[meremere]

Ok so Jason is eating every 1.5 to 2 hours at times so the Ped said add some rice. I tried that and it gets all gunked up in the nipple so I got the Y shaped nipples and it just flows out and he has more go down his chin then he eats or he spits up more then half as he is getting it to fast. I am using the Dr Brown bottles.
Anyone?

[MaggieMoo]

Sorry Mere, I can't help. My peds suggested spoon feeding our baby. But spoon feeding a very small infant didn't work for us. I didn't want to put it in a bottle because it got stuck in the nipple and almost choaked our oldest ds, so with Alex we didn't do it at all! We just suffered through the every 2 hour feeding and within a week or so the constant feedings slowed down. Alex became a every 3-31/2 hr feeder. Jason could be hitting a growth spirt.
I do know that BRU makes a cereal/formula feeder. I think that it might be an evenflo or BRU brand. Good luck hon! I hope that you find your solution.

[kcmour]

Our ped. also does not suggest putting cereal in the bottle. However, Alex was on a steroid (for his asthma) when he was 6 months old that was making him eat 50+ ounces of formula a day...which our peds. said is way too much & dangerous. So, he had us put cereal in his bottle to get him to cut down on his formula a bit. Anyways, we use Avent bottles & they make a nipple for "thicker liquids" and they worked pretty well. Maybe check if Dr. Brown's does the same. Good luck.

[futuremom2b]

Originally Posted by kcmour

Our ped. also does not suggest putting cereal in the bottle. However, Alex was on a steroid (for his asthma) when he was 6 months old that was making him eat 50+ ounces of formula a day...which our peds. said is way too much & dangerous. So, he had us put cereal in his bottle to get him to cut down on his formula a bit. Anyways, we use Avent bottles & they make a nipple for "thicker liquids" and they worked pretty well. Maybe check if Dr. Brown's does the same. Good luck.

Yeah, our peds said no cereal as well and when we did try once it got stuck in the bottle and if we got bigger nipples Avery would choke, so we didn't do it. Avery ate EVERY 2-3 hours until about 4 months and I was Breastfeeding . BUT we did a nightly bottle and tried it then. good luck with your decision, but I promise this phase goes fast, and you will charish those bottle times!!!!! Now Avery wants to hold her own bottle, and she wants to look at everything going on around her instead of ME!!!!

[hannah01]

i've been giving simon rice cereal the last few nights, and doing it with a spoon. it was a little tricky getting him to keep it in his mouth, but by the third day he had figured it out. just get a tiny spoon and give him very small bites... takes forever but they catch on pretty quick.

[nic-paul]

Aubrey is 3mon & we started her on cereal last week. The Peds said not to use the infant cereal feeders. He mentioned choking & discouragement of eating from a spoon. He also compared it to force feeding. He said it might creat problems later when its time for the baby to eat from a spoon (b/c its easier to suck the food than "eat it -- ie chewing, swallowing). He doesn't recommend cereal in a bottle either. But he said parents do it. He recommended that if we do it, the cereal should not significantly change the viscosity of the formula. I put cereal in Aubrey's night time bottle (her eating from a spoon at this point is merely practice. she's not eating enough to be beneficial). I heat up (hot but not boiling)about 2oz of formula & "dissolve" about 1 tbsp of cereal in that before I add the rest of the formula (4oz), which is room temp. The warm formula helps thin out the cereal a bit. & I use the next size up nipple, which is a #2 for us. We use soothies. We don't have a problem with clumping or clogging the nipple. & Aubrey doesn't choke. Good luck!

[dawn0728]

My husband and I went through the same exact problem. We use the Born Free bottles. I think we ended out getting every nipple that the company makes!!! Finally we tried the number 3 nipple and it works great. Evrything else was way too fast or too slow and she couldnt get anything.
It all depends how much cereal you are putting into the bottle. We are putting a teaspoon for every ounce of formula. The numer 3 works well for that consistancy. Good Luck!

[Aggie]

My Pedi told us not to use a bottle to feed cereal...not sure why, but she said the best thing to do is to use a spoon. She also told us not to feed him cereal until he was at least 4 months old, but suggested we wait until he was 6 months. There are so many conflicting reports out there, I guess just use your best judgment. Good Luck.

[Kristens_12]

Hi ladies...hope you don't mind me joining in here. I am a pediatric dietitian, so I hope that helps you feel better about what I say! We don't recommend putting rice cereal in bottles. The only reason someone might have told you to do that is because it add extra calories so they won't want to eat as often, however, it displaces the vitamins and the minerals in the formula (I hope that makes sense). It is normal for a baby to want to eat every 2-3 hours, and sometimes a little more frequently if they are having a growth spurt. As far as feeding cereals by spoon goes, the american academy of pediatrics says to wait until 6 months of age, because that is usually when they are developmentally ready. The world health organization says 4 months, which is why you often hear conflicting time frames. It just comes down to when your kid is developmentally ready for it, and that is not usually until 4-6 months. I hope that makes sense and helps you all!

[Kellileanne]

Ok, dial it back a bit. Put in less rice!!! We only put in a teaspoon every 2oz of formula (reflux). We have never used the Y nipples. We used the level 2 nipples and didn't put in a whole lot of rice. We did the rice in the bottle for a while but she did just fine when we started spoon feeding her. It took her a couple of days (I literally kept making cereal and making her try a few bites every couple of hours before I would give her the bottle) to get it but she has been doing soo good since! Oh, and she still eats every 2-3 hours.

[meremere]

thanks ladies! Ok now I feel like a bad mom giving him rice at 8 weeks but that is what the Ped recomended BUT never told us how. I swear, Dr's think1st time mom's know everything and never explain things! I am wondering why he suggested it at all when he is so young.................. I am not thrilled with him we left messages for him for 2 days and no call backs............... it was not urgent but a call back would have been nice!
I have only put 1 tbs in his rice one time a day and OH MY LEAVE ME A PRESENT! I think I am going to find a new Dr and try something new. Jason is having a growth spurt I think, he is over 10 lbs now and has doubled in size since we brought him home at 4 lbs 10.5 oz from the NICU when he was 5 days old! grow baby grow!

[hannah01]

meredith, do not feel like a bad mom ... i think you can tell from all of our varied responses that there is no 'right' answer to this question. some ped's say a spoon is fine, others say it isn't. some say it's okay to give them rice cereal at 8 weeks, others say to wait. you're the mom and you will do what is best for jason. i'm glad he is gaining so much weight!

[kcmour]

I agree...you are not a bad mom!!! You are following the advice of your Dr. Your little man is growing, so , you are doing something right!

[Kristens_12]

You definitely aren't a bad mom...unfortunately doctors don't learn nutrition in school so they aren't the experts in that area! Most people do what their doctors tell them to do, so I totally understand. It's great to hear how well your little one is growing!

[lisa37]

Meredith, don't feel like a bad mom. I think there is a difference between starting rice cereal as a way to introduce solids to babies who are 3-4 months old vs. adding a few teaspoons when they are newborns. The rice cereal at the newborn age is to add weight to the food for babies with spit up or not getting enough from bottled milk. The reasons for starting it at these 2 ages are completely different. I added 2-3 tsps for 4-5 oz, keep in mind, one tbsp equals 3 teaspoons. I used a #2 nipple which is one stage up from the newborn #1 nipple. I am not using anymore because we are stopping breast milk temporarily due to possible allergies to milk proteins but we did not have any problems with a small amount of rice cereal for bulk. I've also heard to try like Kris with a baby spoon to thicken the milk a bit.

I read another website with tons of positive posts that contradicted a lot of myths about rice cereal, when to start, how much, how to give it...etc............

I say use your mom instinct, try it and you can always stop if there is an adverse reaction. good luck