Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

I just came from the doc and she suggested starting him on oatmeal 2x a day. He has very irregular bowel movements like 1x a week and she said this would help him. But he doesnt seem uncomfortable. I always thought bf babies should wait till 6 mos. Any opinions. He has only had breast milk no formula and has been thriving. TIA

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

It depends on the child - and your ped is monitorring your child. Some start at 4 months, some later. You aren't supposed to go much passed 6 months as they need to start learning how to chew.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

So long as he is thriving and doesn't seem uncomfortable there is no need to give anythig else but Breast Milk at this point unless you choose to.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

BFed my DD and started cereal at 4 1/2 months but you can start whenever you feel comfortable.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

thank you so much i just want what's best for him

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

My DD had nothing but BM until about 5.5 months. We started her on cereal at almost 5 months.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

I think that if you notice that your son seems hungry still after nursing and interested in eating more, start with the oatmeal. We started cereal close to 6 moths when my son began to show more interest in what we were eating.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

hmm, seems strange that your ped would recommend oatmeal because he's having bowel movements once a week -- my ped said it's normal for breastfed babies to go that long between bms, DS has. If he's comfortable, I would wait. Everything I have read says to wait until at least 6 months, some sources even say to wait longer. Feeding is so super easy when you are EBF, I'm in no hurry to add solids. DS will be 6 months on May 6 and I'll probably start slowly introducing solids sometime that month.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

Our pediatrician's office recommends starting babies on cereal at 4 months. We waited until 5 with my dd, but are planning on starting at 4 months with my ds. I am hoping it will help him sleep thru the night a little better!

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

It's normal for a BF baby not to have BMs very often. If he's not complaining I'd wait until 5-6mos.

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

I fed Jordana oatmeal at 5 months. It was fine. I mixed it with BreastMilk. I may have started with rice and then switched.

Jordana never had a constipation problem. She poops at least twice a day- so I never had to worry about that.

I just typed BM and thought = breasmilk or bowel movement. Oatmeal wtih the wrong BM

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

I started my bf son at 5 months. It did not change his bf habits too much, but he slept through the night better. I stopped bfing at 11 mo. my choice not his

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

thanks everyone, i feel if its not broken dont fix it so il probably wait a few more weeks. he just is doing so great bf that i dont want to mess with it. thanks for the advice.l

Re: Starting oatmeal at 5 mos. for bf son?

I have also read that starting solids past 6 months can also contribute to allergies. Between 4-6 months is the ideal time to start. DS was BF and started cereal at 4 months.