Rice Cereal

llreid10

My LO went to the dr for his 4 month check up last week and he said to start solids but to start with rice cereal for about a week just to make the adjustment. I assumed you would just do a bottle with the rice cereal but then as I was reading it seemed like that was dangerous for choking hazards. So my question is how do you feed it lol? I mean it's pretty much a liquid after mixing it up so I am confused as to why you wouldn't do it in a bottle. 

Speshul

It can be mixed to whatever consistency you like. Just add more/less  fomula/milk/water. You feed it with a spoon.

Most people that add to a bottle are doing it to thicken the formula to help with acid reflux.

redhead610

Spoon feed it. It is just to help them learn to start eat in with a spoon and swallowing. The first couple times you give it it should be quite watery, but you use less water after they are used to eating and as they get older.

llreid10

Oh ok!! That makes sense! Thank ya'll

ELauren88

Spoon feed. We waited until 5 months when she seemed a little more "ready". We've only given her cereal 4 times, but we've tried different consistencies each time.

carrotcake06

Also, just bc your pedi said you can start doesn't necessarily mean your LO is ready for solids.

Looking for grabbing objects and bringing them to their mouth, watching you eat, sitting unassisted (or very close to it) w good head control, loss of tongue thrust reflex.

If your LO doesn't seem into it, it's perfectly fine to back off for a while.

trudibell

We skipped rice cereal and went straight to vegetable/fruit purees.  What I do is measure out a tablespoon and put it on the tray in front of LO.  I let him play with it and stuff and sometimes offer baby spoonfuls of it.  Eventually he's started eating stuff he likes and will let me know when he's not interested.

Like you said, I'd be concerned that putting it in his bottle is a choking hazard.  Also it doesn't really teach them how to eat.  Keep in mind, food before one is just for fun.

slh6363

1. Rice cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard 2. They need to learnt to eat and swallow so a spoon makes sense to me. I am thinking about skipping it and going to purrees when LO is ready

llreid10

Well I'm not sure that he is ready... I get the worst facial expression and it's like he's trying to push the rice cereal out with his tongue. He takes the spoon but doesn't seem to be a fan of the rice cereal. Is this a he's not ready or this is disgusting lol?

DebateThis

somerandomchick said:

The latest AAP recommendations are to do solids at 6 months instead of 4. And rice cereal isn't necessary--it's only necessary if you're giving them solids before they're really ready! But there's no real nutritional reason they need rice cereal.

Nope, they changed it. It's "between four and six months" now, providing LO meets the criteria @carrotcake06 mentioned. Ditto the rice cereal thing, though. We'll be skipping it. No nutritional value and can be constipating. I'd rather start him on foods that have flavor and health benefits.

When can my baby begin solid foods?

The following are some guidelines from the AAP book Nutrition: What Every Parent Needs to Know. Remember that each child’s readiness depends on his own rate of development. 

• Can he hold his head up? Your baby should be able to sit in a high chair, feeding seat, or infant seat with good head control.
• Does he open his mouth when food comes his way? Babies may be ready if they watch you eating, reach for your food, and seem eager to be fed.
• Can he move food from a spoon into his throat? If you offer a spoon of rice cereal and he pushes it out of his mouth and it dribbles onto his chin, he may not have the ability to move it to the back of his mouth to swallow it. It’s normal. Remember, he’s never had anything thicker than breast milk or formula before, and this may take some getting used to. Try diluting it the first few times, then gradually thicken the texture. You may also want to wait a week or two and try again.
• Is he big enough? Generally, when infants double their birth weight (typically at about 4 months) and weigh about 13 pounds or more, they may be ready for solid foods.

Carnation77

I'm not against cereal - it does have iron in it - but I can tell you my LO absolutely hates oatmeal and rice cereal.  We started with veggies, then fruit, which he eats like a champ then thought - hey!  why not try some cereal? He took one taste and shut his mouth like a vault.  First did it with oatmeal then rice cereal.  But if we mix a little with carrots or sweet potatoes (which he LOVES) then he'll eat it.  So I guess my point is if LO is showing readiness to start foods, but refuses the cereal, he might just not like the taste.  I tasted it with milk and it really is disgusting.

llreid10

MosyMama said:

Well I'm not sure that he is ready... I get the worst facial expression and it's like he's trying to push the rice cereal out with his tongue. He takes the spoon but doesn't seem to be a fan of the rice cereal. Is this a he's not ready or this is disgusting lol?

Try putting the empty spoon in his mouth and see if he still pushes it out. If so, he probably still has the tongue thrust reflex and is not ready.

I tried the spoon on it's own and he made the same face of disgust and pushed it out lol!! 

I think I may give it a week or so and try some purred fruit, I have the baby bullet and it has the neat menu per ages. I just don't much see the point of cereal of the fruit will be the same consistency as the cereal pureed. 

DebateThis

somerandomchick said:

somerandomchick said:

The latest AAP recommendations are to do solids at 6 months instead of 4. And rice cereal isn't necessary--it's only necessary if you're giving them solids before they're really ready! But there's no real nutritional reason they need rice cereal.

Nope, they changed it. It's "between four and six months" now, providing LO meets the criteria @carrotcake06 mentioned. Ditto the rice cereal thing, though. We'll be skipping it. No nutritional value and can be constipating. I'd rather start him on foods that have flavor and health benefits.

When can my baby begin solid foods?

The following are some guidelines from the AAP book Nutrition: What Every Parent Needs to Know. Remember that each child’s readiness depends on his own rate of development. 

• Can he hold his head up? Your baby should be able to sit in a high chair, feeding seat, or infant seat with good head control.
• Does he open his mouth when food comes his way? Babies may be ready if they watch you eating, reach for your food, and seem eager to be fed.
• Can he move food from a spoon into his throat? If you offer a spoon of rice cereal and he pushes it out of his mouth and it dribbles onto his chin, he may not have the ability to move it to the back of his mouth to swallow it. It’s normal. Remember, he’s never had anything thicker than breast milk or formula before, and this may take some getting used to. Try diluting it the first few times, then gradually thicken the texture. You may also want to wait a week or two and try again.
• Is he big enough? Generally, when infants double their birth weight (typically at about 4 months) and weigh about 13 pounds or more, they may be ready for solid foods.

On the page you're quoting from on healthychildren.org, directly under that it says "Note: The AAP recommends breastfeeding as the sole source of nutrition for your baby for about 6 months"

Soul source of nutrition = don't completely replace meals with solid foods. Breastmilk (or formula) should be fed first, as PP's have explained, and then solids offered to learn textures and tastes and swallowing and eating from a spoon or with their hands. It doesn't mean "no solid foods at all before six months".

DebateThis

somerandomchick said:

If you look all over the AAP website it says to start solids at 6 months. I'm too lazy to link on mobile but it's pretty clear. The articles on 'what's too early for solids' say before four months is definitely too early. But the stuff on when is the right time say 6 months, not 4-6 months.

::Headdesk:: Healthychildren.org IS the AAP site. It says so up in the top left corner and at the bottom under the copyright information.

The four month guideline had been in place for a number of years, when they switched it in ~2000 under concerns that early introduction of solids was contributing to the crazy increases in pediatric allergies. When they realized that delaying solids to "no earlier than 6 mos" wasn't making a bit of difference, they switched it back in January 2013.

More from Johns Hopkins here: https://m.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/pediatrics/feeding_guide_for_the_first_year_90,P02209/

Lizghannam

Like some others have said, we just skipped straight to the purees...the rice cereal has no nutritional value so we just skipped it all together. With my first son, I used it because I thought it'd make him "more full" but it was pointless and he did great with just the puree.

I don't know how true this is but with my first son, the pedi suggested introducing veggies first over fruit so they don't create more of a liking for the sugar. Now who knows if that's a bunch of nonsense but my son preferred his peas and squash over his strawberry banana" flavored purees