Single grain oatmeal - too early?

[beautifulnm]

Sashibear will be 3 months old tomorrow. he is a BIG boy, he's already 15.5 lbs. He wakes up 2x during the night for bottles. I'm wondering if it would be okay to give him a tablespoon of oatmeal in his evening bottle before bed so he can be fuller longer.

[engineer_mom]

Many people I know do. I'm pretty sure it would be "OK" and he would be fine. But I wouldn't advise you to do it.

But I don't think there is an actual correlation between adding cereal and them sleeping longer. And just because he is bigger doesn't mean he needs "food".

Twice a night sounds great to me! *wink*

My limited experiences have shown that babies have funny sleep habits that bounce all over the place. And I've never been able to really change my kids habits, just accept them (and sleep through the nursing)!

Congrats to his being almost 3 months!!

[staceychev]

Personally, I wouldn't do it.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/4410.php

[Plummeting]

They've done multiple studies on this. It does not make them sleep longer. Some babies just wake up a lot, no matter what you do. My first DD was pretty much the exact same size as this DD is at the same age (about 15 pounds - same as your DS) but DD1 woke up several times a night at this age, while DD2 regularly sleeps through the night, and when she doesn't, she only nurses once in the night. Some babies just need to eat at night and some don't. I don't think it has anything to do with their size.

I know how tiring it is. Hopefully he starts sleeping longer stretches soon.

[lunita1]

WAY too early.

They're ready for solids when they sit independently, have lost their tongue thrust reflex, are interested and eager to eat food, and are about 6 months old. Definitely no earlier than 4 months of age, no matter how big the baby is.

Dealing with bottles at night must be very tiring (so grateful to just roll over and lift my shirt...) but as others have already said, giving solids may do nothing WRT how long he sleeps.

[babygirlie]

I add rice cereal to my 13 month old's bottle at night. I also thought it made her sleep longer. She still wakes up twice to drink. At 3 months she was eating every 3 hours so... my opinions is he just a baby and needs to drink often. He's not an adult. He's growing and needs milk. He does not have the requirements to digest solids food yet and I think there was a correlation in food allergies if you force them to eat early. I waited until like 8 months as I am super paranoid.

But good for him! My baby at 1 year was only 18 pounds and i think in the last 3 months only gained 2 pounds. Kids are all different. Mine has a budda belly and checked out by the doc as just fine She's was a preemie though.

I also add baby rice not oatmeal as rice is the least allergenic and oats might be kinda hard to digest. I know I can't digest them.

[catchthewind]

Well, we delay solids (and do baby-led solids) so my advice might be biased, but I wouldn't start solids until all the conditions lunita mentioned are met, at a very minimum. I would also add that they should be able to grasp food and get it to their mouths themselves.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ay-solids.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ids-sleep.html

Starting around 3-4 months, some babies go through a phase that they wake more often at night too. It's pretty normal, though I understand it is tiring too. I assume even more so making bottles each time.

[Juvysen]

Geez, twice a night is awesome! Ds1 went through a phase when he started teething and crawling and walking (6 - 8 months) where he was up every hour or two. It was... rough (to say the least!). STTN is overrated. Apparently most parents define sttn as a 5 or 6 hr stretch... so don't let people get you down if your baby gets up a couple times a night. He's a baby... it's normal! Heck, I even wake up a couple times a night, even if I have the opportunity to sleep all night.

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

Geez, twice a night is awesome! Ds1 went through a phase when he started teething and crawling and walking (6 - 8 months) where he was up every hour or two.

Yeah, DD1 woke up soooo many times a night as a baby. We co-slept, so it was easy enough to pop the boob out, but man, I was still tired a lot. I can't believe this new girlie sleeps so much at night. It's amazing. I had prepared myself for the exhaustion I dealt with from DD1, but after about the 2 week mark, it just wasn't there. She regularly sleeps 8 hour stretches - and she's only 11 weeks! I'd wake her up to nurse if she were a tiny baby, but at 15 pounds, I'm guessing she's getting enough to eat, so I don't need to worry about it. lol

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by lunita1

WAY too early.

They're ready for solids when they sit independently, have lost their tongue thrust reflex, are interested and eager to eat food, and are about 6 months old. Definitely no earlier than 4 months of age, no matter how big the baby is.

Dealing with bottles at night must be very tiring (so grateful to just roll over and lift my shirt...) but as others have already said, giving solids may do nothing WRT how long he sleeps.

[VegMomma]

Yep, I agree with everyone else.

Also, from a nutrition perspective (I have a background in holistic nutrition), when you are ready to start solids, generally around 6 months, it is generally best to start with soft, low-allergen fruits, as their structure is similar to that of breast milk.

[pumpkinhead]

Way too little. Also, if you're going to give a baby cereal, it should be with a spoon. Cereal in a baby bottle is not only a choking hazard but it can also contribute to tooth decay even before the teeth poke through.

I would wait.

[Amandamanda]

i don't start my babies on anything solid till 6 months.

[MommatoAandA]

I'm not in your DDC, I am a lurker, but I wanted to chime in here and say wait. When you do start solids, grains are actually the LAST food you should offer. It is the most likely to cause an allergic reaction. We started with all the veggies, then meats, then fruits, last grains and one grain at a time for one whole month.

Its REALLY early. Only waking 2 times a night is AWESOME for a baby at his age.

[Charmie981]

There have also been studies that show that baby cereal is so indigestible that the baby can't actually glean ANY nutrition from it.

3 months is way, WAY too early. If it has to go in the bottle for them to eat it, that's too early. They should *at least* be able to get their food via a spoon (and preferably just pick the stuff up and eat it, IMO).

[catchthewind]

A friend of mine just linked me this article, and I thought it was relevant and might be useful to you: http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/13/...t-7-baby-food/