Starting cereal

shelbysmom wrote: I have started Shelby on cereal. My question is how does that coincide with her bottles? What is or was your 4 months old schedule? I know she still needs her formula, but, I just don't understand how to work it out. Do I make sense? LOL I know I have a lot of questions, but I am a first timer!!!! HA HA
Thanks Again

angelhair replied: I WOULD ASK YOUR PEDTICIAN BUT THE FORMULA SHOULD STILL BE+ +A MAIN SOURCE OF HER NUTRIENTS. HAVE YOU CONDIERED MIXING THE RICE CEREAL IN WITH HER FORMULA THAT WAY SHE WOULD STILL BE GETTING HER RICE CEREAL AND HER FORMULA AT THE SAME TIME AS WELL AS IN THE BOWL(I ASSUME YOU ARE FEEDING HER IT IN A BOWL BECAUSE OF THE QUESTION ABOUT THE BOTTLE. MOST OF ALL BABIES GET WHAT THEY NEED AND AS LONG AS YOUR BABY IS GAINING WIEGHT THEN YOUR DOING FINE. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TO MANY QUESTIONS LOVE DEE

PhiMuMommy replied: my baby is older but i always did cereal as the last meal of the day and did a bite of it a sip of milk.. back and forth.. and he SLEPT for like 6 hours straight when i did that. some nights longer... just change them right before unless she likes to go in one end and out the other.. but if you change em before all she needs is cuddles afterward..

the hardest part for me was the portions.. don't make too much. i did a lot.. and was like he's not eating at all. but if you put it in perspective....lol.


i used to use 1-2 oz of formula to make the cereal and then a 3-5 ounce bottle. more if he wanted more.. but he usually didn't. i wouldn't feed her cereal more than 2 a day though.. i would usually do like a fruit with morning bottle. and then cereal as the last meal. and just formula in the middle.. because they need that the most!


hope that helps.

ellie23 replied: What I did was start with the "breakfast" feeding in the morning because if there is a reaction to a new food that you introduce later on it won't interfere with nighttime sleep. You'll always need a breakfast meal so you can build off this when she starts to need more solid food meals, like a dinner and then adding a lunch, too.

As far as how to space out her bottles and solids, I try to do it in the middle of her two morning feeds. I give her a sippy cup with water or juice with it so there is no guess work with how much milk she got, because as you know she still needs to get the same amount of milk as before and solid don't replace anything.

CAMSMOM1 replied: ITA with everyone's advice.

I just wanted to add a little something, if your baby isn't liking the ceral by itself, then try adding some fruit to it like some applesauce, or add some Infant baby food like peas, or greenbeans to it. If you add something to it, it tastes better to the baby, as long as it's Infant baby food Stage 1.

I also gave my son cereal in his bottle at night, that helped him to sleep longer.

When you switch to cereal, or baby food, some babies can get constipated. Don't be alarmed, their bowels are only used to digesting fluids, and it can take a little while for them to get adjusted. That's why in the beginning, keep up with the formula, water, or juice. A deluted applejuice can help with consitpation.
So start out slow with the cereal in the beginning and see how she handles it, and then work your way up. But I wouldn't change the amount of formula she gets. She needs the nutrients from that.
Ann

CosmetologyMommy replied: My son will be 4 months and I usually give it to him as "dinner" but he will still take a bottle a lil later

shelbysmom replied: Thanks everyone! She is doing great with the cereal! I just put some of her bottle formula in the cereal and then if she still wants her bottle I will give the rest to her, or I will save the rest for when she is ready for it. I feed her in the early afternoon, and then again about 30 to 60 mins before bedtime. Its seems to be working great! I am thinking about waiting till she is 5 months to start the stage 1 food. Does that sound about right?

MAMACARLA replied: MINE IS 4 MONTHS TOO AND I GIVE HER CEREAL ONCE A DAY IN THE EVENING. SHE DOES STILL EAT A LOT OF FORMULA. BUT THE CEREAL HELPS HER SLEEP BETTER.

My3LilMonkeys replied: I think 5 months is fine to start the stage 1 foods. Some people recommend waiting until 6 months to start it, some start earlier. Your baby will let you know when she is ready.

1moremakes4 replied: Honestly, I don't remember how that all worked. Our ped. said at Kamryn's 4 month checkup we would talk about starting cereal. My baby's not old enough for that!!!! Anyway, I plan to ask LOTS of questions!

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I believe bottle and cereal are two seperate things. I never put the two together, or substituted one for the other. So I stuck to my BF/bottle schedule (which I can't remember exactly) and gave Wil maybe 2-3 tablespoons or more of cereal for breakfast and either lunch or dinner. Everytime he would wak up, I instantly gave him a bottle, then waited maybe 30 min or more, then it was time for cereal because it was either breakfast or lunch time, but I never mixed them.

fashionmumofboys replied: I started my #2 at 3 months, because he was such a big eater, so I would do cereal at his nighttime feeding before going to bed. This helped him go a little longer until his next feeding.

They usually recommend 6 months, but every child is different, so I would ask your Ped. to be on the safe side.