Feeding Rice Cereal - What Age?

Hi J.. Here's a great web site for a feeding schedule I used with my kids http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/infantschildren/FeedingS...

Unless your baby has a problem with reflux, or some other medical condition, you do not need to add rice cereal into his formula. You need to wait to try feeding until he opens his mouth to have it put in and does not try to thrust it out with his tongue. He should have a good mashing motion when he's ready.

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This comes straight from my doc.

Cereal should never be put in a bottle. It defeats the purpose of introducing solids (which is to learn a new way to eat.) Once your son is 4-6 months you can introduce solids. Signs that he's ready include staring at and mimicking mommy when she eats. My daughter wouldn’t take her eyes off me when I ate and would make a chewing motion (this was at 3 months). So at 4 months I started a little cereal and she loved it.

Hi I would strongly advice you to wait till the baby is at least 4months. Some Dr.s want to start at 6months but the earliest would be 4months. I think you would be doing the baby harm if you start sooner.

I didn't give my son rice cereal until he was 6 months of age. It seems to be the consensus age to do it. Although I have heard people have done is sooner and even later. You can talk to your doctor about it. When you do decide to do it, mix the cereal with the formula and you might want to make it runny just so that your son gets used to it and as time progresses, you can make it thicker. It really all depends on what he likes. But don't ever introduce rice cereal in a bottle.

Hi J.,
I would wait until 5-6 months but closer to 6 months. I got some bad advice with my first child & tried to start him too early & he had a hard time with it. I stopped trying & waited until he was almost 6 months & then he was fine. With my second child, I started her at 6 - 6 1/2 months & she has done great. I never put the cereal in their bottles though. Hope this helps!

Talk to your doctor about this because there is always the latest research on the best time but I believe now it is 6 months. You would not want to add it to the formula and have your son eat is separately. It sounds like you might be wanting more sleep and heard that adding rice cereal to a bottle at night will help. Check first with your doctor and see what they recommend.
Good luck.

Hi J.,
Babies intestines are not mature enough to handle solids until about 6-7 months, I like to look for signs that a child is ready. Does he have teeth? Is he interested in foods? Can he swallow foods correctly (ie not spit them right back out down his chin). I saw a real shift in my son when he was ready. He went from not caring to desperate to get what was on my plate at about 8 months. Some children do it much sooner.

In my practice I generally suggest people start with soft fruits and veggies rather than rice cereal. The rice cereal is very processed and doesn't have much nutritional value. In addition,grains can be hard on a developing GI tract. Bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas--these are all good places to start.

Congratulations on your new baby!

Best,
E. Bender, NC, CHN
www,nutritionforthewholefamily.com

I've heard you can start introducing cereal between 4-6 months, depending on your doctor and what your doctor recommends. I started my little one eating cereal at 4 months and in some ways I wish I would have waited a bit longer. I was always so anxious to introduce new tastes and textures. I would talk to your doctor and see what he/she recommends. Good Luck!

J., This will be a bit long, but bear with me. It has a lot of info. First off you could wait another month. They don't usually recommend cereal until around 4 months. A little early is ok, but not too early.

I would NOT put it into his bottle. If you give cereal put it in a bowl and teach early how to use a spoon. The earlier the better to train him how to use a spoon. I am of 35yo mom of
kids ages 9,9,6 and 1.5 all learned how to eat off a spoon by 3 1/2 months of age. They loved their cereal. They are still awesome eaters. He will learn new textures and flavors easier this way.

First use about 1- 1 1/2 tsp of cereal in a bowl and add the formula to the bowl. Make the consistency of runny cream of wheat. He WILL spit it out and this is not becasue he doesn't like but rather he is learning what to do with this in his mouth. Scoop it back up on the spoon and put it back in. This may take a few times to master this, but don't get discouraged this is a new learning thing for him. Keep wipes handy you will probably need them.
As you go along and he seems to do ok with the cereal and it doesn't bother him tummy, after 2-3 weeks, I NEVER gave fruits alone first because they are much sweeter than veggies, but I added a baby size spoon of applesauce to the cereal. When I knew baby didn't have an allergy to this about 5 days, I changed to pears. These two fruits are the most mild.
Then by the time you have waited a few weeks with cereal, 5 days or soo with each of the fruits you can start introducing veggies. I always did orange (5-6 days), then a green (5-6 days) and so on until you have introduced all the veggies. Then I moved onto the fruits. By the time you tried all fruits and veggies, baby will be a pro eater and you can add yogurts 8 months, soft cheese, baby snacks etc. to his diet.

I had all my kids on whole table foods by age 1 and all are very good eaters. They eat everything and every veggies I put in front of them.

Need any more advice let me know
Trish

the american pediatric association recommends waiting to introduce solids until 6 months of age, unless your dr recommends something else I would wait until at least 4 months of age. young infants do not have mature digestion to deal with cereal younger than 4-6 months. Formula is the right food for him
take care

Hi J.,
there are wivestales that babies sleep longer and better when we start solids. NOT TRUE.
Many moms start their babies on cereal at 4 months don't realize that at 4 months babies tend to get better at sleeping and start a real dependable sleep routine. One has nothing to do with the other.
I am waiting until 6 months to start my baby on solids giving his body time to fully develop.
Check out the American Pediatrics site, babycenter or Dr. Sears websites for more information about this.
My MIL wants me to introduce rice cereal when I start but because we have waited until 6 months we can start him on real food, like mashed sweet potatoes or even banana.
Congratulations on Steven! Enjoy!

I started my son at about 4 1/2 months because he is v. big for his age (like a 7 month old!) and was eating pretty much the limit on formula per day. I wasn't in a rush to do it that soon, but I was worried he'd want more and I didn't want him to be hungry while he learned to eat solids He wasn't impressed the first few days, but now he is more used to it (only about 3 weeks!) he gets really excited when he sees the food bowl and highchair. He is also really fascinated by the food we eat (which is a good sign for solids).

Everything I've read says don't put cereal into formula. I made it up in a bowl and fed from a spoon (they're learning a different set of skills). Plus the point of solids at this age is to get used to the texture and skills required, and putting cereal in a bottle won't do this. Ds' pediatrician suggested it for his reflux, but I decided not to for those reasons.

you'll probably get the information from the pediatrician at the 4 month visit, so at least wait until then. If he seems hungry and interested, you could go for it (it is fun watching them try new stuff, esp when they enjoy it!).

E.

I started both my boys when they were around 5 1/2 months old. I've heard its best to wait until closer to 6 months old to start solids. But use a bowl & spoon and mix a little bit of rice cereal with formula (it says on the box I believe how much to give or ask your pediatrician how much for the first time, its not much) and teach him to eat from a spoon instead of giving it in the bottle.

i was told 6 month for my son as he was quite big for his age.....your pediatrician should tell you what times to start what.

Well - I have heard of rice cereal being introduced even earlier than 2 1/2 months! I think it truly depends on your child. I think 4-6 months is the general rule of thumb, but honestly, if the formula isn't filling up your son (i.e. he still wants to eat after an hour or two after the formula) then maybe it is time to consider rice cereal. Otherwise, I would hold off a little longer.

uaually not until at least 5-6 months of age. do not give it to him any earlier (not even just a little bit in a bottle to get them to sleep through the night like some people do)...their digestive system is not mature enough yet to handle it. as far as introducing fruits into the mix...do not do that yet. you are supposed to experiment with one thing at a time (by itself) for a few days to a week to make sure they dont have an allergic reaction to it. so until you do fruits and veggies (which you'll introduce later on) do not mix it into the cereal. you'll do rice cereal first, then oatmeal, then barley...it goes from easiest to hardest to digest for them. hope that helps.

I started introducing cereal around 3 months because she just coouldn't get full but I fed it to her out of a bowl and sometimes at bedtime.

I would wait on solids (including cereal) until 6 months. And I would start with fruits/veggies first. I know it might be different with formula because of needing extra iron. You might want to look into that.

I started rice cereal at about 3 1/2 months, because was still hungry after 36 ounces of formula. My bestfriend had to do the same thing with her baby, and we didn't have any problems with it. I started bananas at around 4+ months. My daughter has been a great eater and was on regular food by 8-9 months. You are not supposed to put the rice cereal in their bottle only feed them out of a bowl.

Good Luck

I would ask your child's doctor, but most doctors recommend waiting until infants are 4 to 6 months old before introducing any solids, including rice cereal. Many prefer that yout wait closer to 6 months. As far as putting rice cearal in formula most drs. don't recommned this unless there is a medical reason to do so, such as reflux. My first two were twins and one had reflux. We started putting a bit of rice cereal in her formula, but I don't think it helped all that much. I started them on rice cereal at 5 1/2 months (4 months corrective age) and I now think it was a bit too soon. With my 3rd child I tried to start rice cereal around 5 months...and she just wasn't interested. She got more into it around 6 1/2 months...all kids are different. My 3rd one is now a much better eater than my first two...I've been much more relaxed with her about eating and I think it has made a huge difference.

You will hear mostly wait until 6months. my friend gave her baby some at 4months...he loved it and did great. it really depends. i wouldn't do it before 4months tho.