Attempted cereal–bad results

[Anonymous]

Hi–

I have a 4 month old with reflux, is 16.5 lbs, and takes Zantac. Oh, we also have him on Alimentum as he did not tolerate regular or soy formula well.

So, I began him on rice cereal per docs recommendation, and he became extremely fussy and gassy. Waited a week, and tried oatmeal instead and that was actually worse!

Just don’t know what to do….pediatrician says I shouldn’t give more than 32 oz of Alimentium per day, but my little guy is still hungry. The doc says to continue trying cereal, and that hopefully he will adjust. Doesn’t make sense to me….

Any help would be most appreciated!!!!

[Anonymous]

I might wait another month or so and then try again. some babies diegestive systems are ready and some are not. I would just wait and if your baby is still hungry, give him a little more formula, or maybe try a fruit/veggie instead? They might be a little more gentle on his system.

Hang in there!

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

Ditto above, give him more formula, I don’t know how that could hurt if he is still hungry! I had the opposite problem where I could never get enough formula into my little ones, I guess that is why I don’t understand why MDs would tell you to stop at a certain number of ounces.

[Anonymous]

well, i don’t see a problem with 32 ounces of milk a day for a 4 month old baby. Maybe if your baby was 10 to 12 months old. Kendra is 13 months and all her nutrition comes from her Neocate (about 32 ounces a day)due to food allergies of course. She seems to be ok.

I would suggest wating until 6 months or so to introduce cereal– maybe until 1– and just start with fruits and veggies for now, which are easier to digest. That is just my 2 cents, i hope what ever you decide agrees with your baby’s tummy.

Leo

[Anonymous]

We are almost 7 months and can’t tolerate cereal yet. If you are set on starting solids, you can start with veggies and fruits, we did at 5 months per Cooper’s cues and he has done fine on everything we have tried except for the cereals (oatmeal and rice). And he is taking 40 oz/day and sometimes more in addition to 3 jars of stage 1 foods/day. Feed your baby based on his needs not what the doc says. I think Cooper has been taking 36+ oz/day since he was 4 months old, maybe earlier than that.

[Anonymous]

wow, four months is wayyyyyy early. plus grains are really hard to digest, and babies lack those enzymes. i would look for a ped that is more up to date. aap says solids should start at 6-8 months now.

[Anonymous]

It does vary from Ped to Ped when to start solids as well as baby to baby. I’m not sure I would just cut your ped off, but I would say you should do whatever works for your baby.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for all of your advice! I’m definitely planning on waiting to begin solids, just wish I would have found this site earlier and not put my little guy through this.

Just another question…how did your doctors diagnose your babies as having a milk or soy protein intolerance? Although my son is on Alimentum, he has never officially been diagnosed with such intolerance. Is there a diagnostic test?

Kristi

[Anonymous]

we were diagnosed really either.. he just seemed “better” once on the alimentum.. then when we tried dairy or soy down the road again.. i would see some symtoms of intolerances show up. Then there is also allergy testing you can do when they are older.. even though shane is intolerant to soy.. it showed up negative on the allergy testing for an allergy.. so its not always reliable.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I just wanted to say that 4 months is quite early to introduce solids, especially for a reflux baby who often has intolerances/allergies. We didn’t even try cereal until 5 1/2 months, and even then, Caden had mucousy bms and gas with rice cereal especially and tolerated oatmeal ok after 7 months. Now, at 10 months he can eat most anything without a reaction.

Give it some time.

Also, by all means, feed the baby more formula if he’s still hungry. At least that is what I would do! Doctors don’t know everything. The older I get and the more children I have, the less I trust doctors. I’m sorry if that sounds ugly, but they often have outdated advice to give, especially if they’re older, and they usually have to say whatever the American Academy of Pediatrics wants them to say whether they agree or not…just my 2 cents.

Also, NO one knows your baby like you do. Especially not a doctor who gives out generic advice. Now, don’t get me wrong, of course doctors are great for prescribing meds and for figuring out things that we can’t sometimes (illness, etc.), but when it comes to feeding the baby, only you know how much your baby needs.

Do what you feel comfortable with. My MIL says the thing she regrets the most from my husband’s infancy was that she fed him on a 4 hour schedule like the doctors told her to, and he was hungry before that and would cry and cry until the next feeding! Isn’t that horrible? But, she didn’t know what to do, and she just did what the doctors told her to. If she had listened to her instincts, she would have known to feed him before then.

Good luck!

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