My 2.5 month old son is just not satisfied with a regular bottle..?

Question

would it be alright to give him a little cereal? what are the pros and cons?

Answer 1

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&a...

Most children seemed to thrive. A small number of children, though, did not tolerate the addition, because their sucking and swallowing actions were not yet fully coordinated. They inhaled small amounts of the rice cereal into their lungs, which led to pulmonary problems.

I’m much more concerned about a subtler issue. Babies are born with a wonderful mechanism for knowing how much food they need. During the early months, they take their cues from the volume of what they drink. Adding cereal derails this mechanism. It forces them to take in deceptively large amounts of calories. It teaches them to overeat.

By starting with a spoon, resting between bites, and stopping when your child lets you know he’s full, you will be laying an excellent foundation for good eating habits throughout his life.

A major study looking for the causes of obesity found that short-circuiting young children’s self-regulation of how much they eat is a major cause of later obesity.1 Cereal in the bottle does just that.

Babies that are fed this way may appear to be unaffected – but those few weeks of added convenience may result in a lifetime of struggles with weight. This common practice may have contributed to our being the most obese generation in history.

http://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/g...

For many babies the urge to suck is strong during these early months and your baby's need to suck may extend beyond his need for nourishment. For a bottle fed baby there is an increased risk of overfeeding if his sucking urge is misinterpreted as a sign of hunger

http://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/g...

Overfeeding is a common problem for bottle fed babies because many young babies cannot control the flow of milk though an artificial nipple and/or cannot indicate when they have had enough. A baby's digestive system can become overloaded when it receives excessive amounts of milk from large volume feeds or frequent feeding patterns. The larger the volume of milk, the quicker it passes through the digestive tract. Large volumes of milk may pass through a baby's small intestine too quickly for all of the lactose to be digested.

http://ncane.com/vo5

It is easy for a new parent to say that they won’t break these feeding rules; however, the reality is that the temptation to quickly quiet a crying baby in the middle of the night so that the parents can garner more sleep can overcome even the most diligent of parents. Even with the determination to never do it again, parents may turn to that late night bottle more and more simply because it works and allows the parent to go back to bed quicker. During the day when the parent may be too busy to take time out to calm the infant, the parent may give the infant a bottle, figuring that the child is hungry. To some, food is the quickest and easiest solution to quiet tears and screams.

While the effects may not show right away, they can have an effect on the infant later on in life. Children who are overfed as infants have a greater chance of becoming obese as teenagers and adults. With the rising rate of obesity in children on the rise, it is best to try and curb this possibility when the child is very young. By prolonging the introduction of solids or any foods beyond formula until about six months, the parents have the best chance at keeping their child off the obese path at a young age. After the child is eating solids, it is best to keep away sugary foods. Young children do not need these empty calories as a part of their daily nutritional intake. Obesity, however, is the main concern for the future of the infant. Overfeeding can cause the infant to rely on food more constantly than the average child, thus increasing his or her food intake. If unnecessary, sugary foods are added to an infant’s diet, this too can add to the obesity factor.

http://www.drspock.com/faq/0,1511,3764,0...

ANSWER

August 3, 2001

Dear Dad,

Yes, it is possible to overfeed a four-week-old infant since it's easy to misinterpret a baby's hunger and satiety (fullness) signals. When full, babies will stop sucking, turn their heads or push the nipple out of their mouths as a signal. Babies who are overfed often are uncomfortable and irritable. More importantly, they sometimes loose the ability to recognize when they are hungry. Parents will want to start out from the beginning to allow their baby to signal hunger and have it responded to appropriately.

http://www.lpch.org/HealthLibrary/Parent...

# The maximal amount of formula recommended per day is 32 ounces (1 liter).

# Overfeeding can cause vomiting, diarrhea or excessive weight gain.

[...]

# The average amount of formula (in ounces) that babies take per feeding usually equals the baby's weight (in pounds) divided in half (or equal to the weight in kg).

# The average ounces of formula the baby takes in 24 hours is the baby's weight in pounds multiplied by 2 (or kg multiplied by 4).

# A baby's appetite varies throughout the day. If the infant stops feeding or loses interest, the feeding should be stopped.

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/he...

Both Drs. Rome and Rogers say nature and nurture are driving the childhood obesity epidemic. If parents are obese, the chances of their children becoming obese are about 90 percent, says Dr. Rogers. Not only is the genetic potential greater, children are more likely to be raised in an environment that contributes to obesity. For instance, overfeeding is a problem. The practice often begins in infancy when parents (and grandparents), out of love or ignorance, overfeed with formula, fruit juice and baby food.

Dr. Rome believes that even if parents are obese, they can help prevent their kids from becoming similarly endowed if intervention begins early. For instance with newborns and babies, parents should learn through trial and error to discern between cries that signal hunger versus those that signal discomfort (e.g., from wet diapers).

Parents should consult with a pediatrician to make sure infants receive proper portions of formula and at appropriate intervals, because unlike with breastfeeding, babies do not self regulate intake of formula. Once they are off breast milk or formula, children should drink whole milk until age 2; after that, they can switch to 2 percent milk. Fruit juice, which is notorious for high caloric counts, should be restricted to four ounces a day in a baby and less than 12 ounces from toddlerhood through age 5.

Answer 2

I had the same issue, my 2 month old didn't seem satisfied after 6 ounces.  I started to put rice cereal in her bottle once a day.  However, she still seemed hungry. I stopped doing that because many people, plus the pediatrician said not to (even though my mom fed me and my 8 other siblings rice cereal at 5 weeks with no problems and we are all healthy and alive).  

I realized that my daughter was probably going through a growth spurt and I would just give her an ounce more after a 6 ounce feeding or wihtin the hour or 2 after the feedings. If your baby is not spitting up, give him a half ounce or an ounce more right after or an hour or so after the normal feeding.

If your son is not having horrible tummy aches and is taking the formula you give him, I would not change the formula.  This can cause other formulas to start giving tummy aches, this  happened to a few of my friends and their kids.

Answer 3

I wouldnt advise it as giving your baby cereal this early as it can cause problems with the babies digestion / allergy problems / tolerance.

Have you tried a hungry baby formula?   Increase the amount of times he has bottles

Answer 4

No it would not be ok.

Answer 5

Why do you believe he is "not satisfied," in such a fashion that he would not benefit from more milk?

"The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization

UNICEF

US Department of Health & Human Services

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Family Physicians

American Dietetic Association

Australian National Health and Medical Research Council

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

Health Canada

Delaying solids gives baby greater protection from illness.

Delaying solids gives baby's digestive system time to mature.

Delaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.

Delaying solids helps to protect baby from iron-deficiency anemia.

Delaying solids helps to protect baby from future obesity.

Delaying solids makes starting solids easier. "

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids...

Answer 6

At 2 1/2 months all the baby needs is breastmilk or formula. No need to rush things, in about a month and a half he can start the cereal, his body is not ready for that just yet. Try putting more milk in the bottle or feeding him more often :)

Answer 7

When my daughter was the same age as your son, We started giving her half a teaspoon to every 2 oz...You hear alot of people say you shouldn't do so, however it really does help satisfy there hunger.

Also- It helps with acid reflux if your son has that. It helps keep the milk down because it is thicker.

Putting cereal in bottles have been around for years and years and there has never been a baby turn out horrid for it...People say you shouldnt give it because it delays solids and they cant digest it and all this stuff, but honestly there is nothing wrong with it. If it helps satisfy his hunger then thats all that matters!

Good luck!

Answer 8

I personally don't beleive that he is old enough to properly digest cereal. How much formula are feeding him?