starting cereal

[legend_018]

Chaunda is only 4 months but due to reflux Dr. highly recommended starting the cereal. She's on alimentum which isn't the greatest taste or smell "lol". I'm sure she's used to it now. some questions.

1. the box says it's ok, but is it ok to mix the cereal with water instead of her formula? she seems to like it better this way. Although she is still learning how to even eat in the first place. Just seemed uninterested when I tried it with the formula
2. Dr.  said start off with a teaspoon of cereal and work your way up to a tablespoon. how long on a teaspoon?
3. Do I have to stay consistent?  She's a bit of a inconsistent baby to begin with as far as her feedings and naps concerned at this age. It's very hard to get into a consistent schedule especially with 19 month old.
4. Since I'm starting her on cereals, how long do I do this for before I start baby food? I'm NOT in any rush at all. Just don't want to over do it and feed her cereal every day for 2 months straight and bore her to death "lol"

What I mean by consistency is for example: today I gave her a little this morning. She seem unterested so I never even finished giving it to her. Tonight, time just got ahead of me and it's now 8pm. Not sure if I should give her some at this time because I don't really want a habit of trying to feed her at 8pm every night. I think yesterday I gave her some more toward the evening and forgot to give her some earlier that day. Is it ok to be  a bit here and there at this stage? I think Dr. said up to a teaspoon 2ce a day and I know usually people start doing morning and night.

I know this is NOT for calories and more for taste and experimenting.

i've actually been doing about 1 teaspoon of water to about 1 1/2 teaspoons of cereal.

[tylersmommy]

1. Totally fine to mix cereal with whatever she'll eat! You get more of a nutrition boost if you use formula, but if she won't eat it, no big deal.

2. It really depends on your DD how long you take to work up to a tablespoon. Both my kids were completely uninterested in solids until they were old enough for finger food. Your best bet is to follow her cues. If the cereal isn't causing tummy issues, her formula intake isn't dropping, and she's willing to eat more, go for it!

3. IMHO, I really don't think it's a huge deal to be consistent. #2 was all over the place with naps and feedings, plus I had another kid to tend to, so it was almost impossible to be consistent with her solids. I tried to at least stay consistent with what meal she ate, but sometimes it was 30 min after bf, sometime 1 hr, and sometimes it got skipped. I don't think it mattered.

4. I wouldn't worry too much about her getting bored with cereal, and since she's younger, it might be a good idea to take it slow. Get through all the kinds of cereal first and then move on to some of the milder first foods, like avocado or pear.

[lovedtodeath]

I would think if the cereal was for reflux you would want to give it often, to help keep her formula down.