Hello at my son's 4 month old appointment the pediatrician said he was ready for some rice cereal now. He said to put it in his bottles 3 times a day. My mother in law said that you shouldn't use bottles but spoon feed the baby once a day for a week and then gradually increase it. I saw something on the internet saying that you shouldn't put in bottles. Who's right? If I did use bottles how much rice cereal do you put in there??? And how often do I give him the rice cereal?

My daughter just turned one year old, so we went through this stage just a little while ago (or so it seems). What I have read says you should not put rice cereal in a bottle because it is a choking hazard. Occasionally pediatricians recommend rice cereal added to formula or breastmilk in a bottle for babies that have a reflux problem. Many grandmothers will tell you that adding rice cereal to a baby's bottle will make them more full and make them sleep through the night. The main purpose of feeding rice cereal is to begin to introduce solids (food with texture) and teach spoon-feeding. Four months is fine to introduce rice cereal with a spoon. If your baby still has a tongue thrust reflex (won't accept spoon or cereal and pushes out tongue) then wait a few days and try again. There is no rush - babies this age get everything they need from formula or breastmilk. When making the cereal you can use water, formula, or breastmilk to thin it - start with a very watery cereal and gradually increase thickness. Once your baby does well with cereal you can ask your pediatrician if he/she thinks your baby can start with pureed foods. When you introduce these you must try one thing at a time, and wait about 3 days before starting a new food to check for allergies. Good luck, have fun, invest in a lot of bibs, and don't forget your camera - the faces they make are priceless.

Im the opposite. Both of my babies were big eaters and I introduced solids at 2 months. They did great, both ate table food with the rest of us starting at 6 months (they got all their teeth really really early) with no food allergies, problems, etc. We eat very healthy so no problems with nutrition. Both took formula also for 1 year. With my second baby, she hated baby food and would only eat "grown up" food, and the doc said that was fine, as she had no problems. Both of my kids are great eaters. My oldest looooves broccoli, my youngest loves everything including chicken, fruit, veggies-they arent huge junk fans at all. But some babies dont need or want solids for a very long time. also some babies get teeth pretty late. I think with each child it is very different. I will say that feeding rice cereal with a spoon is a good idea. It gets the baby ready for the next step (baby food). good luck!!!