I've decided to go for the solids. I was gonna wait another week but I can't handle making him wait when he is so hungry. I fed him an 8 ounce bottle and an hour and a half later he is hungry again. Sheesh.

So, I will try the rice cereal and stick with that a while if he does okay on it. I don't want to make him allergic to anything but he's just so darned hungry I need to try something. I bet it's due to his size. Anyway, he is 14 weeks tomorrow so close enough.

How do I do this...I know only a tablespoon or two (provided he does okay and likes it) at first.

But how often do I give it to him?
With his bottles or in between when he gets hungry?
How many times per day....or just go by his hunger cues?
If he wants it more than a couple times a day will he get constipated?
(His poop is normal, yaaay, and I don't want to constipate the kid again)
What consistency do I make the cereal?
Mix it with formula, water, or does it matter?
And if I have to mix with formula does it matter if it is cold?

Thanks!

Okay *takes a deep breath* I'll take a stab at this!

1. I would definitely mix it with formula--as for temperature, he'll let you know what he prefers. You don't necessarily have to warm the milk before mixing; however, since he's used to warm milk anyway, it might make it easier for him to take to the cereal.

2. Rice cereal can be constipating. Keep an eye on his BMs. Hopefully that small of an amount won't bind him, but you never know.

3. For a 14-week-old I *think* you only give cereal about once or twice a day (correct me if I'm wrong here--I"m dealing with a GERDling who didn't eat baby food until almost a year old...just going by my What To Expect book!)

4. I'm not sure if there is any hard and fast rule about when you should give it. For the first day or so, just to monitor for any adverse reactions, you might try giving it early in the day (so that you don't have a screaming baby in the middle of the night!)

5. Make it on the runny side those first few times, just until he gets a feel for it.

:blob2: Good luck!! Let us know how it goes!

Everything that Mary said sounds great. If you look at the box, they have directions on how to give the first feeding. Our ped said in the beginning to only do it once a day. Adding solids will temporarily constipate them until their body adjusts to having new consistencies to digest. Having the new food be rice can add to it, so you don't want to give too much initially.

Just a thought--what did you give him before to relieve constipation? You could try giving him a little of whatever you gave him then as a preventative assuming it isnt something yucky like a suppository or enema! I am thinking along the lines a little pear juice in the cereal or something. Be careful with juice though, although it can relieve and prevent constipation--they can like it too much and in *some* babies make their reflux worse or they don't tolerate it. At his age, just a little bit can be effective (an ounce).

If you decide to use something like juice to help with constipation, I would try the cereal first for 3 days, then add a little juice if he seems to not be pooping as much or seems more uncomforable--so if one doesnt agree with him you will not be racking your brain trying to backtrack to find out which one it is. l

Just a thought--what did you give him before to relieve constipation? You could try giving him a little of whatever you gave him then as a preventative assuming it isnt something yucky like a suppository or enema! I am thinking along the lines a little pear juice in the cereal or something. Be careful with juice though, although it can relieve and prevent constipation--they can like it too much and in *some* babies make their reflux worse or they don't tolerate it. At his age, just a little bit can be effective (an ounce).

Thanks! When we gave him the Thick It it switched him to diareha, then when I took him off he was constipated again (from the hypoallergenics). It was at that point I tried switching him back to normal formula and his poop was normal again. I do have MoM as well but he's not had it yet. I'll keep the juice inm ind too and just go slow at first and keep giving him extra formula in the meantime.

Dont make the mistake I did when introducing the spoon. :roll: I was just shoveling it in and he was not liking it. AManda suggested that I just hold the spoon sideways in front of his lips and let him lick at his own leisure. It worked much better that way. :oops:

Dont make the mistake I did when introducing the spoon. :roll: I was just shoveling it in and he was not liking it. AManda suggested that I just hold the spoon sideways in front of his lips and let him lick at his own leisure. It worked much better that way. :oops: I agree. Don't use a spoon with too much of scoop to it. KWIM? Use one that is a bit flat because he will probably do more sucking and licking than anything until he gets it figured out. Also, after a few days or so, if he seems like he is getting plugged up, and you want to try juic, mix it in the cereal. It will make it tastey and cut down a little on the acidity of taking it straight up. I hope he loves his cereal! Good luck!!

Thanks ladies!! I have one of those teensy-tiny spoons with the plastic covering which should help. Thanks for the tips! :D

LOL...well that was fun! haha

I don't think he quite knew what to make of it. But he did open his mouth and smile towards the end. But he looked undsure what to do with it in his mouth, hehe.

Video if you are bored....I made it for "grandma so watch the last half as it's boring at the beginning)
http://media.putfile.com/Masons-First-Cereal

How cute was that Bonnie! He is like "ho hum, here I sit and I am so cute! LOL"
He was so funny, everytime you said Yay he would just grin!

**sigh** how sweet!

What a sweetheart! He actually did pretty good for a first timer! Wasn't too impressed thought was he, LOL. I hope he enjoys it and isn't hungry anymore. Can't wait till he tries something really tasty...you will have to post his funny faces!

Bonnie, that is the absolute cutest thing! He looks like he got the hang of it pretty darn fast, if you ask me. How exciting.

Thanks guys! Ihad som uch fun feeding him :D

Well, he had no tummy aches after, in fact he has been doing very well lately. I think he is growing out of a lot. He still refluxes, but not bad andn o complaints so the GI thinks he'll probly be on prevacid till around 9-10 months. I have really lucked out.

I'll keep an eye on his poop and see how he does the next few days.

I'm so glad he enjoys eating! What a big boy!! :smt026

He made a great effort! I'm sure he'll have the hang of it in no time. I'm glad it didn't hurt his belly!

Oh, and I just wanted to add that at his age, you want to be sure that he doesn't ever replace a bottle with a solid meal--not yet!

Oh, and I just wanted to add that at his age, you want to be sure that he doesn't ever replace a bottle with a solid meal--not yet!

Hehe, this is Mason we're talking about! lol

Actually, when Do they do that? After a year?

I think around 9 months is when they start to intake a lot more solids and less formula.

Yahoo, Mason! WTG! :yahoo:

So sweet..those cheeks when he smiles! OMGoodness! Love the chins too! Awww....I'm smitten, Bonnie!! :)

That was too cute Bonnie! It looks like he did pretty well:D I'm so glad to hear that he didn't have any tummy problems afterwards!

Heh, well I've fed him a couple times and he seems to want to eat, but I don't think he likes the rice cereal, lol. I guess I can't put any juice in it just yet either. Is oatmeal any better or do I keep trying the rice?

Since he is so young, I'd stick with the rice for at least a few more weeks. Then, you can try oatmeal and then barley. Noah never liked any of them, really, but he seemed to prefer barley to the others. At about 6 months, you can try adding a bit of applesauce or something else to sweeten it up a bit. Actually, you might be able to try that sooner. See what the others have to say. I don't have much experience with starting solids since Noah never really started, lol.

Thanks! I figured as much. ;)

Glad to hear Mason is enjoying them!!!

Did you try sweaty feet flavor???? LOL

ROFL...well, I gave him his second bowl of sweaty feet and this time he ate like crazy! :D I made it a lot thinner. The earlier one was thicker which he probably is just not used to. This last one was runny.


Okay 2 more questions...(I'm such a n00b)

1. When I get to jar foods, can you refridgerate leftovers and for how long?

2. How do I know when to cut him off on the cereal? I put in 2 TBSP this evening but the added formula probably brought it up to 1/4 cup or more. I gave him half and cut him off but he would keep going and probably never stop if I let him.

Jarred baby foods typically can be stored in the frige (if you had not double dipped in it) for 2-3 days. I have a sharpie that I marked the dates off on when I opened them.

As far as cutting off...I'm not sure on that one, I think you just have to use your own judgment and just slowly add more after a few days to see how he's tolerating it ? :dontknow:

Sounds like he is turning into a little piggy with all the new foods!!!

That is great....I never kept them for more then a day, but that's me. If I didn't use the leftovers in that same day I threw them out!

ROFL...well, I gave him his second bowl of sweaty feet and this time he ate like crazy! :D I made it a lot thinner. The earlier one was thicker which he probably is just not used to. This last one was runny.


Okay 2 more questions...(I'm such a n00b)

1. When I get to jar foods, can you refridgerate leftovers and for how long?

2. How do I know when to cut him off on the cereal? I put in 2 TBSP this evening but the added formula probably brought it up to 1/4 cup or more. I gave him half and cut him off but he would keep going and probably never stop if I let him.

LMBO about the sweaty feet!!!! :rolling:

The jars will tell you how long you can keep it after opening so just follow that. Like Sara, I use a Sharpie and date it on the lid, when he doesn't use the whole jar.

My Ped told me that with the rice cerea...start with a few tbsp and see how he does. Once he likes it, he can have as much as he wants! Which, in Mason's case, might be the whole box, lol!

We started the jar food at about 5 mths, honestly. Joshua has been getting rice cereal in his bottles since he was 8wks old so I knew he was ok with tolerating it. I did a few weeks of just cereal and then starting mixing in fruit.

As for how much to feed them, he'll let you know. He'll either lose interest in it and not want more, might clamp his lips or turn his head away. My nephew, the one I have told you about who has a chunker like Mason, would often overeat with the purees b/c he liked them so much. In that case, he'd just barf a bit. lol

Hope that helps...

As for how much to feed them, he'll let you know.

HA! I doubt it :P I often wonder if I just let him keep going, just how far he'd actually go. That's what we did when he was newborn. He was sucking down 6 oz bottles at 2 weeks! Of course, he had one **** of a bellyache after, but he rarely spit up. And honestly, if we put the bottlein his mouth he would still suck even then, but we just knew he was full as he would sort of lose interest....but he will always take what you give him. I often wonder if he will pop!

I think one of the reasons he's been so hungry is that we cut him off at 32 ounces and his body finally caught up. He's gained almost a full pound every week, but the last 2 weeks for the first time ever he has just maintained his weight. So no wonder he's hungry, hehe.

I think he'll tolerate the cereal fine but I hesitate to give him anything else for a while with him being so young. And by the way....

LMBO about the sweaty feet!!!!

Have you SMELLED that cereal? Eeeew!


P.S. I wish I could take some of his "piggyness" and transfer it to some of your babies. :(

Hooray !! I am glad he is doing so well. :yahoo: I added a little bit of pears ( maybe a teaspoon or so ) to Austin's cereal to help with the constipation (OK'ed with his Ped first). It makes it a little sweeter and takes some of the "cardboard" taste out of it.
Like he knows any better, but it tastes better to me. Back to the old addage, if I won't eat it, I am sure not going to give it to him. He is up to 2 - 3 feedings a day of about 2 tablespoons of cereal and a couple of teaspoons of pears. Just have to watch his BM's to judge how much to give with the pears. We were giving him the prune juice cocktail (2 oz Prune juice, 1 oz pear juice, and 2 ounces of water) every day to help with the constipation, but since I started adding the fruit to the cereal, I have cut his cocktail back to every other day.
They are soooo cute when they are at this new stage.:party0049:

How cute was that. Looks like he already has the hang of it. I'm glad that he tolerated the cereal just fine and enjoyed it.