paintedlady said:

I call those cement bottles! Being a teen Mom, and having friends who also were teen Mom's I saw that a lot! Would make me so mad when I saw them do this. It was quite lazy on their part.

MrsMdiver said:

That's very interesting...WIC here in the States always starts out with rice cereal, but like I said, everyone does things differently. Heck my Mom use to try and get me to add sugar to water and give it to my kids. Not happening Mom.

paintedlady said:

Some people do go over board, I will agree.
but as my own exerience had taught me....even a half teaspoon of cereal in an 8oz bottle wouldn't come through the holes so I too opened up the holes a bit. My children were not overfed because of it, both my kids are actually very slim. For me it was just a small window of time where I felt I needed to do that too. and like you said...to each their own. It was just your harsh judgement calling them lazy moms who want a sleepy fat kid that I took issue with.

Shorty said:

When I would go to WIC when I first had my daughter back in "86" they use to tell me putting cereal in the bottle can delay a child's ability to learn to eat with a spoon. So I never did it. I would put my daughter in her bouncing seat, and mix the rice cereal with formula, and made it very thin, like water.

But like it has been said before, everyone does what's best for their child. No way is really the wrong way. If I would go back to some of the things my Mom or Grandmother did back in the day, we would all be thinking what was wrong with those women.

I work for Public Health's Maternity Support Svcs, which also works closely with the nurses and nutritionists at WIC. The RDs (Registered Dieticians) follow the latest nutritional guidelines, but they also have a very naturopathic bent. Oh, they are also internationally certified breastfeeding consultants, too.

They recommend holding off on solids until closer to 6 mos due to choking hazards and food allergies. They want a baby to be able to sit up w/support before starting solids. Tey also recommend NOT putting cereal in the bottle, again, choking issues, but also the cereal "leaches" some of the nutritional value from the formula. If you're going to offer baby cereal, you're supposed to start w/rice, then gradually move to oatmeal, wheat and then mixed grains around 8 mos. Breastmilk or formula is essential until about 12 mos because it is their primary nutrition source--even if they are eating solids, they're probably not getting the vitamins/minerals just from the solid foods.

With solid foods, start w/rice cereal, then add pureed or strained veggies. You can even mix them with the cereal. Don't start w/fruit, because they will just want the sweet taste of fruits and not their veggies. Don't add salt or sugar to the foods. Introduce one new food at a time so if they have an allergic reaction (rash, diarrhea) you'll know which food it was. You can add grated cheese, cheerios, beans, toast, plain yogurt, pureed chicken/beef around 8 mos

They recommend introducing a cup for water and juice around 6 mos

MoniGram said:

The health visitor here that I spoke to said that there are new studies being done regarding infants that are started on rice cereals early and then fruits & veg later. They are finding a higher percentage of babies with speech issues that start on rice cereals. The theory is that the rice cereals are just a bit thicker than formulas and the babies need more textures to encourage better speech patterns, something to that effect.
Also there is a concern for allergies with giving them rice instead of fruits & veg. She recommended adding some rice cereal to fruits and veggies once they were established and well received, just to thicken them a bit when he is ready for something heavier.

Who knows.
This is my first and only time doing this. Just want to get it right.

MoniGram said:

!!! My mom tried to get me to do that too! Was that a common practice back then?

I did learn a trick though... as my babies started teething, I would put an icecube in the bottle of water/juice in order to calm the gums while they drank.

OH, and some foods to avoid for at least the first year due to their being common allergens are:

Raw tomatoes
Chocolate
Corn
Wheat
Cow's milk
Strawberries
Shellfish
Egg Whites

CarrieAnn said:

and Honey. it it can carry botulism spores. Botox is not good for babies!

avoid it for at least a year.
[Edited 2/16/10 11:06am]

CarrieAnn said:

I guess Val should forget about that Cream Of wheat cereal thing I said then.

MrsMdiver said:

Hi Val.
With my son, I did everything by the book, he had nothing but breat milk till about 6 months or whatever it was then slowly started him on cereal with either a little diluted gerber juice in or pumped milk.

I didn't wean him completely from the boob till one year old, and I basically just took a week and only nursed b4 nap and bed time, then cut a feeding a week till he was down to none.

He wasn't happy about it, but at that point I think I was more of a human pacifier than a source of nourishment. lol


With Daisy, I started her on ceral prob around 4 months I guess, and she loved it. I still nursed, but yanno, ya start with ceral once a day, then go to twice. Just go with the flow of the baby. As long as he's sleeping good and not showing signs of a belly ache, it should be fine. Go with your gut and his lead.

Anyways, Daisy was completely weaned off the boob by 9 months, and it was her choice, and that is the route I'd reccomend over the first route I took with Noah.

2 things, and this is just my advice, all kids are diff.

I wouldn't give any cows milk till a yr old, and I'm sorry I know this is a big argument with some, but no formula either. Also, I only used the rice cereal. It has a better consistency I think.

Oh, forgot, you can also gradually start adding sum baby food in w/the cereal too, but I wouldn't do that just yet. Like I said have fun with it, go slow, and follow his lead. Don't do JUST straight up baby food yet though. Thats a belly ache in the making.

Good Luck!

CarrieAnn said:

Thank you.
What do they recommend for very hungry babies that still feed every 2 hrs during the day. Four hours (if we are lucky at night) and take 8 ounces of formula at a time.
We tried hungry baby formulas, those just bind him up, he still eats the same amount, just get constipated.

The health visitor said that she always recommends starting at 6 months for most cases but knowing his size, (height & weight) and the amount of formula he is taking, he will need to start a bit early.
I have also been trying to find info on over due babies, like I said he is 17 days overdue.

He sits up well in his Bumbo chair and though we just started this process slowly, he seems to be taking well to it.

MoniGram said:

I know...and like CarrieAnn just said we're not "supposed" to even start them on any solids till 6 months!! ha! yeah right! I did the very watered down rice cereal with formula by spoon too. The in the bottle thing was a short term solution in a brief window of time. My mom told me when I was a baby I couldn't keep any formula down...probably was lactose related or something...well she says my Meme took the bottle, filled it with whole milk and some caro syrup and that's what I drank till I was on solids. stunted my growth though. (j/k about it causing my short-ness)

paintedlady said:

Well, I don't know, because they say the wheat baby cereal is fine. I'll have to ask them about that seeming contradiction.

Shorty said:

I understand, it seems like a blanket statement, but in my family... lazy mom is correct and not harsh, just truthful. They continued that practice well into the child's 2nd year.

Please don't think that I'm trying to judge you as a mom, I'm sure you did what is best for your baby (ies) and didn't do what I saw.

MrsMdiver said:

How old is he now? I know for preemies, they adjust weight/length percentile on the grid and solid intakes based on how many weeks premature they were. Maybe it works the opposite, too. I'll ask. Mostly, what I hear them (the RDs) say is that it's just a difficult time to get through (sleepwise, etc.) and that the baby is probably going through a growth spurt and to just feed them the formula on demand until 5-6 mos.

Oh, just read the breast to cup thing.

Yes! That was the BEST thing I ever did. Do that!

CarrieAnn said:

Is it a wheat-glutton thing then?

Shorty said:

Yeah we put a tiny bit of cereal in in their sippy cups - and neither children were ( are) "fat" and we certianly are NOT lazy parents

MrsMdiver said:

wow...that is interesting! No pediatricians? goodness! do you have frequent appointments with your GP for the lil guy? or just these health visitor visits?
I forget already but I think I was bringing my infants to the ped. at like 3 weeks old, then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months. (once a year after that)

MrsMdiver said:

I can't recall how I weaned my son. He's 28yo now.

But do remember that as soon as my boy went to sleep I made a dash for my bed, whenever I was too exhausted. He would awaken very three hours to be fed...like clock work.

By 6-8 months our were picking up tiny finger foods and feeding themselves some ... i can not imagine waiting that long to just begin feeding solids

BUT

every child and set of parents are different

Joshua was walking on his own by 9 months and Jess by 10 months

one of our grands didnt start walking until after 18 months and was still on a bottle at 2 - everyone and everything is different

As soon as my kids grew teeth, I threw t-bone steaks at them.




jk - I don't remember how exactly my wife weaned them off bottles, but I do remember having to buy lots & lots of Gerber baby food. While puréed broccoli and turkey may sound disgusting, they actually LOVED it.

Mach said:

The moms I have seen doing that were VERY lazy because the milkshake bottle would be propped in the mouth with a pillow and mom would walk away, baby would normally be in the crib with the bottle, or the cradle.
And yes, these babies would walk until almost age 2 all fat and the only time they would hold something to their mouth was if it was a lollypop or a bottle filled with soda. Yes, that's right soda.

I never saw what you describe, I saw milkshakes made for babies at 2 months and on. I got into very harsh fights with my own mother and aunts over this issue because I could never trust these women to babysit my children without them destroying the nipples to my children's bottles.

MrsMdiver said:

Oh, just read this now. Sorry Val. I really should read whole threads before I post, since now I just gave you meaningless advice. lol

So your looking to wean to solids? I would mix some solids with rice cereal to start and just pay attn to if anything seems to give him a reaction or belly ache, along with the formula.

paintedlady said:

Ahhh ... understood

I have a friend that propped her kids up more then holding them while feeding them - I found that strange and detached ~ but her kids turned out just as normal ( whatever THAT is ! ) as anyone elses - I just feel SHE as a mother missed out on all the closeness
[Edited 2/16/10 11:31am]

Mach said:

That is the tricky part of parenthood it seems... what exactly is "normal"?

CarrieAnn said:

Well, he is 17 weeks now. He has always been this hungry except 3 nights during this cold. Other than that, he has been an extremely hungry baby.

Like Mach said, they are all different and do things at different stages.
Funny how I can find all sorts of info on premmies but nothing on the development of over due babies.

Thanks for everyone input.

I enjoyed breast feeding for the most part and wished I could have done it longer but he just used me as a pacifier.

MrsMdiver said:

You can still express the milk for his feedings... even though it is a chore.

Shorty said:

The health visitors come put almost daily when the babies first come home for a few weeks, until they feel that all is well with mom and baby.
Then there is an 8 week check by the GP, then the vaccines with the nurse. Other than that, he has only seen the GP for his dry skin rash that was not clearing on it's own. That is when she told me that he could not be teething when I told her he is chewing on everything, fussy, cheeks getting red, drooling...