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Just winding we have started giving ds 80 ml of rice cereal and a 60 ml bottle of formula for dinner should I give him some water after now that he isn't getting as much in bottles ? How long do you give them plain rice cereal before giving other food?
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We skipped the plain rice cereal as there isn't much nutritional value.
How old is your little one? From your ticker 3 months is a little young for solids.
Yep, we started giving him a water bottle to play with. Didn't really get the hang of drinking from it until he was 8 months.
we didn't do rice cereal either. but we waited till DS was really developmentally ready for solids & mostly did baby led solids - we offered a range of foods & the limitations were more on the consistency of the food rather than the type (i.e. steamed fingers of vegies rather than introducing one food at a time). that was at 6ish months. we introduced a water bottle at the same time but, like FabFiona, he took a while to get the hang of it & it took a few goes to get a drink bottle that worked for him. i was still BFing on demand though so i knew he was getting plenty of fluids (starting solids coincided with summer for us so i wanted to be sure he was well-hydrated).
Do you offer formula first then cereal?
As Fiona said, the cereal doesnt have much value, and we were told when first starting out solids - to always offer formula/BM first.
60mls doesnt sound like a lot of formula - is this how much your little one normally has?
We didnt bother with rice cereal, I would be offering some veggies.
And always had a water bottle there - not that he drank much of it to begin with.
How old is your bub? Is your ticker right - 3 and a bit months? As it does seem very early.
Even if you arent interested in BLS, and you will be using purees etc
We gave water as soon as bub was starting solids but we didn't start until 6 months. We never did rice cereal either as we used BLW. DD didn't really start drinking from her water bottle until about 8-9 months.
Is there a reason you've started on solids so early? Has he been looking for it?
First up- is your DS 3 months old? I wouldn't be giving solids at that age unless it's on medical advice.
In answer to your question, we skipped baby rice. DS hated it (don't blame him, it tastes awful). We started on pureed pumpkin, then moved on to avocardo. Each new food I gave him for a few days to a week before introducing the next- it gives any allergies a chance to show
I have DS a water bottle when we started with solid, but like Sloane said it took a few months before he actually got anything from it and we had to try a few different types.
Hth
Doubly post.
He is a week shy of 4 months and milk just isn't filling him anymore our paediatrician said 4 months or whenever we think he is ready, we mix the rice cereal with formula, he usually drinks 180-230 mls of normal or thickened formula
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Can you give him more formula?
I heard there not meant to have more than a litre of milk a day
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I've not heard that.:
My rule with this stuff was that if they drink too much they will just chuck it back up at me. I tend to let baby dictate at this age rather than follow any rules.
Just responding to your other comment about milk not 'filling him up anymore'. What do you mean by that? Is your little one more unsettled than normal or not sleeping as well? That's pretty normal at around that time.
How are things going otherwise?
I haven't heard the 1litre rule either.
Personally I would be giving him his normal bottle and then offering him some veggies.
If he's hungry like you think he is, he will eat it.
Also offer him some water with it, but don't be surprised if he doesn't want it.
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I agree with the others. Even four months is very young for solids. Their little digestive tracts/stomachs can't really handle it.
Can you talk to your child health nurse about it??
In the meantime, this article might be of interest...
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/baby/s...-my-baby-ready
We did the same as many others here - BLW, offering finger food at 6 months, and water at the same time. We don't use a bottle for the water though, we have a no-spill straw cup. She couldn't get the hang of tipping a bottle back to get the water, but she's a champ with a straw :)
Food won't fill him up more than formula, it will actually displace calories of formula at this age and probably result in him getting less all up. It is very early to consider starting solids and I would suggest doing some research to determine whether you are actually comfortable with the risks. A baby gets their main intake from breastmilk or formula until they are one, food is purely to introduce more nutrients, flavours and textures which wouldn't be neccesary at 3 months.
At any rate food should be offered AFTER a milk feed.
No solid doesn't make him more full but it makes him fuller for longer.
I don't see the fuss is his father was on solids from 6 wks because he was allergic to everything and it didn't kill him.
And our paed said its fine.
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I don't think anyone is having a go at you hon, you asked for advice and people are telling you what they did. Fuller for longer? Are you giving solids to help him sleep through?
I think if you are going to give solids, you should give formula first. Formula has a lot more nutrition in it than solids at this stage and you don't want him filling up and not taking milk. Also, maybe think about vegies? Rice cereal is really just bulk with not very many nutrients. Think about it, if you ate a bowl of plain rice for dinner you would be full but it wouldn't be much good for you. Does that make sense?
Also, I hadn't heard the litre of milk thing either. I think it's 150mls of formula per kilo per day? (someone correct me if I have that wrong) It might even be 180 per kilo at this age. And that's very general, my dd never took anywhere near that and a friends baby took almost double for a while.
Agree, definitely not having go, just trying to help.
No one can to stop you giving solids, but I think the advice is fairly consistent. Formula first, then some veggies.
Hope whatever path you chose you get what you want from it.
My son started solids at 4 months and I don't see anything wrong with it.
My got told me he needed it and I was right. Every mum should do what she feels is right. I got a lot of slack for starting so early but I knew my bub was ready for it.
JellyB trust your gut. If you think bub is ready then go for it.
I really think you need to do more research into this jellybean. What do you mean, a 6 week old was allergic to everything? I don't understand that. Their guts cannot handle more than milk at 3-4 months, they are just not matured enough yet. They may handle it seemingly fine at the time, but you are weakening and compromising their gut health, which can affect them at any point in their loves and may not be apparent for years. And if you were insistent on starting, as PP's have said, something with more nutrients than rice cereal would be better. But as mentioned, your son cannot yet process and get as much Oi of solid foods as he actually needs to survive, the formula is what will keep him the most nourished. Giving him solids instead of milk could very well starve him of the nutrients he needs. It's a myth that solids will make a baby more settled or sleep through. If the two coincide, it's pure coincidence. Babies go through fussy stages, do you have the Wonderweeks book/app. I found that a lifesaver and still do in explaining what my daughter is going through developmentally and why.:
I was told not to give DD1 more than a liter of milk a day too. We changed formula to SMA. 3 months is a little early IMO, but everyone parents differently.
Ah, good advice ladies. Yes every mother has the right to do what is best for their child - but if you come on to a parenting forum asking for advice expect to get it....
The next section is base on my opinion and knowledge... 3m is too early. If your giving rice just to 'fill him up' you will deprive him of valuable nutrition that he gets from formula. At 3,4,5,6months they are still babies - they are meant to be unsettled from time to time and eat a little more one day and a little less on day. Not all babies are going to sleep through the night - hell my DD didn't until she was one.
Have a read through the research that has been provided to you - it's valuable to make an informed decision.
And my suggestion. If you would like to continue with solids - always offer the milk first, and then offer up some puréed vegetables.
And if your hubby was allergic to everything I would strongly suggest waiting to start anything and when you do, do it slowly with the information on what to do of anaplaxis or allergic reaction happens.
Cat xox
If you are really insistent on giving solids how about Avocado? At least avocado has got plenty of good fats in it. I was told that it's the closest food to breastmilk, of course it's nowhere near as good but if you must give food then maybe Avo mashed and mixed with breastmilk or formula is a good option otherwise you'll be replacing the goodness of milk for veggies or rice cereal that don't have very many calories in them and will be filling him but not giving him much nutritionally!
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Yep that's very true.