Another cereal in bottle question.

Okay so my pediatrician recommended I start my son on cereal for his reflux. She said to add 1tsp per ounce to his bottle. He used to eat 6-8 oz per feeding and since starting the cereal I can barely get him to finish a 3oz bottle, and he basically does nothing but sleep now. Did any one else have this issue? I am worried he is going to not be getting enough fluids now. Also, you do add the cereal to every bottle right? Someone mentioned maybe you don't give it to them every time but wouldn't he just spit up at the feedings without it then?

With LO we had the same problem, the cereal was empty calories and a filler, so he stopped eating. So we stopped doing it and he got actual medicine for his reflux

With AR, yes you'd add it to every bottle, but that is a lot of cereal if you're adding in a tsp per ounce of formula. So 6-8 tsp of cereal? What type of bottles are you using?


Can you get a second opinion? Was meds not suggested instead of cereal?

the more i learn about rice cereal the more i hate it.. i agree with trying other methods first like medicine instead of cereal.. no good.

When my son had AR they recommended 1 tsp. per bottle, which was 4 oz. That was after the meds did not work.

Quoting Meg ♥:" With AR, yes you'd add it to every bottle, but that is a lot of cereal if you're adding in a tsp per ... [snip!] ... tsp of cereal? What type of bottles are you using? Can you get a second opinion? Was meds not suggested instead of cereal?"

She prescribed Zantac(sp?) as well, but said the cereal typically helps more and a lot of parents have said that the medicine didn't help. I am using Dr. Browns and bough the y shaped nipples. I was thinking about offering him a 4oz bottle with only 2 tsp of cereal in it.

LO had super bad reflux and we tried the rice cereal in the bottle, but she did the same thing. We ended up switching to soy formula and using regular bottled water instead of nursery water and her reflux improved tremendously. That seems like a lot of rice cereal though, we only did 1 tsp per four ounces.

DS is 4 months, on zantac and we add rice to every bottle. We do 1TBS for every 2 oz. He drinks 6 oz bottles, so it's 3 tablespoons, which makes each bottle about 7 oz, instead of 6. Sometimes he finishes the whole thing, sometimes he'll leave an ounce or so. 1 per oz sounds a bit much though.

Have you tried Enfamil AR? It has the rice starch already in it. We used it for a while, but DS also has a milk protein allergy, so we had to switch him to Nutramigen, which is way too thin, and he puked up the whole thing until we added the cereal.

Quoting Rhiannon Deason:" DS is 4 months, on zantac and we add rice to every bottle. We do 1TBS for every 2 oz. He drinks 6 oz ... [snip!] ... so we had to switch him to Nutramigen, which is way too thin, and he puked up the whole thing until we added the cereal."

He has been on similac sensitive for about five weeks and he was doing good until the last week and a half, that's when the reflux got really bad. He used to throw up once every other day or so, then it got to where he was throwing up almost every single time he would eat. I just fed him a bottle that was 4oz with 2tsp in it and he threw up in the middle of eating, so I guess he does need more to keep him from throwing up.

Quoting TmA's mommy:" He has been on similac sensitive for about five weeks and he was doing good until the last week and ... [snip!] ... was 4oz with 2tsp in it and he threw up in the middle of eating, so I guess he does need more to keep him from throwing up."

2 teaspoons? That's barely anything, especially if he is so used to having it so much thicker. I would try 2 tablespoons.

he zantac is the first line of defense for reflux in babies - my son went through that and prevacid before we put him on the nexium. Then it was so bad they increased his dose and added rice cereal to his formula. He has a severe milk protein allergy so he is on a prescription strength formula called elecare (works great and because its a medical formula most insurances pay for it). My doctor also told me one teaspoon per ounce but I thought that was to much and used a teaspoon for every 2 ounces. Originally he would only eat an ounce then I got a larger nipple size for the Dr. Brown bottles and he will eat anywhere from 2 to 4 ounces. I would keep with it and maybe ask your doctor for something other than Zantac

Quoting Rhiannon Deason:" 2 teaspoons? That's barely anything, especially if he is so used to having it so much thicker. I would try 2 tablespoons."

He isn't used to it being thicker, we just started this and the most he has had was 1TBS but that much is causing him to barely eat and hes basically lethargic and sleeps constantly now. He is eating 3oz instead of 6-8 like normal and going 4-5 hrs without wanting to eat, so I don't want him to have as much cereal.

Quoting TmA's mommy:" He isn't used to it being thicker, we just started this and the most he has had was 1TBS but that much ... [snip!] ... is eating 3oz instead of 6-8 like normal and going 4-5 hrs without wanting to eat, so I don't want him to have as much cereal."

gotcha, I misread...my bad  . have you tried enfamil ar? it's sensitive, but thicker, so you don't have to worry about adding rice, or him eating less. Similac doesn't make a comparable formula. I loved it, but DS got a bad milk protein allergy so I had to switch him to hypoallergenic formula, which is way thinner.

Quoting Rhiannon Deason:" gotcha, I misread...my bad  . have you tried enfamil ar? it's sensitive, but thicker, so you don't ... [snip!] ... I loved it, but DS got a bad milk protein allergy so I had to switch him to hypoallergenic formula, which is way thinner."

no, we haven't tried anything else yet because he has been on 3 different formulas in 8 weeks since he was born so the Dr. said not to switch his formula yet. Similac now has a formula for spit up that has the rice added into it but the Dr. wanted us to wait and just add cereal to his sensitive. She said switching him could cause issues, so I am just going to play around with adding different amounts until I find the lowest amount that keeps him from throwing up without stuffing him.