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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What age do you start rice cereal?
Unregistered 09:20 AM 02-25-2015
Wondering when you start rice cereal with infants? Do you wait for the parents to make the decision to start feeding cereal? I have a breast fed baby who is always starving! The doc told mom to wait until 6 months for cereal. I would start at 4 months and then at 6 months introduce baby food. What do you wonderful childcare providers suggest?
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Leigh 09:26 AM 02-25-2015
I wouldn't start before the recommended 6 months. I have a 17 month old who couldn't tolerate it until 8 months. I would absolutely not start cereal against a parents' wishes and physician recommendations. If the child is starving, he needs more milk.
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Play Care 09:33 AM 02-25-2015
I have the same issue with my EBF babies. They are HUGE and always hungry. Thankfully my dc mom was practical about it and started solids around 5 months (it doesn't have to be cereal).

That said, I wait and take mom's lead. I would never feed a baby anything without the parents knowledge and consent. Now, I would REQUIRE an additional bottle or two to help with hunger. And that's nonnegotiable.

I think current trends are for later feedings (ie: 6 months) because they want to avoid the too early feeding (a six week old doesn't need cereal in his bottle at all, Grandma!) which could lead to gut issues. But my ped was more practical. He said around 4.5-5 months we could start cereal because by that time baby was old enough and developed enough for it.
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Unregistered 10:29 AM 02-25-2015
Mom only brings 9 oz a day that's 3 3 oz bottles a day she also projectile spits up mom and doc say she will grow out of it. Baby is always hungry and mom says she only pumps an ounce per breast. Baby kicks and screams after I feed a bottle wanting more.
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melilley 10:33 AM 02-25-2015
I wouldn't start cereal without parents consent either. I would tell mom that she has to bring more milk though. If she doesn't, I don't think I could take care of that child knowing that they are always hungry.
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melilley 10:35 AM 02-25-2015
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Mom only brings 9 oz a day that's 3 3 oz bottles a day she also projectile spits up mom and doc say she will grow out of it. Baby is always hungry and mom says she only pumps an ounce per breast. Baby kicks and screams after I feed a bottle wanting more.
Sounds like reflux. My dd had reflux and projectile vomited, and was put on meds. Most babies grow out of it, but if they don't, it usually requires surgery. Just a thought.
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daycarediva 10:37 AM 02-25-2015
Not enough milk. Cereal is a filler, they really NEED the milk. Try a slower flow nipple. EBF babies are used to 'working harder' for their meals. I would also tell Mom we need to bump the bottles up to 4oz, and she needs to eat every 3 hours, so Mom needs to bring 12oz/day MINIMUM. I also required my bf moms to have a day's worth stashed in my freezer, for those especially hungry days.

Baby may be going through a growth spurt, too. It happens so often in infancy!

I also didn't give my babies cereal, first. I started solids with avocado (pureed, of course).

Does the baby still have the tongue thrust reflex? My pediatrician said to wait until that was gone, and then start solids. He is anti-cereal, too.
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melilley 10:53 AM 02-25-2015
Originally Posted by daycarediva:
Not enough milk. Cereal is a filler, they really NEED the milk. Try a slower flow nipple. EBF babies are used to 'working harder' for their meals. I would also tell Mom we need to bump the bottles up to 4oz, and she needs to eat every 3 hours, so Mom needs to bring 12oz/day MINIMUM. I also required my bf moms to have a day's worth stashed in my freezer, for those especially hungry days.

Baby may be going through a growth spurt, too. It happens so often in infancy!

I also didn't give my babies cereal, first. I started solids with avocado (pureed, of course).

Does the baby still have the tongue thrust reflex? My pediatrician said to wait until that was gone, and then start solids. He is anti-cereal, too.
What is EBF? Something breast fed? I've seen this somewhere else and can't figure it out...lol
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Leigh 10:56 AM 02-25-2015
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Mom only brings 9 oz a day that's 3 3 oz bottles a day she also projectile spits up mom and doc say she will grow out of it. Baby is always hungry and mom says she only pumps an ounce per breast. Baby kicks and screams after I feed a bottle wanting more.
I require parents to sign off on me supplementing with formula. If they don't provide enough BM, I feed the formula. I wouldn't accept only 9 oz of milk at a time-I have an 8 week old that drinks more than that some days!
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laundrymom 10:58 AM 02-25-2015
So she eats, 3 measly ounces, pukes some up, and cries for more but mom brings only 9ounces a day?

Is she a newborn?

I'm really not trying to go "momma bear" on you. Really, I'm not. Couple questions.

How old baby?
First time mom?

Here I can for sure tell you that I REQUIRE 30-40 ounces of frozen bm to be in my freezer.
I rotate stock.
I have them freeze in 2 or 4 oz portions, depending on age.

If she has reflux then she's not spitting because of overfeed ing. She's uncomfortable.
Then when she pukes, is hungry again.
Poor girl.
I'd cry too.
I'd require mom provide double
The amount she feels she needs. She might only get an ounce out, but I promise baby is more effective than pump.
At around 3 mo I typically feed 4 oz 3 hrs apart.
At 6 it's 5-6 oz every 4-5 hours
I hold off on cereal until I must as per food program rules. Especially w bf babies. That milk is straight nectar from heaven and way better than anything man made.
Yes, it's digested faster. Yes you need to feed more often, but it's the perfect food for a human baby. That's why babies process it so effectively.
(Stepping off my soapbox and moving on.)
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Unregistered 11:07 AM 02-25-2015
Originally Posted by melilley:
What is EBF? Something breast fed? I've seen this somewhere else and can't figure it out...lol
In this context it looks like exclusively breast fed.
I sometimes see it used for extended breast feeding too.
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spinnymarie 11:08 AM 02-25-2015
ITA about mom either bringing more breastmilk or being ok with some formula. She HAS to do one or the other, or I wouldn't take baby again, period.
As for cereal, I make parents do that part at home. Here we have to provide food starting at 8 months, for the food program, so by that time parents should have gone through the cereals, tried all the different kinds of foods to check for allergies, and we will start feeding a breakfast and a lunch here.
I never feed cereal unless its in addition to some other food and after the 8 month mark.
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laundrymom 11:11 AM 02-25-2015
EBM= expressed breast milk
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melilley 11:28 AM 02-25-2015
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
EBM= expressed breast milk
Ahhh duh...lol
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Laurel 02:15 PM 02-25-2015
Originally Posted by Play Care:
I have the same issue with my EBF babies. They are HUGE and always hungry. Thankfully my dc mom was practical about it and started solids around 5 months (it doesn't have to be cereal).

That said, I wait and take mom's lead. I would never feed a baby anything without the parents knowledge and consent. Now, I would REQUIRE an additional bottle or two to help with hunger. And that's nonnegotiable.

I think current trends are for later feedings (ie: 6 months) because they want to avoid the too early feeding (a six week old doesn't need cereal in his bottle at all, Grandma!) which could lead to gut issues. But my ped was more practical. He said around 4.5-5 months we could start cereal because by that time baby was old enough and developed enough for it.
Ahem, a grandma here.

Back in the 'olden days' our pediatrician's told us to start cereal whenever the baby reached a certain many ounces per day of formula. I think (but don't quote me) it was 24 oz. per day. Once they were taking more than 24 oz. we started with rice cereal so they would take no more than 24 oz. I don't know what breast fed mommies were told. We started babies before 3 months I'm sure. Maybe even 2 months. Whenever they reached that 'magic number'. I loved doing that. They slept through the night a lot faster! I guess the new thinking is well 'new'.

Laurel
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Sugaree 11:45 AM 02-26-2015
I exclusively breastfed for 6 months and skipped cereal altogether. But I didn't have a child with reflux. I also sent in way more milk each day than I knew he'd eat. My center couldn't keep frozen milk, so I had to send in pre-made bottles every day.

I will say though, that if I found out a childcare provider had given my child food without my consent before the age my pedi recommended then I'd be livid.

If I were you, I'd discuss with the mom the issues that you're having and suggest that she talk to her pedi about reflux. In some cases, rice cereal may be the answer, but it's her call to make. I'd also talk to her about sending in extra. It's generally recommended that a child receive 1-1.5 oz per hour of care. So my nine-hour day would require 9-13.5 of milk if I couldn't make it during lunch. I also second the idea of slower flow nipples and maybe even more, smaller bottles. Instead of three bottles that are 3 oz, why not 4 bottles that are 2.5 oz or 5 bottles that are 2 oz? Spread the feedings out some.
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Shell 12:04 PM 02-26-2015
Originally Posted by Laurel:
Ahem, a grandma here.

Back in the 'olden days' our pediatrician's told us to start cereal whenever the baby reached a certain many ounces per day of formula. I think (but don't quote me) it was 24 oz. per day. Once they were taking more than 24 oz. we started with rice cereal so they would take no more than 24 oz. I don't know what breast fed mommies were told. We started babies before 3 months I'm sure. Maybe even 2 months. Whenever they reached that 'magic number'. I loved doing that. They slept through the night a lot faster! I guess the new thinking is well 'new'.

Laurel
I did the same with my own kids. I wait until parents are ready here, to respect their wishes.
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renodeb 01:43 PM 02-26-2015
It really depends on the child, I have a 7 m/o and he gets all kinds of food at home but I havent felt like he needs any here. She brings a ton on milk for him so I just make sure he is full. He takes abut 4 ozs 2-3 times a day here for me. If she's not pumping enough maybe suggest a little formula to help supplement?
Deb
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