Your baby may be ready to try rice cereal at 4 months of age. Your doctor can help you decide what is best for your baby. It may be alright to introduce rice cereal before 4 to 6 months of age if your baby has reflux issues. Talk to your pediatrician before you try this though. [3] X Research source Your baby should also be able to eat from a spoon before you introduce rice cereal to his or her diet. Feeding your baby solid foods too early can cause your baby to become overweight. [4] X Research source
Waiting for these milestones is important. They help ensure that your infant can safely swallow the rice cereal. Infants also have an extrusion reflex that causes them to raise their tongue and push against objects that are placed between their lips. [6] X Expert Source Sarah Siebold, IBCLC, MAInternational Board Certified Lactation Consultant Expert Interview. 30 January 2020. This reflex is usually gone by 4 to 6 months of age. Trying to spoon feed your child cereal with this reflex can be frustrating and difficult.
In some cases, your infant’s intestinal tract may not be fully developed or your baby may not be able to fullness, leading to potential overfeeding. Do not give your infant solid foods until your doctor says that is alright.
To reduce reflux, keep your infant upright (i. e. on your shoulder) for 20 to 30 minutes after a feeding. Try a premixed,“anti-reflux” formula. These formulas contain rice starch. Try a hypoallergenic formula that does not contain cow milk or soy milk and see if your infant’s reflux improves. Try this for one or two weeks. [10] X Research source The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend that you feed your baby rice cereal from a bottle. [11] X Research source However, your pediatrician is the best source for deciding if you should feed your baby rice cereal through a bottle.
Your doctor may recommend a different ratio of rice cereal to formula. You can add up to 1 tablespoon of rice cereal to the bottle.
Don’t give your baby rice cereal at every feeding. Rice cereal is mostly carbohydrates and does not provide the same nutrition that formula or breast milk does. Giving your baby rice cereal at every feeding may decrease the amount of nutrients the baby is getting. You can either cut a small “x or “y”” in the nipple of the bottle or go up to a larger nipple size to accommodate the rice cereal formula.
Adjust the amount of rice cereal you are giving your baby based on your observations. If the rice cereal makes your baby constipated, you may want to try oatmeal instead. [13] X Research source If you are trying to treat your baby’s reflux, you should start seeing results in 2 or 3 days. If you see no improvements in that amount of time, rice cereal may not be a good solution for your baby.
Stir the mixture with a spoon until it looks like thin milk or has the consistency of soup. If you have purchased rice cereal that already contains formula, prepare the cereal as directed on the packaging. In some cases, you may only need to add water.
Your baby is used to drinking formula from a bottle and instinctively knows how much to drink based on volume. [17] X Research source However, adding cereal and eating from a spoon can make it more difficult for your baby to know when to stop eating. Alternatively, you can add just a tiny amount of formula to the rice cereal, so it still holds it shape on its food. This is a good way to help your baby practice eating solid foods. [18] X Expert Source Amy ChowRegistered Dietitian Expert Interview. 16 September 2020.
Place the spoon near your baby’s lips and let your baby smell and taste the cereal on the spoon first. Your baby will probably refuse to eat at first. [20] X Research source If your infant is not interested in the mixture or refuses to eat it, try the mixture again the next day. You can also try a thinner mixture. Your infant may intermittently spit out some cereal with his or her tongue as a natural reflex. You can also feed your infant formula or breast milk from the bottle, serve the rice mixture from the spoon, and then end the feeding with formula or breast milk from the bottle. You can begin to thicken the mixture once your baby has tolerated the mixture well for three to five days. [21] X Trustworthy Source Consumer Reports Nonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing Go to source Your baby may vomit after trying the rice cereal the first few times. Do not worry about this. Just try the rice cereal again the next day.
Your infant is more likely to have an allergic reaction if a close family member has any type of allergies, eczema, or asthma. Talk to your doctor about your family history of food allergies when you discuss introducing rice cereal and solid foods.
Not only does whole grain cereal reduce your baby’s exposure to arsenic, it has more fiber and nutrients than white rice cereal. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends cereals made from oats as an alternative to rice cereal. [25] X Trustworthy Source American Academy of Pediatrics Peer-reviewed medical and health resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics Go to source
Introducing rice cereal is a tradition, but it is completely safe to try other solid foods first. [28] X Research source No matter what solid food you offer, make sure it contains no sugar or salt. Wait three to five days between each new food that you introduce. [29] X Trustworthy Source Mayo Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source
