Is it ok to give a 12 week old baby rice?

Question

My 12 week old baby girl has been draining her 9oz bottles for the last few days now. After her bottles she still looks hungry and is whinging a lot which she's never done before.

Medical advice is not to wean babies before 6 months but when we were young my mum weaned me and my brothers at 12 weeks which i think was normal practice then.

Would it be better to put a bit of rice into her bottle or give it her in a bowl along with a bottle? Would I need to knock the oz's down in the bottles?

My friend tried her baby on hungrier baby milk and it had no effect at all so I want to avoid that route as I don't want to change her milk when it's not necessary.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated as my laid back baby girl is now a moaner!!!!!!!!

Thanks

Answer 1

Yes... not all babies can wait the six months doctors recommend.  My babies were quite big (8lb.1, 9lb.9, and 9lb.5oz.). When my first was three months she was drinking eight ounce bottles every two hours and looking for more.  Her pediatrician told me to try her with some rice cereal in a bowl.  I did and she loved it not spitting out any.  My second child was six weeks when she would drink nine ounce bottles every two hours and still be hungry so her pediatrician told me to start rice cereal.  My third child was three months, about the age of your baby when he was drinking ten ounces every two hours and still hungry. That is when his pediatrician told me to start him on cereal.  I would try your daughter on some especially if she is a big baby.  See how she does.  She will be fine... if she spits most of it out then she is not ready.  I know most people are going to tell you No do not feed her, but she is your baby.  You know her best not them.  They do not have to deal with her crying hunger all the time like you do.  All babies are different.  My suggestion is to try it.  Then she will probably be the happy laid back baby she was.  You should only give it to her with a spoon though and not put it in her bottles.  

Answer 2

Rice is too heavy for an infants stomach and your baby might not digest it well.  You can add baby cereal to her milk (shake it up good) and make the nipple hole bigger.  My mom did that with us when we were kids and she's the mother of 10 children, so I'm sure she knew what she was doing.  

Answer 3

i wouldnt give it to her. but ask your doctor.

Answer 4

They say every baby is different.Although my eldest & youngest child were like yours .Infact the youngest was always hungry & cried all the time for food.So i put some baby rice in with her feeding bottle only a little. Then tried her at a later date from a spoon. Ask your health visitor her opinion.My youngest girl is now 8 & beautiful slim long legs fantastic little figure.Also she broke her arm a few years back just a small fracture ,,They said upon X ray that her bone density was very good. She still eats like a horse now though. I think it is worth a try. Good luck.     I agree green eyes

Answer 5

My son is now nine and when he was a baby we were advised not to start weaning until 4 months.  He was a very hungry baby and it was agreed with my health visitor and myself to wean him early (about 12 weeks) but only on baby rice until he was 4 months.  This worked but i spoon fed him do not put in her bottle as can be dangerous.  I think you should listen to your baby she will let you know if she wants solids or not.

Answer 6

It is simply too early...they dont have the enzymes they need to break baby rice down yet....Im not one of those full on Mothers who insists babies dont have sloids till 6 months..my own had it at 4 and a half...but at 12 weeks her reflexes for pushing it to the back of her mouth are not there yet and she'll just drool it out and what she does swallow by accident may give her constipation or runny p**p.....NEVER put it in a bottle..this is strictly advised against as you have to enlarge the teat hole which makes the milk come to fast and the thickened formula does not have the required amount of water in it anymore...it is actually considered force feeding by medical proffesionals (according to my doctor)....just change her food to the hungry baby food...it wont even bother her...not as much as baby rice will.

Answer 7

you can make her sick because her digestinal tract is not ready for solid food.  She should be having 5 bottles a day at least and you can always buy a formula that has some thickener in it.  She might also be a bit thirsty, a small amount of boiled water (cooled of course) wont hurt.  

Answer 8

I began to wean my twin girls at 3 months because they were increadibly hungry little babies, downing at least 100ml per feed every two hours the day they were born (I was in a bad way and could not feed them myself at that time) the nurse was shocked!

A good number of the babies in my family have begun weaning early.  Perhaps it's a family trait of ours, and maybe a trait in your family, too.

All we began with was a teaspoonful of flaked baby rice before a milk feed, and that settled them very well.  

I strongly believe that mum knows best, and I think a lot of these 'guidelines' given us are extremely cautious just to stop a few very ill-educated parents who may go straight to adult foods at weaning time.

My girls are now eighteen.  Big, strapping, healthy lasses - still with huge appetites!

Answer 9

My doctor's advice for starting solids is....baby has at least doubled birth weight, can sit upright in the highchair, is taking in more than 32 ounces of breast milk daily, and has lost the tongue thrust reflex. You should never add cereal to bottles, but feed with a spoon.  If baby isn't ready for spoon, she isn't ready for solids either.  Also, solids at this age are not to be a replacement for breast milk or formula, but in addition to what they are already taking in.  Good luck!

Answer 10

Doctors say you can start solids at 4-6 months, I think it all depends on the baby.

Your daughter sounds like mine, she is a hungry little girl since she is already

drinking 9 ounces at a feeding, start her on baby iron fortified rice cereal.

Mix a small amount of cereal with her formula in a bowl, make it quite soupy. Put

a bib on her, sit her on your lap in an upright position and feed her with a small soft

baby spoon, she will spit a lot of it out at first until she learns to push the food with

her tongue to swallow which is why you don't put the cereal in her bottle. Start out

with 1  feeding per day, when she gets the hang of it and her tummy adjusts to digesting solids you can go to 2 per day and then you can make the cereal a little thicker. Give her the bottle after the cereal, don't worry how much formula she drinks, she will let you know when she is full.

Answer 11

Emma was the same way, but I just started feeding her rice with a spoon.  We did that for about two weeks in the evening and then started brown rice in the evening and normal rice in the morning.  If she is not getting full, she is not getting full.  Some people just don't believe rules are not for all babies.

Answer 12

Her body is still far too young for food-even if you were to start her early, they would say no younger than 4 months anyway. And NEVER but anything in a baby bottle. It's dangerous and not good for them. Try the hungry baby milk as it can have a real effect-also try different makes of milk as for some reason babies respond better on certain types of milk.Good luck!

Answer 13

yeah ask a doctor she may choke