Letting a 6 week old eat rice cereal?

yeah... no - you're right. I'm astounded by doctor's who give such recommendations. An infant that age does not have a mature enough digestive system to properly deal with that type of food. MAYBE... MAYBE the rice cereal alone... really really diluted with bm or water or formula but never mixed with anything at this age. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggest waiting until 6 months or LONGER before introducing any solids. The idea that it will help the child sleep thru the night is not only wrong it's harmful. This gives unwitting parents the thought that if i feed my child enough food i won't have to deal with them. Probably has a hand in childhood obesity issues so much on the rise as well. How horrible. I'm sorry, but night feedings are a matter of infancy fact -- deal with it.

Food allergies are on the rise in this country among young children -- no doubt as a result of such idiotic advice.

Good luck with your friend... it's hard to overcome the advice of someone who is supposed to know better.

I heard from my son's doctor that rice cereal before 4-6 months can disrupt the baby's digestive system and cause food allergies. He said the earlier (before 6 months) and the later (after 6 months) that you start, the greater risk for food allergies. My son is 7 weeks old, and I do NOT give him rice cereal. He actually slept 5 straight hours last night on just formula. I cluster feed starting around 6 pm and give him a full bottle before bed, along with a nice, warm bath--he konks out! He does not sleep this good every night, but you just have to deal with it, I do not agree with feeding cereal so early just to get more sleep.

p.s-----my cousin feed her son cereal starting at 6 weeks, she made about a tsp, put it in the blender and then in the bottle along with formula.....worked for her, just not for me personally.

The only time you add cereal to a baby bottle is for severe reflux or failure to gain weight. If your baby is hungry you feed more formula. Adding formula to a bottle will not help a baby sleep and doing it to early can cause health problems. Their digestive system isn't ready to handle solids yet. When your little one is 4-6 months old you can mix cereal with formula in a bowl and spoon feed.

Unless a baby has reflux, it is not recommended that a baby begin rice cereal until at least 4 months of age. Their digestive tracks are not mature enough to be able to handle it until then. Research has shown that it does not help a baby sleep through the night, but actually can cause them to get up more frequently because of digestive problems which cause them discomfort. Really the only thing a baby needs is breastmilk until they are 6 months old.

Sorry the doctor is a moron, doctors have no training in nutrition, let alone infant nutrition.

There are so many reasons to delay solids AND not encourage sleeping through the night.

Frequent night wakings prevents SIDS, it allows babies to wake up enough to know if they are hungry, cold, hot, uncomfortable or have obstructed breathing.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp

"Nightwaking has survival benefits. In the first few months, babies' needs are the highest, but their ability to communicate their needs is the lowest. Suppose a baby slept deeply most of the night. Some basic needs would go unfulfilled. Tiny babies have tiny tummies, and mother's milk is digested very rapidly. If a baby's stimulus for hunger could not easily arouse her, this would not be good for baby's survival. If baby's nose was stuffed and she could not breathe, or was cold and needed warmth, and her sleep state was so deep that she could not communicate her needs, her survival would be jeopardized."

Delaying solids protects against malnutrition and allergies. Babies need the food they get and rice cereal is not nutritious. All the nutrition is stripped out and then synthetic vitamins are put back in. (You know that brown rice is healthier than white rice because white rice has the hulls stripped off, well rice cereal has even LESS of the grain). Synthetic vitamins interfere with the absorption of vitamins from breastmilk and are not well absorbed, in addition synthetics (especially iron, which is dumped into rice cereal) can cause micro-bleeding in the intestines, constipation, and other problems.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-sol...

But the number one reason this is a stupid plan IT DOESN'T WORK!

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

I could go on and on. Kellymom and Dr Sears (see links above) as well as www.lalecheleague.org are great sources of information (to argue this kind of stupidity)

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Oh BTW in Canada (where I live) it is ILLEGAL to market baby food INCLUDING rice cereal to babies under 6 months, because it just isn't safe.

the only reason for a doctor recommending this would be for a baby with reflux, i have heard that rice cereal would help keep stuff down but just plain rice not with bananas. however this doctors logic is a bunch of crap. you dont fill your baby up with empty calories just so you can get a full nights rest. when you have a baby you should expect many sleepless nights, thats just going to happen. its really sad that so many parents are getting lazy and feeding thier newborns cereal at an early age just so that they dont have to feed them as much. and people wonder why there is such a growing problem with children and obesity.

My son's Dr has been in family practice for over 20 years and came highly recommended to me for my daughter who is terminally ill. When I gave birth there was no doubt in my mind he too would be my son's primary doctor. If a child is consuming more then 40 ounces of formula a day it is recommended to start them on solids. When my son went in for his 2 month check up I was told to start him on solids {he was only eating 3 ounces every 3 hours}. I questioned his doctor and believe it or not a baby is psychologically ready for solids at 2 months of age. As for sleeping through the night starting solids will not help that, sleeping through the night is a developmental mild stone that will be reached when the child's brain is ready. My son is now 6 months old {was a month premature} weighs 19 pounds and still does not always sleep through the night yet eats 3 meals a day of solids along with his formula, water, and on occasion juice not to mention very small occasional tastes of table food. I know most moms on here will be against what I just said because they read somewhere babies shouldn't have solids til at least 4 months but if you think about it I highly doubt most people who are over the age of 30 had parents that waited until 4 months of age to start them on solids it is in the "old days" started as soon as possible.

Some babies are born with larger stomachs, higher metabolism etc... My neice was put on rice cereal at 1 wk and regular milk at 7 mos. She was constantly waking up in the middle of the night before that.

On the other hand, My daughter has been sleeping through the night since she was 3wks old. She is now 8 mos old. And barely eats rice cereal. Formula seems to be enough for her and she's gained 10lbs since she was born.

The reason to wait is to be sure they don't have an intolerance to it. However the dr should know what is best in each individual situation.

she either misunderstood the doctor or the doctor really doesnt give a crap about the kid. I've heard that introducing solids helps kids sleep through the night, but the child's stomache isnt prepared for it at that age. They say ABSOLUTLEY not before 4 months, but preferably around 6 months. Not only will that hurt the poor kid's developing digestive system, it will probably cause quite significant discomfort and is also a huge choking hazard.

I hope that now that selfish mother sleeps well!

Well I gave my child rice cereal too at about 5 to 6 weeks old, because the milk just was not filling him up. And it is very true that the child will sleep much better at night when their belly is full. You just give so much at a time to satisfy them. Not all mother's can follow this pattern because not all babies are ready. My child was 10lbs to begin with so he was more than ready. Now he's 4 mth and I feed him through bottle and from a spoon. He is very healthy. Its really up to the parents, there is nothing wrong with it. But the parents should speak with an expert about it first.