Conference moira::parenting_v3

My pedi recommends 4 months to start cereal and, based on previous notes
in here, I'd say that is pretty standard.  However, I used my own judgement
with my 2nd child and started giving her a little cereal and fruit (and
juice) at 2 months.  After all, she was at the 4-month level for weight
by 2 months (13 lbs, 6 oz.)........  If you ask your pedi s/he'll probably
tell you to wait, though.

Kristen

    My pedi bases it on weight rather than age -- about 10 pounds, or
    when the baby starts drinking lots more milk and sleeping less. 
    Steven started on cereal at about 2 months because he was a very
    large baby.  David didn't start until 3-4 months or so.
    
    --bonnie

    Are you talking about mixing the cereal with formula or putting
    the cereal into the baby's bottle?  Any pediatrician will tell you
    that it's a no no to put the cereal into the baby's bottle.  I did
    it with my son and boy did I get a rash of sh*t!
    
    Lori B.

    Actually "any pediatrician" won't -- the cereal in the bottle was
    the routine way to introduce cereal when Kat was a baby, and I
    know of other pedis and family doctors who still recommend it. 
    
    I haven't heard any reason for it except that it's "not done"
    right now, either.
    
    --bonnie

    The reason I heard to not put the cereal in the bottle was that it made
    it very difficult for the baby to indicate that it had enough.
    
    You know exactly when they have had enough when you try to give it to
    them on a spoon!  At least my daughter would swat at the spoon or turn
    her head away.
    
    Flying cereal is just so much fun!
    
    judy

    
    .0
    
    I never put the cereal in my son's bottle (it is common though), but I
    use to give him 1tbl. starting once daily so he would take to it.  He
    Loved IT!!  Slowly increasing.  It sounds like he is hungry and the 
    formula just isn't kicking it.  Do what "you" want, not what "everyone"
    says!  Everything is trial on error!  You never know until you try.
    As for my son he is 20mo. today!  He is a peanut (21lb.).  Good Luck
    with whatever you decide.
    
    
    /nadine
    

I just looked into offering cereal, since my instincts are that my daughter is 
ready.  (My husband has finally convinced me to trust my instincts!)

Penelope Leach gives guidelines on how to tell when it's time, based on the
baby's size and how much the baby eats a day.  In general the idea is that if
the baby starts to eat more and adds a feeding/per day then s/he's not getting
enough from nursing.  She also recommends getting the baby used to the idea
before s/he has a nutritional need for the food.  (I was amused that Leach talks
about the baby dropping the 5th feeding by 4 months.  I am hoping my daughter
drops the 6th feeding by 4 months!)

My daughter has grown more than expected for 3-1/2 months old and is eating a 
lot. She also is using her mouth to explore - has started "kissing" me and 
testing things with her mouth.

So, I decided to offer cereal using a spoon and make a game out of it, instead 
of actually expecting her to eat it.  I've only offered once, when I had plenty 
of time to spend.  She ate some; it was a lot of fun.

    re: .5
    
    Ah, I see.  I never had any trouble telling when my kids were full
    on the bottle -- they just spit it out. 
    
    --bonnie

    I tried the cereal in a bottle when my 6 mo. old was 4 months. I could
    never get the right amount to come out of the nipple. Either you cut it
    too big or too small. So i didn't end up doing it. I just waited till
    she was 4 1/2 months before I started feeding her cereal from a spoon.
    She always slept through the night so it didn't matter too much if she
    had cereal in the early months. 
    
    *Sandy* 

    They make cross-cut nipples (they have an x in the top instead of
    a hole) for thicker liquids.  I always used them for regular
    formula because when the baby isn't pressing on the nipple, the x
    is closed and the formula doesn't leak out in white spots on the
    rug or the sheet or wherever baby happened to drop it. 
    
    --bonnie

    There is a "bottle" on the market called First Feeder.  It is about 3
    inches wide and 3 inches tall.  It has all the ounce markings on it ant
    the nipple has a larger hole.  I started my daughter on it when she was
    about a month and half.  She took to it fine.  What I did was put 1
    tablespoon of cereal mixed with 4 ounces of formula.  She loved it.
    I know Osco Drug carries this.  I found it to be a great help.
                                 Cheryl

    
    Bonnie,
    
    No judgements here, but our pedi strictly forbids infant feeders and cereal
    in bottles.  I never really asked why though.  I will the next time we go 
    in.  Its kind of a moot point for us, at almost 10 months, Lisa STILL 
    refuses a bottle in any form!
    
    BTW, we gave Lisa her first cereal at 5.3 months and she ate 4 of those
    little Tupperware bowls of it the first time! She still loves it, even
    though I think it tastes like library paste. It was a relief to not
    have to breastfeed her so much.  I don't know about the sleeping longer
    theory though, she hasn't really slept all night regularly since she's
    been on solids....
    
    My mother says cereal in the bottle was a no-no when we were little
    (Of course she says that about pacifiers too). A quote "It just sits
    in their little stomachs and makes them think their full, because they
    can't digest it"  Does anybody have any facts on what the Academy of 
    Pediactrics says on the subject? 
    
    I remember some discussion in an earlier note on this subject.
    Something like unless the baby can swallow food from the spoon, its
    metabolism isn't ready for cereal or something??????
    
        
    Rochelle

    re: .12
    
    It's one of those things that seems to get changed every few years
    just for the heck of it.  Pacifiers go in and out, the age of
    starting solids swings from 2 months to 7 or 8 months, toilet
    training is strict or unplanned. 
    
    And through it all the kids just keep growing up . . . 
    
    I can see that some kids might not be able to handle digesting
    cereal before they can swallow it -- while other might be so
    hungry that they need something more than milk at quite a young
    age.  I think it boils down to knowing your child and your
    pediatrician.  
    
    Another mother told me offline that forbidding cereal in bottles
    is pediatric caution -- a reaction to the discovery that fat
    babies tend to grow up into fat adults, and it's easier to get
    your child to eat more calories unintentionally when you're giving
    solids by bottle. 
    
    I'm not necessarily advocating cereal feedings by bottle, by the
    way -- though I think they help some children.  Just trying to
    point out there's a lot of variation in this area.
    
    --bonnie

    To .11
    
    Who makes the "First Feeder" - is it the same as an Infa feeder?
    
    Thanks,
    Anne

    Just to add another one - We have a 3 month old boy that "spits-up"
    VERY often.  He has been through an ultra-sound and everything was
    O.K.  Sometimes he'll spit-up or throw up 2 hours after eating.  The
    Dr. finally recommended that we put cereal in his formula.  1/2
    teaspoon for every ounce of formula to start and then call him - he
    said we may be increasing the amount of cereal.  He thought the
    weight of the cereal may help keep the formula down.  (Sometimes it
    works and sometimes not....)  We tried making the holes bigger in
    the cross-cut nipples and regular nipples - nothing seemed to work
    right.  I bought some "Juice" nipples (they're color coded orange)
    and they worked the best - you have to watch them though - the formula
    sometimes can flow out of them too fast and then Nicholas spits
    everything up because he drank it too fast.  I called Gerber Company
    and asked about putting cereal in the formula bottle and they don't
    recommend it because they are afraid the baby will choke.  As
    discussed - everyone will tell you something different - you have to
    live with your baby - not them.  Our Dr. said 4 months was the
    "normal" age to start cereal but every baby is different.
    
    Regards,
    
    Sandy
    

    Nnoot sure what the Infa Feeder is.  But, the First Feeder is ment for
    first foods.  It sort of works like a platex disposible bottle idea, as
    the baby sucks on the nipple, the bottom of the feeder pulls up with
    the food so that there is no air getting into the baby.  Both feeders
    might be the same read the labels.
                                    Cheryl

    There is a short note in this month's parent magazine on introducing
    baby's to solids.  I no longer have the article, but it mentioned a 
    study (done in New Zealand, I think) that demonstrated a very strong
    statistical link between babies introduced to one or more solids before
    the age of 4 months, and the occurence of exzema as an adult.
    
    Personaly, I introduced my daughter to cereal at the age of three
    months.  She absolutely LOVED it!  But it certainly didn't make
    her sleep any longer.  As a matter of fact, she seemed to wake up
    more frequently.  We attributed it to her immature digestive system
    being less thrilled with the cereal than her taste buds.

    To .16
    
    who manufactures that first feeder?  I bought what is called an infant
    feeder with a small wide bottle, special nipple, etc. but it is not
    plastic like you described---thanks, Anne.

    Not sure who manufactures it, but I'll check it out later in the week
    when I go shopping and I'll give you the info.
                                    Cheryl

    Hi,
      Sorry it took so long, but I finally remembered.  Play-School puts  out
    the infant feeder.  The price was 7.49 at Osco Drug in Methuen.
                               Cheryl