baby rice at 10 weeks old?
My daughter is 10 weeks old hungry and many more. came at the end but it was very small, the midwife says it is just taking, but continued Chamfer! The breast-feeding has gone by the board as just spending the whole day and feed at night and she was always crying for more, shes mainly on the formula with the odd hours to breast feed the "snack" during the day and the night, but is too young to have a bit of baby rice a couple of times a day? I was thinking about lunch time and before the base. The comporrei with formula or breast milk. I 'm sure that all sleep better and not be so exhausted from constantly if it were a little fuller. she 's lle 9 and older from 10 weeks and half pounds. Please recommend. (ring the health visitor but I do not want to drag it out here for something so small, I have any of you rice as the child before 16 weeks and was it right?) thanks What encourages him to think he lives in a plane? i have 3 really nice places with 2 home gardens. im an offensive po'al your assumption. nothing wrong with living in a plan, I lived in a plan for the years before they got preggers, I just do not gradetto the condition.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Yes you can start rice cereal at 10 weeks old the baby is almost 3 months old and should start solids.
My 4 started cereal about that time and then I slowly added veggies.. carrots and rice cereal was my first born’s favorite food for a long time.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:30 am
No..it’s too early now. Wait until at least 4 months old and never put cereal in a bottle.
January 11th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
noooooooooo rice! not yet.
i’d certainly go ahead and ring the health visitor — but you won’t have to drag her out to your flat to ask about any feeding issues — she’ll probably be able to give you good advice over the phone, and help you decide when a good time to start your baby on solid food…just don’t start too early! (whether you breast or bottle-feed, mamas’ bodies were designed to produce milk in large quantities, and babies were designed to live on liquids for a substantial part of their first year or so, with solid foods gradually being introduced. in some parts of the world, children are not weened until they are 3 and 4 years old! whoa!)
good luck!
January 13th, 2009 at 2:25 am
No, you generally don’t want to start any solid foods (baby rice included) that early. Especially if she was born small, because her digestive system may not be fully developed.
Call your doctor if you’re concerned she’s not getting enough nutrients. Also try pumping and make sure you’re still producing enough. If your production tapers off, you may need to give more formula.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:15 am
if you phone the health advisor, 9 times out of 10 they are going to say no to something like that since they have to follow the book.
You are mom, you know your baby, so why not try it out. both my kids started rice cereal early, before 10 weeks…i would start once a day, a teaspoon, and make sure its really runny. and id give it off a spoon too.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Yes she’s too young. Her digestive system isn’t prepared to handle solids yet. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no solids before 6 months old.
Breastfed babies eat very often. Especially when they go through growth spurts. That’s how they increase your supply to meet their needs.
If she’s hungry you need to just give her more formula. (Although personally I would hope you would try to go back to exclusive breastfeeding, but we know this isn’t a perfect world.)
January 17th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Yes, she is too young for cereal. If she is ‘hungry’ and ‘needing to catch up’ then what she needs is food that she can digest — food that contains the fat and nutrients that she requires. Rice cereal is just starch with a little iron in it. Breastmilk and formula are created specifically to meet the nutritional needs of young babies. It should be pretty obvious which one is the better choice to satisfy a hungry baby.
(Of course people will post here and say “I gave cereal at 10 weeks [or 6 weeks or 2 weeks] and MY baby turned out ok. Sure, some babies do turn out ok. But some babies have problems. So why risk the problems when there is no benefit?
You don’t say how much/how often she is eating, but it is entirely normal for a baby this age to be eating 10-12 times day, and (if formula fed) taking as much as 40-50 ounces a day. So if she’s in this range, she is doing fine, and doesn’t need cereal.
January 17th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I think that is perfectly fine. I know I’ll probably get some thumbs down for this, but whatever.
This is YOUR baby. You need to do what you think is right for your baby. You’re her mommy and us mommy’s are always deciding what is best. Every mother raises their children differently, and I’m sure that our mothers did things that we “aren’t supposed to do” and we all turned out all right. Being a mommy is learning by trial and error.
If you think your baby needs some cereal to help fill her up, then by all means do it. Just make sure that you do little bits at a time. Don’t expect her to eat a whole bowl at once. And make sure that she is still getting the proper amount of formula.
Yeah, I admit that I have put rice cereal in my daughters bottle, and I guarantee you that I wont be the first, or last to do so. My baby just turned 3 months today, and I started cereal about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and she’s perfectly healthy and happy. She is 3 months and weighs almost 12lbs, and drinks about 6-8 5oz bottles a day.
Trust your instincts. Like I said, this is your baby, and you know what’s right for her.
January 20th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I started my son early on cereal because he was a big boy. I dont recommend you do it though…she is only 9lbs. I believe they tell you not to start giving them cereal under 15lbs. Have her gain a little more weight. Formula gives them the nutrients they need. Cereal does not…it just makes them full. So you dont want your baby to be just full not getting the nutrients she needs do you? Or would you rather wait..giving her just breast milk or formula and her getting the stuff she needs? You should hold off on it for now. Have her gain more weight and be a little older. Your pediatrician should tell you the same thing.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Yes I would try the Rice cereal and do mix it with her formula. I don’t believe in putting it in a bottle,but feed it to her with a little baby spoon. I found that if you mixed it in the bottle it was to thin and it didn’t help her at all, but when I feed her by the spoon she was much more happy and she slept better at night. Hope this will help her and you. And oh yes make sure you feed her the same food for at least 4 days to see if there is any allergy’s.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
It is recommended not to give any baby food, including baby rice until 26 weeks to allow their digestive system to mature. I know how frustrating it all is, but at 10 weeks your baby is still on the small side and is probably still catching up. My baby is also 10 weeks and she is 12lb 7.5oz which is average for her age.
What formula are you using? I would recommend you put your baby on the “hungry baby” formula eg SMA white, try that for a week before even considering solids. On average a bottle fed baby at 10 week should be drinking about 5 5/6oz bottles in a 24 hour period. If you are unsure, contact your health visitor as this isnt “something small” when it is about your baby’s diet.
Persevere, she will soon settle.
Good Luck
January 29th, 2009 at 12:23 am
No, I would wait a little while longer. I know it’s hard when you feel like you’re feeding all day. I have a big boy. 8lbs 4 oz at birth and is 7 weeks old and weighs 11lbs and 6 oz. He eats all day too. But, you just gotta keep giving them breastmilk or formula. That’s all they need for now. Plus you don’t want to risk creating a food allergy from introducing solids too early.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:33 am
Sometimes new mamas need to breastfeed all day-this is your job! If you can keep breastfeeding her whilst you feed yourself up on real good tucker, your milk will strengthen and you will produce more.You will also not have to make up formula and sterilise bottles or heat them up in the night-BUT remember that your job is to eat and rest and feed your babbie-she is too little for rice cereal-get your milk back and enjoy your little one-best of love and luck.
February 1st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
She is way too young – don’t do it!
Whatever issues she may be having, you will just make things worse and it will be even harder to figure out what the problem is. Don’t be in any doubt – babies given solids too early can get REALLY ill. The ONLY thing she should be having is milk – and if nature had her way that would be breastmilk. Your body WILL make enough milk for her if you give it a chance – all breastfed babies go through spurts of constant feeding to make you make more milk. Each time you feed her, give her breat first and let her suck for a good 10 minutes whether you have milk or not. Then give her formula if she is still hungry. Expect to give her the breast at least every two hours in between any formula feeds. If she is still crying she is not hungry – perhaps she has gas or colic. For gas try holding her in your arms face down and rubbing her tummy clockwise. Good luck – don’t feel defeated or desperate – they all go through little phases. Hope you sort it!
February 4th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Baby’s breastfeed on demand. They do not need that over-processed rice at such an early age. If you don’t breastfeed on demand….you won’t make enough milk for your baby. The more you feed the more milk you will make. I can only suggest that you quit the formula and just breastfeed her!! It will get easier, believe me
February 7th, 2009 at 4:22 am
i wouldn’t give her rice just yet either. i started weaning my son at 17 weeks (the earliest recommended age) and he has problems eating potatoes and i’ll never know if it was from starting early or if that was always going to be a problem.
if she’s on formula then maybe try formula for hungry babies. it might fill her up a bit more. try and just hold off giving her solids a little longer if you can.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I’d wait until she’s 4 months old just up the ounces. I didn’t get the flat thing either, besides what’s wrong with living in a flat, oh well.
February 10th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
ill probly get thumbs down for it.. but the way i look at it.. you were eating cereal that young.. and so was everybody else our age.. and were all fine..theres a pretty large population of old people and they use to feed babys food at liek 2 weeks back in the day…. they just need something to blame baby illness’s on.. and they chose to blame it on premature feeding.. lol to each there own.. my daughter is 16 weeks and eats cereal..peas…sweet potatoes and bananas.. shes going great:) i dident start her until she was 3 months… but if you try and feed your baby and they take it(without spittin it back out from there reflex).. i dont think its gunna kill her………………….. lol
February 13th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Don’t do it. This is not “small”, it is a HUGE decision. You could damage your baby’s digestive system permanently or give her awful allergies. You need medical advice, and to be very sure that it is worth it. Especially since she was born small – you do know she can’t digest the rice, right? It just sits in her stomach and prevents her from feeling hungry even though she needs to grow? You have a new baby – what on earth leads you to believe it’s not normal to be exhausted? Grit your teeth and feed your baby. This stage does not last forever, and the best thing you can do for her is just to give her more milk.
Since you asked, yes, I gave my baby rice before 16 weeks. No, it was not OK – though it was fine at the time. He still has problems 9 years later.
February 15th, 2009 at 6:11 am
I know this isn’t the popular answer, but i’ve had four babies and all of them were on cereal by eight weeks. and you’re right, we did all get more sleep, babies were happier and less niggly and all of them slept through the night from about ten weeks. They developed a good sleeping pattern early and I never have to get up for any of them unless they are sick, and even then they just want to be comforted and then they are back off to sleep.
Babies need rest too and constant hunger prevents them from getting the rest they need.
Be careful to introduce very slowly though. just half a spoon in the beginning and don’t be surprised if baby spits it out at first. it takes them a while to get used to it. watch stools for constipation and monitor any reaction to the food in case of allergies.
Your health care provider would shoot me for this advice. I never told mine i was doing it. But I believe a mom knows her child best!