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When did you start giving your newborn rice cereal in bottle?

When did you start giving your newborn rice cereal in a bottle? When did they start eating it by mouth versus bottle? Is it safe to give it to them before the 4-6 month recommended time?

Public Comments

1. I never put the cereal in his bottle. I gave it to him by mouth with a spoon (very watered down) when he was 4 months old.

2. 1. You don't give newborns anything but breastmilk or formula.
2. Putting rice cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard. Don't do it. When they first eat it, you spoon feed it to them.
3. No, it's not safe. It's arguably not even safe to do it before 6 months.
4. Wait until 4 months at a minimum. Then use a spoon.

3. my daughter was 4 months thursday and I started feeding her cereal with a spoon last night and she loves it! I've been giving her cereal bottles on and off for about a month but didn't use a lot of cereal and only put it in her bottles at night and not everyday. Good luck!

4. It's not safe to give it to them in a bottle period. Unless the doctor recommends it. Baby food and cereal is meant to be fed with a spoon.
And no food or cereal before 4 months, their digestive tracts aren't mature enough to handle it. There have been cases where doctors have recommended food before 4 months, but it's not common.

I started my daughter on cereal when she was 4 months and then moved up to baby food when she was 5 months old. Bought store bought for a month, made my own the next month and then switched her to finger foods at 7 months.

5. Yes its safe to give it to them before they are 4 months old - you can add it to the formula at night to help their stomach stay full a little longer (so you can get a couple extra hours of sleep) but remember to make the hole in the nipple a bit larger so it can get through. Or you can mix a tablespoon with some formula and feed it to your baby. Either way, you can start sometime around 6 - 8 weeks old. Remember, any time you add a new food use it for 3 days straight before you add another/different food that way you will know if your baby has an allergic reaction exactly what is causing it. If you introduce too many things all at once it will be difficult to figure out what is bother them. Start with rice cereal, then add: vegetables (all orange (carrots, squash) then green (peas, green beans) and then add protein (lamb, beef, chicken) and finally fruit. They ALWAYS love fruit so give it to them last. Good luck and enjoy your new baby!

6. Never used rice cereal, but I know it is popular. You can start any time. Won't hurt, won't necessarily help.

Note to other posters: Giving cereal in a bottle is NOT a choking hazard. It is propping a bottle that is a choking hazard.

7. My son is 8 weeks old and I give him oatmeal cereal.. I tried rice cereal and it made him too gassy.. I was able to give my 1st son rice cereal but not my second son.. I'm not sure why the other lady thinks it's a choking hazard.. When you first start giving it to your child you don't mix it half and half.. You want to put a teaspoon to a tablespoon to every 3 oz at first.. This way it will be still watery. you will also need to make the opening in your nipples bigger or else baby want be able to suck it out. I only give him cereal in his milk right before bedtime.. But I will caution you.. try the cereal when you have plenty of time on your hands in case it doesn't agree with your baby.. Nothing like being tired and having a fussy baby on your hands.

I would really like to know why so many people are against giving cereal to a baby.. It is old school.. Do you see all old people walking around with digestive problems.. All these allergies to things and digestive problems came when Dr's starting telling us not to do things old school. Parents were wrong back then. I understand safety issues but you 1st time parents who only listen to what a Dr. ( who may or may not have children) has to say instead of listening to the old timers who didn't have Dr.'s and had much healthier kids are just plain morons

8. It is NOT safe to give solids in a bottle. It's very old school technique that somehow people just won't let go of.

There is no reason to feed your baby anything but breastmilk or formula before six months, period. If you are trying to get your baby to sleep longer, it's a myth that this works - it may even make things worse.

If your baby seems like he or she isn't full enough from milk or formula - trying to fill him up with empty calories is going to rob him of vital nutrients.

Health experts agree that it's best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering solid foods. There has been a large amount of research on this in the recent past, and most health organizations have updated their recommendations to agree with current research. Unfortunately, many health care providers are not up to date in what they're telling parents, and many, many books are not up to date.

The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

* World Health Organization
* UNICEF
* US Department of Health & Human Services
* American Academy of Pediatrics
* American Academy of Family Physicians
* American Dietetic Association
* Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
* Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
* Health Canada
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

9. Never !?....
I never added cereals to a bottle, and I heard it's not right to do so either.
I introduced cereal ( mix with a little bit of water) by "spoon feeding" at 6 months old. Never to his bottle. It is "safe" to give before 6 months old but, before I get all thumbs down there, it is NOT recommended to do so. The child's stomach is not mature enough to digest cereals ( also called solids) until 6 months old. Before that, it will give them cramps perhaps, and difficulties to digest it. But if you did... the child would not be in danger...
Hope this helps :)

10. cereal is served in a bowl with a spoon & NEVER to a newborn. by age 6 months, the babe's digestive system is ready for solid foods. till then, breastmilk fed on demand is perfect.

11. We fed him rice cereal like a week before he turned 4 months at the suggestion of our doctor (he was hungry) and sometimes would put the extra afterwards in his bottle but that only lasted a couple days before he learned to eat the whole bottle and it wasnt necessary.

He might get a stomach ache if you do it before 4 months, so i would just wait unless your Dr. says otherwise. Plus you should try a spoon, not put it in a bottle- it clogs in the bottle anyway apart form the "dangers" mentioned before