my daughter is three months old is it okay to start rice ceral?

Answer 1

no its not

I am a nutritionist

babys cannot digest any solid food befor 6-9 months of age (they have proven it and anyone that tells you "but my children truned out fine" needs to reevaluate the research)

Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it's best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering solid foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and many other health organizations recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or other foods) for the first 6 months of life. Some doctors may recommend delaying solids for the first year if there is a family history of allergies.

Solids readiness depends on both the maturity of baby’s digestive tract and baby’s developmental readiness for solids. Although the maturity of baby’s digestive system is not something that we can readily observe, research indicates that 6 months appears to be ideal for avoiding the allergies and other health risks of too-early solids. After this point, different babies are ready for solids at different times -- developmental readiness for solids cannot be determined using a calendar. Most babies are developmentally ready for solids somewhere between 6 and 8 months.
Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

* Baby can sit up well without support.
* Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
* Baby is ready and willing to chew.
* Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
* Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

We often state that a sign of solids readiness is when baby exhibits a long-term increased demand to nurse (sometime around 6 months or later) that is unrelated to illness, teething pain, a change in routine or a growth spurt. However, it can be hard to judge whether baby’s increased nursing is related to readiness for solids. Many (if not most) 6-month-old babies are teething, growth spurting and experiencing many developmental changes that can lead to increased nursing – sometimes all at once! Make sure you look at all the signs of solids readiness as a whole, because increased nursing alone is not likely to be an accurate guide to baby’s readiness.

Medical research tells us that exclusive breastfeeding allows babies to thrive for the first 6 months and often beyond. In the words of the World Health Organization,

“Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants… A recent review of evidence has shown that, on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants.”

Breastmilk should make up the majority of baby’s nutrition through the end of the first year. At some point toward the end of the first year, most babies will gradually begin to need more iron and zinc than that provided by breastmilk alone - at that point, additional nutrients can be obtained from small amounts of solids.

Some babies thrive on breastmilk alone until 12 months or later - as long as your baby is continuing to gain weight and grow as he should, your milk is meeting his needs well.

Four- to five-month-old babies are sometimes very eager to participate at mealtime, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are ready to eat solids - more often it's just the normal developmental urge to do what everyone else is doing. Research studies tell us that there are many health advantages to delaying solids for about 6 months for all babies, not just the babies who are not yet interested in mealtime.

There are a number of things you can do to let baby participate in mealtimes without starting solids:

* Let baby sit with the family at mealtime - in a lap, booster seat or high chair.
* Give baby a cup of water or expressed milk. Your baby can entertain himself at mealtime while learning to use a cup. 1-3 ounces of water in the cup should be plenty (often for the entire day). Many moms choose to use only water or a small amount of breastmilk to avoid wasting the "liquid gold" while baby learns to use the cup.
* Offer baby sips of water from your cup or straw. Even if baby hasn't figured out how to use a straw yet, you can put your straw in water, block the top end of the straw with your finger to trap a little water in the straw, then let baby drink the water from the lower end of the straw (unblock the top end once it's in baby's mouth).
* Offer baby spoons, cups, bowls and other baby-safe eating utensils to play with during mealtime.
* Give baby an ice cube (if it's a baby-safe size & shape) or ice chips to play with.
* Offer baby a momsicle (popsicle made from breastmilk) or slushy frozen breastmilk to eat with a spoon.

Myths about solids readiness

There are many myths and outdated information regarding how to tell if baby is ready for solids.
MYTH: Baby's weight has reached a "magic" number

Just because your baby achieves "x" number of pounds, or has doubled birth weight, (or however much your baby weighs) does not mean that she is automatically ready for solids - particularly if she is under 6 months.

The American Academy of Pediatrics/World Health Organization recommendations for starting solids at 6 months or later has no exceptions for babies who weigh more. The research that I've seen on the health benefits of starting solids at 6 months and later holds for all babies, no matter what their weight.

It's the maturity of the digestive tract and baby's developmental readiness that makes the difference, not baby's weight.

MYTH: Baby needs solids so he will sleep longer at night.

The popular belief that feeding solids at night will help baby sleep through the night has no basis in fact.

Delaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.
It is well documented that prolonged exclusive breastfeeding results in a lower incidence of food allergies (see Allergy References and Risks of Artificial Feeding). From birth until somewhere between four and six months of age, babies possess what is often referred to as an "open gut." This means that the spaces between the cells of the small intestines will readily allow intact macromolecules, including whole proteins and pathogens, to pass directly into the bloodstream.This is great for your breastfed baby as it allows beneficial antibodies in breastmilk to pass more directly into baby's bloodstream, but it also means that large proteins from other foods (which may predispose baby to allergies) and disease-causing pathogens can pass right through, too. During baby's first 4-6 months, while the gut is still "open," antibodies (sIgA) from breastmilk coat baby's digestive tract and provide passive immunity, reducing the likelihood of illness and allergic reactions before gut closure occurs. Baby starts producing these antibodies on his own at around 6 months, and gut closure should have occurred by this time also.

Delaying solids helps to protect baby from iron-deficiency anemia.
The introduction of iron supplements and iron-fortified foods, particularly during the first six months, reduces the efficiency of baby's iron absorption. Healthy, full-term infants who are breastfed exclusively for periods of 6-9 months have been shown to maintain normal hemoglobin values and normal iron stores. In one study (Pisacane, 1995), the researchers concluded that babies who were exclusively breastfed for 7 months (and were not give iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals) had significantly higher hemoglobin levels at one year than breastfed babies who received solid foods earlier than seven months. The researchers found no cases of anemia within the first year in babies breastfed exclusively for seven months and concluded that breastfeeding exclusively for seven months reduces the risk of anemia

Delaying solids gives baby's digestive system time to mature.
If solids are started before a baby's system is ready to handle them, they are poorly digested and may cause unpleasant reactions (digestive upset, gas, constipation, etc.). Protein digestion is incomplete in infancy. Gastric acid and pepsin are secreted at birth and increase toward adult values over the following 3 to 4 months. The pancreatic enzyme amylase does not reach adequate levels for digestion of starches until around 6 months, and carbohydrate enzymes such as maltase, isomaltase, and sucrase do not reach adult levels until around 7 months. Young infants also have low levels of lipase and bile salts, so fat digestion does not reach adult levels until 6-9 months.

Answer 2

I have 3 children, 17, 12, and 1 yr. I started all three on rice cereal around 2-3 months old. I just went by how hungry they were. I would add about a teaspoon at a time to the formula so as not to make it too thick. I used a crosscut nipple because a regular one won't let the thickened formula through. Or if you can get the nipples that are made for fast flow. I'm a firm believer in letting my child tell me when to start or stop things instead of at how many months or at this time. My kids are healthy and eat all kinds of foods with no allergies at all. Hope this helps

Answer 3

No, three months is too young. She still has the gagging reflex and will end up spitting it back out anyway. Wait for at least another month. When you do start, milk the rice cereal way down so that it's really runny. Then gradually make it thicker, so that baby can get use to it. Also rice cereal is just a snack thing. Breastfeeding or bottle feeding should still be her primary source of nutrition.

Answer 4

My opinion, yes it is OK, but I would mix it at first with breast milk or formula, and put it in a bottle with an enlarged opening in the nipple. After a couple of weeks of that, then you can try with a spoon and soon after that you can start adding baby food fruit to the cereal rather than the milk base. When you start with food though, remember to introduce a variety of veggies with the fruit because too much fruit and your baby will not want to eat the veggies at all.

Answer 5

I started giving all thre of my boys rice cereal at the age of six weeks. I mixed a little in with their bottles. This will help her sleep at night cause here tummy will be full. With her age try mixing a little with some juice. Try a little at a time so you don't upset her stomach. Make sure it is runny and not to thick. Good Luck

Answer 6

That's a little early. Six months is about the earliest to start on solid foods. A baby doesn't really need anything but mothers milk until 12 months. Check with your doctor.

Answer 7

It's totally fine, don't listen to people who are scared to put anything in their babies mouth. My baby had reflux since she was born and the doctor told me to add cereal to her bottle when she was two months, and so did her gastroenterologist. But i wouldn't do rice, i would do either oatmeal or barley, it keeps them more regular. Talk to your doctor, not these people who think that babies shouldn't touch cereal or solids till they're 6-9 months, what a load of crock.

Answer 8

just add a teaspoon to a 4 oz bottle and a table spoon to a 8 oz bottle my kids were not getting satisfied with just their formula but all it took was a little cereal added to their bottles especially at night before bed it kept them satisfied throughout the night and didnt wake up in the night for a feeding hope it helps

Answer 9

I have had two children and both of them started eating cereal at three months, with the advice of their pediatrician. Most peds. will tell you it is ok, if your child shows signs that they are ready, like not getting full on formula alone, not sleeping through the night (waking up to eat), things like that.
Ask you ped.

Answer 10

i believe the correct age to start rice cereal is between 4-6 months...most of the time they have to double there body weight or weigh at least 15 lbs before they start...the doctor will tell you when your baby needs to start....you should call then and ask them if your unsure...but dont start feeding her too early it may not agree with her or she may not be able to swallow correctly and she may choak

Answer 11

You should usually wait until they are at least 6 months old, and then only at the advice of your pediatrician. If you feed babies too early, you can cause them to have food allergies.