Talk to me about rice cereal.

smlowe9311 · January 2014

I've read both pros and cons for it. The pediatrician said today that if we wanted we could add some to her night time bottle to try to get her to gain a little weight and to possibly help her STTN but we don't have to. Her weight isn't such a concern that we need to (she's slightly on the small side (11.11 at 4 months 3 days was 7.9 at birth). If it really doesn't have much nutritional value I'm not sure I want to add it. What say S13?

AshleyPT · January 2014

It has no nutrition and it doesn't help babies sleep longer.

DaisyZH · January 2014

My pedi also gave me this exact advice, adding cereal to DD's bottle to help her gain weight. I disagree with her and have not done it. I would prefer to begin solids at 6 months, I'm considering looking for a new pedi since this isn't the only thing she's told me that I've questioned. Surprisingly she's fairly young, maybe 40-ish.

ravenclaw1 · January 2014

I won't feed my daughter anything that doesn't have nutritional value

thedash · January 2014

DD is really ready for solids so our pedi suggested we try a few spoonfuls of rice cereal per day to see if it helps her reflux. We're going to start mixing it with some fruits and veggies. I would definitely not put it in a bottle.

smlowe9311 · January 2014

That's what I thought. Thanks for confirming I'm not totally nuts ladies! I don't plan on following it. I am fine with getting up with her in the middle of the night. And, growing up (and even now) I was always a skinny girl (I'm 5'6 and soaking wet weigh 106)-to the point where my mom's co-workers would comment about it.

I'm in the same boat as DaisyZH-our pedi is only in her 40's…maybe it's time it start looking for a new one...

CDMay2006 · January 2014

My son has reflux and due to several (minor) medical issues, is at high risk for aspirating (inhaling) his milk. though it is one option we can consider, none of his care providers (pediatrician, SLP and pulmonologist) recommend thickening his milk with rice. So no, for that and other reasons i would not feed him rice cereal.

smlowe9311 · January 2014

starscream said:

DS gets rice starch because he is on an Enfamil 1/Enfamil AR mixture. I chose Enfamil AR over adding cereal to his bottles because the Enfamil AR box said it was more nutritionally sound (yep I listened to the box). So far, I am happy with it. Can you try a different formula?

She's BF and we are trying to avoid formula unless it becomes necessary (not that's it's evil or anything it's just the route we decided to go down). I'm no doctor but she seems perfectly satisfied with the breast milk she's been getting and the doctor did say we don't have to add the rice (which is why I don't understand why it was suggested in the first place) AND she was getting over pink eye the last time we brought her in (the reason we brought her in) and was weighed with her clothes on that day verses totally naked today so in my opinion the 5 ounce difference could very well have come from all of those factors combined.

Ntymec · January 2014

Our local health unit suggests to start giving iron rich rice cereal starting at six months and to never mix the cereal in a bottle.

Surprisingly to me, they also suggest to start giving LO meat and rice cereal first. Then fruits and veggies. Here is a screen shot of the PDF doc.

Burrberrymum · January 2014

I had asked what the point of giving the cereal is rather than starting with veg and fruit and I guess it has a lot more iron for them. Still on the fence whether or not I want to start rice cereal at 6mos or start with a green veg

RagsdaleA · January 2014

I plan (hope) to skip the rice/oatmeal all together and go straight to puréed veggies and fruits once LO is ready.

JocelynB0911 · January 2014

smlowe9311 said:

starscream said:

DS gets rice starch because he is on an Enfamil 1/Enfamil AR mixture. I chose Enfamil AR over adding cereal to his bottles because the Enfamil AR box said it was more nutritionally sound (yep I listened to the box). So far, I am happy with it. Can you try a different formula?

She's BF and we are trying to avoid formula unless it becomes necessary (not that's it's evil or anything it's just the route we decided to go down). I'm no doctor but she seems perfectly satisfied with the breast milk she's been getting and the doctor did say we don't have to add the rice (which is why I don't understand why it was suggested in the first place) AND she was getting over pink eye the last time we brought her in (the reason we brought her in) and was weighed with her clothes on that day verses totally naked today so in my opinion the 5 ounce difference could very well have come from all of those factors combined.

I added 1-2 oz of Enfamil ar to ds3's bottles of breastmilk to help with reflux. You can mix bm and formula.

JamieWM · January 2014

As a mom to a baby w severe reflux, Similac spit up does not help him sleep longer, it just keeps the bottle actually DOWN a bit better. I'd stick w what's working and go w your mama instinct

smlowe9311 · January 2014

dhaueisen said:
Since LO is bf I would just increase your intake of healthy fats and calories before adding rice cereal to help LO gain weight. At the same time, if your production is good and LO seems satisfied and the doctor isn't concerned about her weight then I wouldn't worry too much about it. If she needs more calories she will let you know. Rice cereal doesn't have much nutritional value but Doctors do recommend it for the iron as babies tend to need increased iron in their diet at this age. Since your doctor left the choice up to you I would just go with your instincts on this one. If you don't feel LO is ready then I would wait or skip it altogether.

Great idea! Thanks so much!!

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