Feeding Baby Cereal

Many parents have been adding cereal to their babies bottles with the hope that babies sleep better at night because they feel the baby is not enough to eat.

If you have heard the statements, "add cereal to your baby bottle and he will sleep for five hours" or "If your baby wants to nurse constantly and seems hungry, add cereal to the bottle, know that these are myths and not facts.

Your baby is getting enough nourishment from breast milk or formula the first 6 months of life. In fact, many medical experts agree that introducing cereals before 4 months of age can cause food allergies. In addition, grains add to your baby bottle is a bad idea. Period.

Experts like Dr. Alan Greene, MD believe that sucking and swallowing actions are not fully coordinated in some children, which can cause lung problems because they can inhale small amounts of rice cereal into their lungs.

What other dangers with the addition of cereal in a bottle baby? On the one hand, your child could very well be on the road to obesity. The extra calories in the cereal itself is sufficient to teach your child to overeat. When your child is at least 4 months of age, it is more appropriate to introduce grain feeding your baby with a spoon. Not only does it teach them to learn to eat with the spoon, but it also lets them rest in between and it helps the baby learn the proper way to eat.

Well, what about your mother and your grandmother and your sister, and all these people who swear by adding a cereal bottle babies sleep aid and remain more satisfied? Dr. Alan Greene, MD states, "I suspect the reason is that children do not sleep a bit faster, and some babies may even go a bit longer between feedings. There is no scientific evidence, but to support the claim that cereal in the bottle will help an infant increase total sleep or decrease crying. "'

The American Academy of Pediatrics also advises against feeding a baby cereal from a bottle. The only time the feeding of infant cereal in a bottle, is when your pediatrician recommends it to help with reflux.

Obesity. Food allergies. lung problems. Poor eating habits. These are all reasons enough to stay away from giving your baby a bottle of grain. You may be glad you did.