Hi Hetal,
My daughter is 4.5 months olds, birth weight was 2.5 kg and now it is 5kg and exclusively on bm. She sleeps on the night for 7-8 hours without demanding any bm but during the day time I feel that she is hungry, she start to cry after an hour bf.

The last visit to ped he suggested to go for rice cereal if she doesn’t sleep well at night.

Please advice me is it ok if I start rice cereal?

One more question she sleeps only one side and prefers to see only in one direction, should I be concerned abt it.
waiting for u r reply.
Hetal replied. with bw 2.5kgs and at 4.5months, having 5kgs is 200grams less...
its true that babies do tend to remain hungry if not fed properly,,but feeding rice cereal just because she doesnt sleep is not an alternative...your baby was sleeping for 7-8hours right,,or she has stopped doing it,,,if she has stopped sleeping like before,,thn its quite possble she needs to start on solids or formula.

if i were you,,considering baby wght,,i would rather wait for my baby to start solids..or rather let me put it this way,,that i will introduce her to formula and see if that satisfies her. if at all it does and she doesnt cry after formula feed,,the next i will do is start on to solids...

now about your ques on rice cereal,,yes you can start your baby rice cereal.make sure to first start your baby with whole moong water and then from next week,,start rice cereal,,,so that she gets an easy transition with solids,..go slow,,no worries..
for 4.5months old the plan is as belw:
for 4month old,
at first, try to offer formula/bm until atleast 6months of age,other than that, you can offer whole moong water, boiled apple(with skin,pureed and strained),.,,go slow,,introduce one food per week,,check for his responses,,and check on his bowels,,constipation is expected with solid introdtns,,,so expect that.
once ok with these, offer overboiled rice and introduce your baby to rice cereal(iron fortified)...you can offer him raagi soup if you like,,check on ragi post in this board about how other members have been giving ragi to avoid constipation problems...
once ok with this offer, carrots, green beans,,,go slow,,,finally sweet potato,,by the time your baby will be 6months !
at 4months, his diet intake should be somewhere around below:
5–6 feedings of 4–7 ounces each,,starting solids,,offer 1tsp one day, and the next day increase to 2tsp and likewise..only one meal per day is recmnded for 4-5month old,you might want to increase the quantity,,from 4-6months = Infant cereal: 4–8 tablespoons, mixed...so start with 1tablespoon on day 1,,watch him,,and then the second day,,2tablespoon and thn judge her intake...make sure to avoid overfeeding.goslow,,no hurries...

Infant juice/diluted 1fresh juice,pref apple or banna with 3-4parts of water : 2–4 ounces (1/4th-1/2 cup, from sippy cup or spoon..)

4-8tbsp means at 4mnth, he will gradually take 4tbp,at 5,around 5-7,,and at 6th month around 5-8 tbsp,,dpnding on how he accepts solids and how his apetite is....
you can also give rice and dal(moongdal),khichadi,,,from 5th monthonwards,,with light tadka of hing,crushed jeera(pwderd and grinded),and curryleaves/pwder,a lil turmeric,,salt is not required,,if you want to give, you can,,its a personal decision..
soon your baby will be 5months so plan her diet and introduce in likewise,,as below :
http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1096&table_name=dis_milestones

but after giving you so many diet ideas,,i would still reinforce on giving your baby formula if it is able to satisfy her and that your less bm is the cause of her crying...because formula is still better than solids ! now its your personal decsion to start or not.

now about the sleepng on one side,,when she is in deep sleep,,flip her to other side,,see if she sleeps,,if she does not,,let me know how she reacts,,play with her when she is awake,,move her fav toy in the direction she DOES NOT prefer to look,,or does not prefer to sleep...let me know how she reacts..
also, let meknow if the direction of the sleep that she DOES NOT prefer is same as the direction she DOES NOT like to see ??
if so,,i want you to get her neck muscles checked by your dr immediately,,also,,make sure to keep fliping in alternate side at every sleeps so that she does not get flat head and her head shape is normal down the line..
put a small pillow or a tightly rolled blanket,,tugged just below her back,,so that there is no room for her but to sleep on that side... see how she reacts,,keep trying,,stop that habit,,and
if she seems to feel discomfort about this,,check with your dr immediately...she needs to be checked by your dr esp the neck muscles..

good luck