My 4 month old is waking up hungry?
Answer:
Cereal has almost no nutritional value and while it will make your baby feel "full" it won't actually give him what he needs.
4 months is the common age for a growth spurt, so don't be surprised he is eating more. If you are really concerned about getting him to sleep longer during the night. Add a feed or two during the day, mind you he may not take it. Also before bed feed him every hour (for 2-4 hours) or more often and let him take what he will. This way he will both be full AND have received all the vitamins and calories he needs.
Your son has digestive problems and I think you know it is really for the best to wait until AT LEAST 6 months. Also cereal is the LAST thing you should introduce. It may not be allergenic but it isn't digestable either, nor needed, nor nutritious. Also breastmilk or formula are all a baby needs nutritionally until the age of 12 months OR beyond. Many doctors now tell families with a history of allergies to wait that long.
Wait until 6 months and then try him on some fruit. Until then make sure he is eating at LEAST 2oz of formula for every lbs of body weight per day. (Up to 3.5oz/lbs is fine).
And for your baby, I think it is particularly important that you read this:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintro...
If you let your son feed himself, not you putting a spoon in his mouth it is far more likely that he will not do it until his intestines are ready.
About thickened feeds:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/ref...
What about thickened feeds?
Baby cereal, added to thicken breastmilk or formula, has been used as a treatment for GER for many years, but its use is controversial.
Does it work? Thickened feeds can reduce spitting up, but studies have not shown a decrease in reflux index scores (i.e., the “silent reflux” is still present). Per Donna Secker, MS, RD in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease , "The effect of thickened feedings may be more cosmetic (decreased regurgitation and increased postprandial sleeping) than beneficial." Thickened feeds have been associated with increased coughing after feedings, and may also decrease gastric emptying time and increase reflux episodes and aspiration. Note that rice cereal will not effectively thicken breastmilk due to the amylase (an enzyme that digests carbohydrates) naturally present in the breastmilk.
Is it healthy for baby? If you do thicken feeds, monitor baby’s intake since baby may take in less milk overall and thus decrease overall nutrient intake. There are a number of reasons to avoid introducing cereal and other solids early. There is evidence that the introduction of rice or gluten-containing cereals before 3 months of age increases baby's risk for type I diabetes. In addition, babies with GERD are more likely to need all their defenses against allergies, respiratory infections and ear infections – but studies show that early introduction of solids increases baby’s risk for all of these conditions.
id say your lil fella might be goingt hrew a growth spurt sure give a lil of the ceral..make it a bit runny by spoon if he doesnt take try again later
Yes, cereal is good. Obviously just milk isn't enough for him. He should have been eating cereal probably by 3 months. Mine did and I know a whole bunch of mothers who have had their kids on cereal even younger than that. Try cereal in a bottle and see how he does with that. Don't make it too thick.
wait for solid foods until 6 months.
I have a lot of friends who have had this problem and my son did, too, so I will just tell you what I know from experience. I would start him on cereal. I have heard from quite a few doctors and other people that it isn't good to give it to them with a bottle. Start with spoon feeding. It can be a little hard at first, you just have to keep working with him. It takes them awhile to figure out how to use their tongues to get it down their throat. Be patient! When you do make the cereal make it very thin. That will help with the digestion and with them liking it better. They're used to thin milk, so thick cereal they're not too fond of! We definitely noticed with my son (and so did my friends) that he slept better once we got him eating cereal. I hope this helps! Good luck!
At my daughter's four month exam I was told that we could begin cereal. We were told to start with rice cereal and spoon feed her once a day. After 3 or 4 days we then switched to a new cereal and went 4 days then switched again. This is to determine your child is allergic to a certain food. She did wonderfully. I would probably start him if I were you, but go slow. He might not like it the first few times he has it. I had to give my daughter gas drops after she ate otherwise she would cry. If you have never used gas drops, at your sons age he should can be given 0.3ml every two hours as needed, no more than 12 times in one day. Insteads of switching cereals every 4 days maybe try every week since he has had digestive problems. Good luck.
I would not change your son's diet until after consulting with a physician. You should wait til he is six months to start him on cereal. You should never start cereal in the bottle as there is a higher risk of choking.
I bet he might just be going threw a growing spurt and needs a bit more food. I would stay away from the cereal for now since he is having problems with digestion and just stick with the formula or breast milk. I do feel sorry for your lack of sleep but it comes with the part of being a mommy.
This was the same problem with my little boy also. He is now 6 months and he eats cereal like a professional. Start giving him cereal, baby rice should be better though dont make it too thick, it should be runny and see how he copes. Change gradually as weeks go and eventually you will be giving him a full meal. Best wishes
He might be having a growth spurt, but yes I would start him on rice cereal, try spoon feeding him the cereal, that way you can just give him a little bit at first to see if he is ready for it, my daughter was eating rice cereal at 4 months, and by 5 months eating sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, just only give little bits of each new thing at first to make sure they are not allergic to something, especially if your little guy has tummy problems. Alot of people say to not put rice cereal in a bottle, but i used to give my daughter a bit of rice cereal in her bottle at night mixed with formula, I made the whole in her nipple bigger so it could get through ok. But try feeding him with a spon first.
It is never recommended to feed cereal in a bottle. It could just be he is going through a growth spurt right now and will soon settle back to his normal schedule. I started both my kids on cereal at four months and they did just fine. Since he has had digestive problems , check with his doctor first.
please give a call to your paediatrician
Putting cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard for your baby. Your baby may be hitting a growth spurt and just needs to eat more often. If he has been having digestive problems, I wouldn't start him on cereal until you get an ok from your pediatrician. Most parenting books claim that cereal won't help your baby sleep longer anyway. It never seemed to change my children's sleeping patterns. Hang in there, mommy, hope you can get some sleep soon!
Talk to your pediatrician, especially if your baby has digestive problems. I would not trust "voice of experience" from anonymous boards, as the advice will be all over the map on this. Not to say that some of the advice wouldn't be sound, but none of them know your baby and his health like your pediatrician does.
My daughter's pediatrician recommended holding off on cereal, then starting with rice cereal, as some of the previous posters suggested. He stated that more and more children are developing childhood asthma, triggered by food allergies, from pushing foods at them before they are developmentally capable of digesting them properly. Are you looking for nutrition or just "filler"?
If your child is going through a growth spurt, and it sure sounds that way, they need nutrition even if it is more inconvenient for your sleep schedule to get them full of filler.
Again, talk to your pediatrician!
If he's taking 8 ounces in a bottle and still wants to eat then I would say yes give him cereal. I found that spoon feeding was better. I could get the right consistency and it was better, I thought so anyways, to let them go ahead and learn to eat from a spoon. I found also that my son really didn't like cereal so I mixed a little of the Gerber fruit with it. Soon after that he was eating fruit and veggies. I always used Gerber or Beechnut baby food. My grocery store didn't have such a great selection. Your lucky, it osunds like he's sleeping pretty good. My son still woke up twice a night even at 11 months. He didn't sleep all night till 12 months when I took the bottle away.
I am a mother to 3 boys (10-16-18), I started my middle and youngest son on cereal when they were around 3 months old. You can put cereal in a bottle as long as it is not too thick. There are bottle feeders that you can buy to put the cereal in. Watch him close when feeding him to make sure he doesnt choke. Once I stated this, I had no problems. No more waking up in the middle of night. Good luck!
All of my friends started their infants on cereal way before 6 months, personally my daughter started at 3 on doctor's advice. Do not put in bottle though. Buy the little inexpensive baby spoons and just do a little at a time till they get the hang of it. Each child develops differently so to have a hard and fast rule about cereal like not having it until 6 months isn't correct. My daughter also had major gas, constipiation issues and her pediatrician, a highly respected one in our city, suggested starting out with cereal and diluted baby apple juice mixed in as vitamin C helps absorb the iron in the cereal and makes it easier to digest. A lot of women don't even tell their doctors because some are of the old school with the rules and if it works. Also, have you thought about the low iron formula to ease digestive problems? My daughter was on low iron after her first month to ease her discomfort and at 9 months her iron tested just fine, it was amazing how many problems the iron in her formula created, and I'm talking several different types of formula as well. Let your maternal judgement kick in -- you only want what is best for your child and cereal is not going to kill him. If he won't take it consistently, then you know he's not ready for it. Good Luck
Sounds like little man is growing up faster than you think. I would suggest giving him cereal in the bottle and also before he goes to bed give him a bath then the bottle preferably warm so that it is soothing and relaxing. The cereal should hold him rather than plain milk. Congrats and good luck!
We added just alittle cereal in my son's bottle right before bedtime and sometimes he would eat an ounce from the spoon and this helped him sleep alot better!!
I would be careful with the cereal because if he is not ready for it he could have all kinds of problems. My boy is 5 months and not yet on cereal. He also had digestive problems and colic. At 4 months I tryed the cereal because he was waking up screaming because he was so hungry. The cereal worked good for a couple of days and then he started to become colicky again. Good Luck, I know what it is like. I still wake up 3 times a night to feed my little boy. But I would rather that then have the colic start up again.
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