"Put cereal in baby bottle and they'll sleep better!"

Who has heard this sleep myth before?🙋‍♀️

Before we even start, I'm sure someone reading this was able to add cereal to their baby's bottle and it helped them sleep longer. That's great if it worked, but in a majority of cases it doesn't and it is not a recommended practice.

🍼Feeding-wise, if your baby is not old enough to be eating cereal (oatmeal, rice, etc) then it's not a good idea to add it to their bottle. This is not safe and if your child does not possess the oral motor skills this can cause issues.

If your baby is old enough for cereal, then give it to them separately at their usual mealtime.

💤Sleeping-wise, if your baby is waking frequently overnight, it may not be out of hunger every single time. Babies (and adults) wake frequently overnight. There's nothing we can do to change this other than give them the tools they need to fall back asleep.

If the tools they need right now are you helping them, that's okay but you can change that if you're ready!

🔧By giving them the tools to fall asleep on their own, they will eventually be able to do this in the middle of the night when they have these normal biological wakings AND when the wakings aren't due to hunger.

Check out my video on Instagram that pokes fun of this myth!