when and how to feed rice cereal?

Question

Im a little confused my son is 4 months old....is it ok for rice cereal now? Also how do you feed? with the bottle? substitute for bottle? just a little confused! he also still has a little colic is it ok? think his digestive system is ready?

Answer 1

Firstly no solids before 6 months means no solids before 6 months.

Secondly there is no need for rice cereal. Solid are for fun and learning. There is nothing fun or teaching about rice cereal. It has NO flavour, NO texture and is not very nutritious. Plus breastmilk/formula is pure carbs the last thing a baby needs is more carbs. Veggies and fruits are much better first foods. And meats are far more important than grains. Whole grains are much better than that alleged rice cereal, have you read what is in it?

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html
Why Delay Solids?
Reasons for delaying solids
Additional information
References
Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it's best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering solid foods. There has been a large amount of research on this in the recent past, and most health organizations have updated their recommendations to agree with current research. Unfortunately, many health care providers are not up to date in what they're telling parents, and many, many books are not up to date.

The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization
UNICEF
US Department of Health & Human Services
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Dietetic Association
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Health Canada
Most babies will become developmentally and physiologically ready to eat solids by 6-9 months of age. For some babies, delaying solids longer than six months can be a good thing; for example, some doctors may recommend delaying solids for 12 months if there is a family history of allergies.

Reasons for delaying solids

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.


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. See How Breast Milk Protects Newborns and The Case for the Virgin Gut for more on this subject.


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. See Is Iron-Supplementation Necessary? for more information.


Delaying solids helps to protect baby from future obesity.
The early introduction of solids is associated with increased body fat and weight in childhood. (for example, see Wilson 1998, von Kries 1999, Kalies 2005)



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http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html
What do the experts say?
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. I'm not going into the many health benefits of delaying solids here; see Why Delay Solids? for more information.

Developmental signs that baby is ready for solids
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.


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Delaying solids makes starting solids easier.
Babies who start solids later can feed themselves and are not as likely to have allergic reactions to foods.

Answer 2

The suggestions are that babies should have no solids before 6 months. Also, the bottle is not a recommended way to feed rice cereal. I always mixed either a little breast milk (or formula) with a small amount of cereal in a runny consistancy. This wasn't a big hit with my babies. They preferred a fruit or veggie over rice cereal. They would eat the oatmeal cereal with fruits. Every baby is different, so just experiment with what makes yours happy.

Answer 3

Most babies are ready between 4-6 months of age. Follow the directions on the cereal box to decide how much to mix. The first few feedings should be a really thin consistency fed by spoon. Babies usually thrust their tongues foward and they wear most of the cereal. This is normal and you may want to restart at a later time. They have to learn to eat a different way.

Answer 4

Check with his doctor and she/he should be able to determine. According to my son doctor, the baby's neck should be strong enough to hold up pretty good. Again, the doctor has to examine him.

Also, the doctor doesn't advise using bottle. Baby shouldn't drink his rice cereal. He should start "eating", learning how to swallow his food, instead of just drinking.

We start our son with 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal and added about 2 ounce of water or formula or breastmilk for a few times. He doesn't like it at first. Then, we reduced the water and make it a little pasty. He actually like it better and able to finish up. He is almost 11 month now. The doctor still advise us to give him a min of 2-3 tablespoon. Of course, he also eat other pureer food. Rice cereal is for his iron only.

Answer 5

I started my kids on rice cereal between 3 and 6 months old. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE BOTTLE. Bottle are for liquid only. It makes for sloppy eaters. cereal can be eatten from a spoon. just start out with it REALY thin,
Good luck and God Bless

Answer 6

I have a little girl who will be 4 months on the 25th of this month. My doc started her on rice cereal at her 3 month check up. He told me to give it to her twice a day.

When I started her on it, I just followed the direction on the box of cereal. I started with one tablespoon of cereal and added enough formula to make it thicker than formula but not as thick as it should be. I fed it to her on a spoon so she would get used to it and that's what my doc told me to do.

I would say his digestive system is ready for it.

Good luck...and a word of advice...make sure you have a bib and a wash cloth...lol...and start cereal about half hour before feeding time so your boy isn't hungry hungry to the point where he is gonna cry. Also, I started when my girl was happy...it made the whole thing go smoothly :)

Answer 7

Depending on how fast your baby is growing will tell you when they're ready...not their age. All babies are different and most doctors agree that children decide when they're ready for cereal. When he starts to act hungry earlier and begins waking more at night (for example) he's probably ready. I gave cereal in the bottle with a faster nipple...just a little though less than half a teaspoon to his 8 ounce bottles (at 5 months).

Answer 8

You start by adding a little bit to the bottle and making the hole in the nipple a little bigger. After his stomach gets used to the heavier food then you can start feeding him very watered down cereal, and keep making it thicker over a few days. This is a good age to start the rice.

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Don't listen to cookie cutter advice. My son was on rice at 4 months old. Is perfectly healthy. I also started him on milk at 10 months old. People are WAY too protective nowadays.

What did the people 100 years ago do? Breastfeed till the kid was 2? I don't think so. They gave the kids mashed up food from early on, and guess what....they lived to have us.

Answer 9

IF you can wait till 6mo. If you are going to do it...avoid using a bottle. Doctor says spoon is best, helps with oral motor skills. Make the cereal very watery with lots of formula or breastmilk. Its really best to wait and there is no research that says starting cereal makes them sleep better. Till 6mo all of their nutrients should come from formula or breastmilk.