Is it too early to feed my ds rice cereal? He gets 5-6 oz. of formula usually every 2-3 hours. He was born 8 lbs. 7.2 oz. and seems to have be ravenous more often than not. Has anyone else done this? Does it help the baby to sleep for longer periods of time?

Rachel

when my ds was eating like yours i switched from first stage formula to the hungry baby variety you could try this. here in the uk we are advised to give baby rice as a first food prefereably from 6 months although some babys as they are all different may be fine to have it from 4 months. as in my ds case he is fine we have no history of allergies or any other problems either. ask your own health professional, we have health visitors here who take over babys care from midwives when babys are about 6 weeks old i am not sur eif you all have the same over there.

We were advised not to give rice cereal or anything like it till DD was 6 month or about. We tried giving a little more in each bottle or another bottle if that's how much they wanted.

A baby will throw up if they have had to much and then you know that they have had thier fill. (Of course you don't want your baby spewing all the time)

DS could be just going through a growth spurt and want the extra milk for a week or two then they tend to slow down a bit till the next growth spurt.

Good luck

Josh

Thanks everyone for your replies....I ended up giving ds 1 Tablespoon of low grain rice cereal in his 8 oz. bottle (gave him 6 oz). I put a call in to the pediatrician (he had mentioned 4 months), and crazy me, gave him some. I know what you are thinking....I hear him crying right now, so you are right, it doesn't make him sleep longer. I'm just going to give him more formula as He is probably going through a growth spurt.

Rachel

I personally have done it with both of my kids, and they were, and still are, fine. Yes drs prefer you to wait, but I did confess to my dr that I did this, and she said absolutely no harm done. It's just a guideline they give out. No it doesn't make them sleep longer, but it does help them with hunger. I gave like a teaspoon, if that even. It worked out fine. You'll find that there are so many "rules" out there, and in the end, you gotta decide for yourself what you want to do or not do, just my opinion!

Josh, I used to work on a ranch in Wollongong! Hey neighbor!

We started giving DS rice cereal in his bottle about 10 weeks, he was screaming and carrying on so, and the rice really helped. I know people who have given their children rice cereal since 2 weeks old, and they all turned out ok.

With dd I started her at 8 weeks and she is a healthy kid.....no problems at all. There are so many do's and don'ts out there, it gets confusing some times. I would stick with advise from the pediatrician and base it on your own feelings. With ds (6wks old)I am breast feeding and I don't think he will be getting cereal at 8 weeks. He is very content, where dd wasn't cereal really helped with her. Go with your gut it is usually right.

sav

With dd I started her at 8 weeks and she is a healthy kid.....no problems at all. There are so many do's and don'ts out there, it gets confusing some times.


I have to disagree. Not necesarilly to Savason's remark, but to the whole "I did it and my baby is healthy" and "they are do's and don'ts.. You can find anything to back up what you want on the internet".

Solids too early is not something that is conflicting like so many people tend to believe. The top research/health organizations in the US all state that 6 months is best for solids. Plain and simple. Yes all babies are different. but I'm not going to argue with solid evidence, and "top of the line" research.

Also, it's not so much the health of the baby in 2-3 months. It's long term affects. Diabetes, obesity. They are all linked. I'd just be careful.

Please don't ANYONE take this offensively, I'm not trying to step on any toes. Just giving my 2 cents.

I must agree with Soon2bmommy. I have an 11 year old whom I gave rice cereal to at approx. a month old then started on solids at approx. 2-3 months. My how times have changed! She is okay it seems but she has to really watch what she eats or else she gains weight like crazy. Now alot of that is genetics I think b/c of my dad's side of our family but I can't help but wonder if I didn't mess up giving her solids way too soon. HTH

i hope this helps. my ds is now 6 months old but was a preemie and had many belly issues. he went to a GI specialist and he put him on rice cereal at 5 weeks old. he said baby's have no problem adjusting to it. just to make sure i use beechnut cuz thats the most gentle for them.. just start out with a tsp in bottle and then thicken it daily as he gets use to it. this will also help him sleep better at night. just make sure you dont start baby foods too soon they might have issues digestion the goods. . again hope this helps.