Starting Cereal

[newmama12]

When did you start your lo on cereal (especially if you breastfed)? My ds is big - almost 18lbs and 4.5 months. His sleeping is terrible and I'm desperate to try anything to help. I'm thinking of starting him on cereal in a few weeks when he turns 5 months. Did you find that adding calories from cereal/solids helped your bf lo to sleep better? His dr suggested it thinking it'll help. If I don't do cereal, I was thinking of trying formula. Not sure what to do?!

[~inbalance~]

Hi there

Unfortunately it's a myth that starting cereal early will help you baby sleep better.  If anything, starting cereal too early can actually cause more sleep problems because the baby's system just isn't mature enough to handle it.  And a bigger baby's system is still immature, no matter what their size, so it doesn't make sense to start earlier just because they are bigger.  It's true that some babies, particularly larger ones, might wake more at night because they are hungry, but if this is the case it's better to concentrate on getting more milk or formula into them during the day.  Do you cluster or dreamfeed?  Both of those tactics are known as tanking baby up, and can help him sleep longer stretches at night.  Here is a link about dreamfeeding:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65750.0  Cluster feeding involves feeding more often in the evening particularly during times of rapid growth, to get more milk into your baby before bed.

Here is some info on sleep and the breastfed baby:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=98183.0
And some about breastfeeding and starting solids:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68751.0

The World Health Organization recommends waiting until 6mos to start solid foods, including cereal.  I can say in my experience, I did start a little early with DS1 hoping he would sleep better, and he didn't.   

If you think you might be interested in adding formula, here is a link that might have some useful info:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=178500.0

As for the sleeping issues, has your LO always been a terrible sleeper?  There are so many other things to consider other than hunger at this age, and babies wake for many different reasons.  They can be hungry, they could also be hot/cold, going through a growth spurt, teething, gassy, refluxy, or there could be a prop issue.  You can also post on the Night Wakings board or browse through the FAQs there to get more advice and support.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?board=33.0

Hope that helps. 

[Texomamama]

I started DD1 on rice cereal at 4 months.  I plan on doing the same with DD2, who is currently 3.5 months.  Even with the WHO recommendation of no solids till 6 months, many pediatricians are comfortable with attempting to start with cereal at 4 months.  By the time my DD1 was 6 months, she was well into solids, including cereals and stage 1 fruits and veggies.  We never had any problems.  Like with most things, you may just want to start and see how it goes.  If your LO seems to have tummy problems, or difficulty with the spoon due to tongue thrust, then stop and try again a couple of weeks later.

As far as sleep, as Martina (who is lives in awesome Collingwood notes), for some LO's, the introduction of solids can actually do more harm than good, but those adjustment issues are usually short lived.  Also, consider that most babies start STTN between 5-7 months, and even though that is right smack in the middle of the introduction of solids for most people, it does not indicate a cause and effect relationship.

[~inbalance~]

Martina (who is lives in awesome Collingwood

Probably wouldn't think it's so awesome now with 6ft of snow everywhere, but thanks!