4 Months Old

I would try the rice cereal with breast milk first. Just put the cereal in a small bowl, and mix enough milk in to make it a soupy consistency. Don't make more than a couple of teaspoonsful to begin with. Feed it to him with a baby spoon. He may take a bit of time to get the idea, but he'll begin to learn to take in the spoonfed food.

He's probably hungry. When my baby did that, it seemed each time he was hungry. He'd eat and fall right back to sleep. I tried feeding him in his sleep right before bed time and that helped for awhile. Then when he started eatcing cereal that helped for awhile too. If you give him rice cereal, I wouldn't put it in the bottle and you may find he does not take it from a spoon. You might want to try a powder formula again. Sometimes they take to something later when re-introduced. Mine was a light eater (4 oz for awhile) but he was born a month early. He would eat every 3 hours then he started eating more(more oz per feeding, cereal and closer together: every 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Try giving him powder formula before the rice cereal. He might be just a tad young for the cereal. Hope that helps.

My daughter also drinks 4-5 ounces since I went back to work when she was 4 months and she's still at that rate (now 7 months). Her doctor did not suggest formula, but to put her on solids and then try to give the bottle more ofter. (Before, it was every 4 hours and she suggested every 3, but we're still at 3 1/2 to 4 hours). Doctor said not to be concerned as long as she's gaining weight. Granted she's small for her age but she seems to be content. The solids do seem to help her though with "plumping" up.

Well I just went back and my 3 month old started eating less while I was gone. It might be an adjustment thing, but I'd try him on formula. Carnation Good Start in the ORANGE can worked really well for us. If that doesn't help I'd try a little cereal mixed with breastmilk:) Also you can try a 50/50 mix of breastmilk and formula. Good luck:)

He may just be responding to your changes in daily habits. I breast feed 100% and they sleep through the night when they are ready and sometimes they may just not sleep because it could be in your changing habits are you drinking more coffee or other things with caffeine? My son was a small eater but he got what he needed, we never really know how much they are eating when they are nursing until we put it in a bottle then we can actually see the amount they are eating. A small amount of rice cereal won't hurt they say it does help children to sleep.

Hi S.!

My youngest son was born a "perfect sleeper" until he was 4 months old, then reality set in :o) Your son could simply be normal now like most other babies in their frist year.

This is when your son will start to increase his feedings because he's hungrier from growing.

I think you just have to "go with it" as much as you can. Which is another reason why I chose to stop nursing at 4 months old.....couldn't keep up with my hungry man :o)

I don't think it's time for cereal, or anything else except for breastmilk or formula at his age.

Just try to keep him satisfied :o)

~N. :O)

I think most of the literature out there suggests waiting until six months old to start on solid foods - the thinking is to stave off allergies, which seem to be related to starting solid foods too soon. When you are ready to start solids, may I suggest leaving the rice cereal on the shelf. I gave my son all the boxed rice, oat, wheat cereals...went with the "common" thinking. Then with my daughter I got to thinking that if white rice isn't nutritious, then how could further processed white rice baby cereal have anything "good" in it.

My daughter's first food was avacado. It's an awesome baby food, full of good fat...she loved it. And I'm very certain it was better for her than the rice cereal I was giving my son.

I think this website is the one I tended to follow, it's not the only website out there with simialr information.

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/startingsolidfood-schedu...

And if I ever have another baby, they'll get "real" food too. By the way, I did try grinding up whole grain brown rice and making cereal out of it...it worked just fine and I am sure it is WAY cheaper than the boxed rice cereal that's out there. Good luck.

P.

I wouldn't start him on formula if you are pumping enough breastmilk, it would just be a waste of money. As for rice cereal, he's right at the youngest they say to start, but the dr's really want you to wait until 6 months. He's probably either just missin you and the comfort of nursing or he could be starting to cut teeth (my daughter was 4 months when she started cutting teeth). If you can, I would try to continue breastfeeding him when you are home, and only give him the bottle when you are gone, that way he still has the comfort of you near him when you are there. You might also see if he might be cold at night. Is he in his own crib yet? If so, how long? If you just moved him to a crib, that could also have something to do with it.

You have to give him a blend of breastmilk and formula starting out with 3 oz. breastmilk 1 oz. formula and then gradually increase it. Be prepared for constipation, very nasty smelling diapers and more spitting up plus more colds and flu.
Our pedi suggested we give our new baby formula once a day for the vitamin D since breasmilk doesn't contian vitamin D or we could just give her vitamin drops.
It sounds ;like your baby may just be having a growth spurt - he should be able to sleep through the night once he is going strong with solid foods - at about 6-7 months.
Can you just hang in there for 2 months??

4-5 oz per feeding sounds about right :) You also have to remember that just because they're babies doesn't mean their feeding habits are any different. Think about your own habits during the day. You may have a huge breakfast, then a small lunch, several small snacks during the day, etc.Your baby eats the same way, and if he's breastfeeding in addition to bottles, you don't know how many oz he's getting at the breast. To be honest, I think we are too consumed with how much our kids eat instead of taking the more natural approach of on demand. We eat when we're hungry, right? We're not stuck on a rigid schedule and forced to eat when we're not hungry. Yes, there are certain situations where a baby should be woken up to eat, but at 4 months, you're safe to let him go if he's not hungry.

As far as formula is concerned, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Formula is NOT the best food for your baby; your milk is, as you already know. And have you ever tasted formula vs breastmilk???? It's no wonder babies don't want it!! He's too young for rice cereal, as his digestive system isn't mature enough yet. Research has also proven that cereal does NOT help babies sleep through the night. Sleeping through the night for a 4mo old is about 6 hours, so take a look at his sleep habits as well.

Just a few cents from me.... Enjoy your son :)