Is Cereal Necessary?

Hi L., I have a 4 month old and he has a very large appetite, I feed him veggies and fruits for lunch and dinner also and I think that if your baby seems satisfied with what your giving her then I would stick with that. Cereal really doesn't do anything but make them full, and it doesn't have as many nutrients as the fruits and veggies. It is a good source of iron though, so if your worried about that then you might just put a little in her bottle or somthing. Good luck.

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I have heard that cereal does contain lots of important nutrients. I have a daughter that is almost 8 months old. I give her cereal for breakfast and before bed. I give her veggies during the day and I make her cereal with formula and stir in fruits. She loves it! She is quite a piggy, so I give her the rest of the jar of fruit when she finishes the cereal! Ultimately it is your decision, but I would check with your doctor and see what they recommend.

Hi L. -

Our pediatrician had us keep with the cereal, but he always had us mix it with formula or with her juice so it had a bit more nutrition than if you mix it with just water.

J.

We kept cereal for a long time. I used formula & juice to make it rather than water. Lexxie ate it pretty well that way.

Look on the box of cereal it is fortified with many vitamins and minerals.

yes it is important. the fruits and veggies are rather low calorie foods and really dont have a full range of vitamins and minerals like the cereal. My daughter is 15 months and we still give her baby oatmeal most mornings. some days she eats pancakes, waffles or toast with us.. but most days she gets baby oatmeal.

Hello I felt the same way about cereal. Our doctor told us to give the cereal at least once a day for the iron that is in it. Our twins did not like the cereal at all, so he recomended putting their veggies or fruit in it and it has helped a lot. Good Luck.
N.

yes it is! do not feel like you are not feeding your baby enough! is she gaining weight? is she happy? i use rice cereal at night wen jonathan has to go to bed. wen my oldes was an infant he was born 6 weeks early 5.12 he was drinking 3 to 4 oz every 2 hours so i started putting a lil cereal in it he started to gain good weight, eating 3 every 3 hours instead of 4 every 3 hours. i quess it verry per child and parents there are some nutricion that milk alone do not have that cereal does i even put cereal on my brest milk

My kids never liked the boxed cereal. They only like the Gerber cereal that was pre-mixed with fruit in a jar. Maybe you would want to try that instead. I think doctors want them to have cereal because of the iron that is in it but I am not sure. My kids are 2 and 5 so it has been a while since I have done the cereal thing. Good Luck though!

Cereal is important. It does contain things that little ones need, especially iron, zinc and B vitamins. And as was mentioned, mix it with formula rather than water. As she eats more, she'll take less formula which reduces her iron intake, and cereals make up for that. It also helps prepare their digestive systems to handle more complex foods. Good luck!

Hi. I think the biggest reason that we usually start with rice cereal is because it has a very low allergy rate. It's very easy to digest. They do fortify it with some vitamins and minerals so that helps... especially the iron is important. If you decide to feed her baby cereal, I recommend Earth's Best brand. It's natural whole grains which makes it much more nutritious than normal.

my daughter is 9 months old and ive never even given her cereal. its been all fruits and veggies. she's gained weight fine and is very healthy. i would skip the cereal. if you want to add more protein try adding lentils. and if youre still worried about not having a grain i would add quinoa. its the most nutritious grain, it has no gluten in it and its high in protein. you can cook it up and mix it with your fruits and veggies.

Cereal is still very important. You don't have to force it on your child. But, it's still needed. Just like the rest of us, babies need the complex carbohydrates found in cereals. Carbohydrates supply energy, and the carbs in milk, and most fruits and veggies are the simple sugary carbs that wear off faster. Cereals supply more energy for their calorie content.