How Often Should I Feed My Baby Rice Cereal And How Do I Correspond That With The Milk?
Feb.10, 2010 in
Baby
My baby is 4 months old and she is showing signs that it is time to start solid food. I asked her pediatrician about this when she was younger and I was told that they weren’t strict on how it was done, just as long as she’s not over weight.
Well I don’t know how much I’m supposed to feed her or how many times. Also do I replace cereal time for a feeding? Right now she is eating 6 oz of milk every 4-5 hours. How am I supposed to do this?
February 10th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Wow I wonder what qualifies as over weight for a 4 month old?
Anyways, on topic. Start out with one feeding a day. DO NOT REPLACE FORMULA! Solids are practice not nutrition. So after she’s have her bottle, make a bit of cereal, they usually suggest 1 teaspoon cereal to like 4 teaspoons formula. If it seems thick maybe more formula or if it’s too watery up the cereal. Than get a spoon and go for it! If she turns her head away or refuses to open her mouth don’t try to force her. Also she may spit a lot of food out at first, sometimes babies have to learn to keep their mouths closed to keep food in. Also, you don’t have to start on the box rice cereal. You can make your own from brown rice, which is like a thousand times healthier or you can even start her on pureed pears.
WholesomeBabyFoods is a good website for making your own baby food!
Also don’t let any one knock you for starting at 4 months. Go with your instincts and your doctor’s advice! Good luck and have fun!
February 10th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
You really don’t need to give your baby rice cereal. There is little to no nutritional value, just empty calories, and higher changes for gastro-intestinal problems related to gas and indigestion. Before I knew this, I had given my daughter rice cereal, and it gave her a huge problem with gas. Never again. So I would suggest you maybe start making your own baby food at home, or even get some of the pre-made baby foods at your local stores. But home made is more fresh and customized to your baby. You can find many recipes online for each baby stage. For your baby, you will need the beginning stages.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I’d start off with once a day. Make half of her afternoon meal consist of cereal. Make sure to mix with her formula or breastmilk,which ever she’s used to eating and feed from a spoon.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:15 am
I agree with Meaux. As a mother of five and three grandsons I can say the cereal is just not the way to go. My oldest daughter had terrible problems. From there I learned to start with a fruit. Feed ONLY one kind per week to make sure that the baby does not have any allergies. They seem to spit it out at first but they are not. It is normal. Once you have gone through all of the fruits move onto veggies. I started with there greens and did the same…Now this is where I do something different. I add the tiniest amount of butter and then tiniest amount of salt just for flavoring….If you have ever tried veggies without it EWWW.
Once you have gotten to know if there are any allergies and you have tried all of the foods your baby will have learned to “eat”. Then move on to making your own. I used a small type food processor and I would freeze what I made for the week in ice cube trays and pop out what I needed. I think this is not only better for baby…but you know EXACTLY what your sprout is getting.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:50 am
My doctor told me to make 2 ounces of formula separate than his 6 ounce bottle. Then put 1 teaspoon, measuring cup, of cereal in the 2 ounces that was set aside. Spoon feed the baby until she/he is done and you will know. My baby won’t open his mouth when he is done.
I stir the two ounces and the cereal into a bowl. Sometimes I add more cereal to make it thicker but not too thick.
Feed the baby first from the spoon and when they are finished then give them the bottle. My doctor said maybe mine won’t finish the bottle afterwards but he does. It just depends on the baby.
I do this once in the morning and once right before bedtime.
EDIT
I disagree with the lady beneath me. Every parent is different though. If you are going to skip cereal you should go to veggies. If they start on the fruits first they will more likely not eat the veggies. I started with Sweet Potatoes and Peas this week. She is right though. You should wait anywhere from 3 days to 5 days before you introduce a new one.