Baby Place

DadSteve · Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 290

My wife and I just started giving rice cereal to my 4.5 month old son and after a couple of tries, he's really gotten the hang of it. The little guy will eat just about as much as we give him. That's caused a bit of a problem, though. We have been giving it to him when we eat our dinner, right about 6pm. But, he eats so much that he's not hungry when his bedtime rolls around at 7:30 or 8pm. Tonight he wasn't the least bit interested in a bottle. But, since he hasn't eaten since 6pm, he ends up waking up earlier than before we started the cereal. I'd switch the cereal over to right before bed, but he gets pretty sleepy right about then and I don't know if it would make sense.

Any thoughts?

sunflower · Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Australia

Try offering the rice cereal to him at lunch time or breakfast instead so he has plenty of time to digest it before his bedtime bottle then all going well his sleeping pattern will return to normal. Also manufacturers reccommend at his age you give it to him after his usual bottle. If you give it to him a couple of hours before bed you're expecting him to have an extra meal everyday when realistically as he starts eating more solids they will replace some of his milk meals. If you do this, don't worry if he isn't eating as much cereal as he was in a seperate meal, offering a bottle and then solids will gradually help build up his appetite and still ensure that all his dietary requirements are being met in the process. Hope this helps.

Emma

jenna103 · Joined: 18 Sep 2004 Posts: 904 Location: Long Island

We just started my little girl on cereal this week. She's slowly getting the hang of it. Tonight I made it a little thicker then the box recommended. It was much easier for her to get that way. I give it to her right after we eat which is about 6ish. Then we have play time, then her bath, then she is nursed. She nurses a little less but I notice she is sleeping a little longer. Try to spread it out a little more each night. If 6 is too close to his bottle time tomorrow try at 5:30 see how he does. If you feel he is still too full bring it back a little more then next night. You will find a routine. Good luck!!