-6 months old.  But dh isn't since this is his first biological child.  I told him Noah's not starving:  he's gaining weight and hasn't been diagnosed w/failure to thrive so just giving formula's okay.

But lately Noah likes to snack:  he drinks his full amount of formula at fairly regular intervals and then 'snacks' on one ounce here and one ounce there for the next couple of hours.  So I'm slightly confused and dh's now saying that if he had solid food, Noah wouldn't do the snacking thing.  I told him that babies really don't get very much nutrition from the cereal/baby food - giving it to them is an introduction thing but now I'm confused too,  Any thoughts?  Oh and btw N hates his paci so that's out for soothing between feedings.

[cpatow]

Hi there,
He sounds so much like my 7yr old DS when he was an infant. The only difference is that my DS projectile vomitted 4-5x/hour for the first year of his life and we ran test after test after test after test to find out what was wrong...nothing. Well, not true really. For him it was a sensory thing where he had the infant version of motion sickness ALL the time, poor baby! But it wasn't food or gastro related specifically. Anyways, at 6 wks of age per Gastroenterologist suggestion we DID put him on rice in his formula bottle in an attempt to help him hold food down, but this was along with meds and a variety of other things including physical and occupational therapy, so you can see with us there was a LOT going on. But, point is that, for us, we did start feeding very early but under medical supervision, and quite frankly it didn't help him, but again that's because there were so many issues going on with him besides just feeding (at 1 yr he was 80-90% behind in development and we thought he might have a fatal chromosomal desease, which fast forward 7 yrs and thank GOD he doesn't and he caught up and is fine).

BUT with us it was very small...1 tsp of rice per oz of formula IN the bottle rather than spoon. They don't have the swallow reflex developed at that age to tolerate anything thicker.

So your mil isn't entirely wrong but in my opinion there needs to be a strong medical reason for it, not just because parents want to, so my suggestion is to ask your pediatrician if DH & MIL persist :0)

Christina

[azqtpies]

I gave my last 3 babies cereal at 2.5- 3 months of age.. I hav enot started Tyler yet he is 11 weeks tomorrow because he was born so early! so I think I am gonna try it at 3months.. I did give him it at 8 weeks and it seem to constipate him.. just a 1/2 tsp so I am gonna wait.. if you do make it runny so he can swallow it.. good luck and let me know how it works for you!

Kelly

[mrwjd]

I know you are busy, so this is the short version; detail may follow.  Bottom line:  my two older children were fed totally differently.  My son nursed 6 months without much enthusiasm, bottle another year, tons of little jars of food from 3 weeks; my daughter nursed vigorously a year and a half, no food until 6 months, then mushed table food.  They came out exactly the same (except the girl/boy thing, and I doubt that was related to diet.  :-) ).  If we had superimposed their growth charts, they would have looked like one curve.  

One slept through the night at a week, the other at a month--but we are good sleepers in general.  I wouldn't think of that as a goal.  My "little" daughter (now 13), different gene pool, slept through the night...well, before kindergarten, I'm pretty sure.

I have found little support for a connection between solid food and sleep.  At any rate, milk is likely to turn solid--cottage-cheese solid--in the body.  The illusion that solid food is related to sleep is sustained by the fact that many babies are started on cereal at the time their sleep patterns are normally changing, but that isn't causation.  

There is research showing that sleep IS related to filling not just the stomach but the intestine before bed--something a single feeding can't accomplish.  Many babies naturally want to nosh in the late afternoon and evening, which loads them up for the night.  

Which brings up a question:  You quote your dh (channeling your mil?), "if he had solid food, Noah wouldn't do the snacking thing," as if snacking is a BAD thing.  No, no!  The "bad" thing is trying to defeat nature by conforming his needs to the clock.  Fixed meals at fixed intervals is so post-WWII!

Be kind to Dad--remember, we had a first child once, too--and polite to mil.  This will make it easier when you are forced to remove them gently but firmly from your face, so that you and Noah can relax and tend to the business of growing up.  ;-)

Thanks for the photo feedback.  See you soon.

[mrwjd]

On second thought, that wasn't the short version.   X-}

[40smama]

thanks for all of the responses, ladies and one gentleman!

I think I temporarily solved the problem for now:  it's kind of DUH but we are now giving Noah 4-6 ounces per feeding and that has greatly reduced his 'snacking'.  He seems more content.  I feel like a jerk for not seeing this sooner but oh well....We called his dr who doesn't want us to start cereal until at least 4 months which makes dh content - he's a pharmacist and likes to hear expert medical advice.

I promise to be nice to my mil and dh - they're both life savers as I've been sick these past few days & I've needed them so much to help w/the baby.  I just wish they wouldn't stress out so much about it but now since we're feeding Noah more per feeding, the comments should be better.

Again, thanks for sharing your stories!

[denise_m09]

I gave all of my children rice cereal by time they were 3 wks old.  They all did fine.  My grandmother told me to do this for my children.  Plus, my grandmother made sure that the kids were fed w/a spoon.  There is a way to feed 3 wk old infants w/a baby spoon.  Their belief is that only lazy mothers put cereal in baby bottles.  

This is something thats done in my cultural.  If u feel comfortable giving ur infant rice cereal, then do so.  I did.  I will do the same when my last baby is born as well.

[saj39]

I understand your frustration. I have always done my own things with my babies ( I have 4 girls ages 12, 7, 2, and 3 months). I will start by saying that my babies all started sleeping through the night 10-12 hrs a night, at the age of 5-6 weeks. I started all of my babies on rice cereal in their bottle or mixed and put in a Sassy infant feeder  at around 7-10 weeks of age. Of Course the ped tells me not to until 6 months of age, but I have always done this and have had success, not to mention happy babies. Knock wood- none of my babies have been colicy either.
It's really your choice but I can say for me it worked wonders!!!

Good Luck to you!!!

[40smama]

A side note:  when my older children were babies, I didn't start them on cereal until 4+ months per dr's instructions and they were all sleeping through the night way before the cereal so I'm thinking that maybe cereal has nothing to do w/babies sleeping through the night or at least w/mine.  

Noah's grandma told me again that he needed cereal but due to food allergies running in the family and the fact he seems satisfied w/his formula, I've decided to hold off on the cereal until 4-6 months unless recommended by his dr that he start sooner.  His weight gain has been terrific so he shows no signs of failure to thrive.  I see no reason to begin now plus his colic is much, much much better - I can't emphasize that enough :-))) and thank goodness for that!

It's good to read how everyone deal w/this issue however and how we all have different viewpoints.

[Melissa70817]

I gave all 3 of my children cereal at 2 weeks of age.  A lot has changed in the way doctors think now but my children were sleeping all night at 2 weeks.  It wasn't a thick mixture, it was very soupy but it worked.  I don't think your child is "starving" because you are not giving him cereal but it might help with him sleeping, he will feel full longer.  I'm not a doctor so this is just my experience and thoughts.

[40smama]

Okay, I caved in and gave N a little cereal in his bottle - I know, I'm going to hell for that but it was more to prove a point to family members.  Anyway, Noah not only DIDN'T sleep through the night, he slept a little less than usual!  So we didn't try again.  The next night he slept a lot more w/just regular formula w/out the cereal.  When told this, my MIL told us it was because of the cereal and of course dh said that he didn't even have that in his bottle!  So now dh believes me - in this case (and I imagine in others), it makes no difference

So maybe the experience was worth it - I just hope the cereal didn't constipate the poor little guy :-0.

[peekawho]

A very young baby's primary nutrition "need" is for formula or breastmilk, for brain growth amongst other issues.

The trouble with adding cereal early is that it can cut down on the amount of formula/breastmilk the baby is taking in, to add in something that is as nutritious as wallpaper paste.  

It might not cut down on the formula/breastmilk intake, but if it does, that's a bad thing.  If a baby needs to "snack" often, its because he/she NEEDS it.  There is no reason to risk decreasing the baby's primary food intake for rice cereal, which has no nutritive value whatsoever.