What age to start cereal?

[BuffaloBlondie]

My DS is 2 months & at our dr. appointment yesterday my dr. recommended that I start thinking about giving him cereal in the third month. She said something on the lines that he is a big boy (13lbs, 14 oz. & 24 1/2 in.) and that the formula may not satisfy him. So...my questions?
~What age did you start cereal?
~What were the reasons for doing it?
~How did you intro. it?
~Did you give it in a bottle or feed it w/ a spoon?

Any other thoughts or suggestions?? Thanks! ~Jennifer

[HGMorgann]

We never did it. Processed grains we avoid.

My daughter was 14 lbs at 2 mo......and she thrived just fine off BM alone. After we started solids at 6 mo. her sleep spiraled downhill....so that is just an old wives tale.

I wouldn't start until at least 6 mo if you choose to do cereal...but something like avocado would fill his tummy much better! Since he is on formula the iron issue isn't an issue. I am guessing his formula is one of the iron fortified ones...

[SiValleySteph]

I didn't give any cereal until almost 6 months. I saw no reason to give any anytime sooner as all the recommendations are for at least 4 months and trending to 6 months these days. Everything I've read/heard is that cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard. So I never even considered that. When I did introduce cereal, I gave it on a spoon. DS could never liked it, so it turned out to be a waste of my and his time, so we waited and started with other solids later on.

My son was a big boy. He was > 90% and he certainly wasn't starving! :D

Of course, I didn't formula feed, he was 100% breast feed, so YMMV.

[Traciann]

I have read that ounce for ounce that milk is better for your baby than solids....it has more calories. So personally, I would stick to milk over solids at this point. Could you up the milk you are giving DS? I decided to try her on cereal at 5 months...for fun. We gave it to her on the spoon, and just in the beginning she only took a couple of small spoonfuls, before she lost interest. It really took her almost a month for her to start eating more, and lose the tounge thrust. Good Luck!

[solongtogo]

I've heard you start it at 4-6 months, that if you start it sooner than that the baby's digestive system may not be able to handle it

[Ohana]

We started rice cereal (on a spoon, thinned with EBM) when DD was 4.5-5 months old. She took it fine, but has had digestive issues (milk sensitivity, lactose intolerance) since. Given all the studies that could link her current issues with early introduction of solids, we'll wait until 6 months to give any non milk food with baby #2.

[BooeyJ2]

We started right around 5 months. Even then it wasn't every day, just every once in a while...more as practice for solids than anything :)

[Renrel]

We started at a little past 4 mths. I was planning on waiting to 5 or 6 but DH wanted to believe the stories he heard of babies sleeping through the night when they started eatting. It was one of the first things he had a stong opinon on rather than just following my lead, so I let him have that one. DS was also big, born at 10 pounds 6 ounce. I don't remember his weight at 4mths but he was generally about one size or more ahead clothing wise till 9 mths or so. We started with rice cereal that was so watered down it was hard to call it a solid. DS did great with it. He loves to eat. But he did not sleep any better. We continued to have bfing being his main food supply till about one year. He still bfs several times a day at age 2 along with breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.

One thing to keep in mind, beyond health concerns such as needing more food to be satisified or making the child more prone to alergies, is that once your child takes to solids you have to start scheduling in meals along with naps. It will happen eventual of course, but one reason I wanted to hold off was to avoid adding that responsility to my plate any sooner than necessary. The first few meals are fun of course, seeing the reaction and exciting on babies face, the cute mess, using the new high chair, but then you get into trying to come up with new foods that baby likes and having to stay home at meal times or carry food with you, cleaning up the messy baby and messy high chair, etc. You adjust, just like you adjust to sleep schedules, but why get into it earlier than necessary.

[kimthebride]

~What age did you start cereal?
We are starting at 6 months.

~What were the reasons for doing it?
DS is burely breastfed, by the boob and bottle. Because of this, our pediatrician said to wait til 6 months. No rush.

~How did you intro. it?
I will start with rice cereal, mixing it with breastmilk til its very smooth. He'll likely get about 1/2 teaspoon-1 tablespoon a day or so at first, depending on how much he'll take.

~Did you give it in a bottle or feed it w/ a spoon?
My pediatrician says to *never* give a baby cereal in a bottle. Cereal is given purely to teach a baby how to eat. It is learning a skill, exercising the mouth/tongue and preparing for the real deal down the line. Giving it in a bottle defeats the purpose.

As far as weight goes, my son is tall & heavy for his age and that was never a correlation to when to begin solids. I've never heard that before. Good idea, you asking for second opinions! :)

[jmvan74]

We started DS on rice cereal just before 4 months. We started with 1tbs watered down with breast milk and now he is almost 5 months and takes 4-5tbs once aday with breast milk. I tried him on oatmeal 2 weeks ago, but it caused him some digestive trouble, so will just continue with rice until 6months and try again along with other solids.
He loves it and it is so much fun to feed him with a spoon. He gets so excited when he sees his little bowl. My little one fit the "myth'. He did start sleeping longer stretches at night. I use the cereal as a supplemental meal, not replacement. ;)

[NYN]

My pediatrician says to *never* give a baby cereal in a bottle. Cereal is given purely to teach a baby how to eat. It is learning a skill, exercising the mouth/tongue and preparing for the real deal down the line. Giving it in a bottle defeats the purpose.
i was going to say just this. i suppose it could be a choking hazzard in a bottle as well, but if you want to teach "smart" eating habits from an early age, it's best to feed cereal from a spoon.

a lot of people also think that it is necessary to start solids w/ cereal when that isn't the case. i don't plan on giving my daughter cereal at all. (and to remain relevant to the topic, i don't plan on starting her on solids until she can grab at/eat her own food. i BF though - not sure if FF babies can delay solids).

[brklyn]

My daughter started cereal at 4 mos old. I mixed it with the formula and fed it to her with a spoon...she loved it!

[BTB]

~What age did you start cereal?
6 months.

~What were the reasons for doing it?
DD was exclusively breastfed until we started giving her cereal. At 6 months she was ready for cereal and ready to learn to use a spoon, and was able to benefit from the iron and the vitamins that fortified cereals provide.

~How did you intro. it?
1 tbsp of rice cereal the first day - she gobbled it up. Gradually increased thickness and amount of cereal, then added a second solids feeding each day. Started oatmeal one week after the rice cereal, and barley cereal one week after that. Our plan is veggies next, then fruits, then meats.

~Did you give it in a bottle or feed it w/ a spoon?
Spoon, absolutely. When a baby is the proper age, eating from a spoon is an important milestone to master. Placing cereal in a bottle bypasses that motor skill, risks choking, and may make the later transition to a spoon (now at a more advanced age and more "set in their ways") more difficult.

[magdesilver]

The AAP recommends waiting until 6 months. I am really curious as to why your ped. would recommend cereal so early in light of the AAP recommendations (my ped said I could start at 4 months, I told her I wanted to wait per the AAP and she supported me- said she just mentions it because many start early). If your son has never had anything other than formula (or BM), how can he not be satisfied with it? If he wants more, give him more. Big babies are just as "normal" as small babies if their growth is at a normal rate (and FWIW, your baby weighs as much as my 6 month old peanut! And both are normal, healthy babies).
If you want to try cereal, go ahead, but follow your babies lead- he probably won't take too it well because at 3 months it is very unlikely he has all the readiness indicators for starting solids (readiness for solids list of indicators here (http://kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html) )- so if he doesn't love it, put the cereal away and try again another time. Also I would use a spoon to feed and not put it in a bottle, that is a choking hazard and if your baby can't eat solids off of a spoon, he's not ready for them in the first place.
Rice cereal has such a small # of calories compared to formula that I don't see how it would satisfy your baby more than formula would. If your baby seems hungry, feed him more formula (or bm, but I think you said you were FF? either way, feed him more of what he needs right now- bm or formula) because that is the most complete nutrition for babies.
If you want to read more on infant and toddler feeding, a GREAT book is "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. Best of luck!

[allyray231]

ok so we started rice cereal tonight and we did the 1 tablesp to the 4 tablesp of fomula-it was like water!!! Is that right-should it be that liquidy? But it made a lot

[magdesilver]

Yes, at first it should be pretty soupy, and you can thicken it a little bit at a time and see how your baby likes it and gets better at eating it. If it's too thick, your baby will let you know he's not ready for it yet!

[Brady]

~What age did you start cereal?
We started a couple weeks shy of 5 months.

~How did you intro. it?
1 tbsp of rice cereal to 4tbsp. of formula (on a spoon) the first couple of times and then gradually thickening it as he got more used to it. We weren't very consistent at first, we would just try it every other day, etc. After a couple of weeks I introduced oatmeal cereal and he loved that.... so, by 6 months we were more consistent and eating it for breakfast every AM. Later that month we started with fruits and veggies.

I agree with others on spoon feeding though, I can't imagine not just giving him more formula if he still seems hungry at that age, rather than putting it in the bottle? Good Luck!