Rice Cereal

You might want to think about waiting with solids until around 6 months which is when a baby has developed all the good intestinal flora. My daughter (12 months) wasn't interested in trying solids until almost 9 months but she was fine with just breastmilk. If your son is nursing and healthy he won't need solids now.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Most pediatricians and the APA, recommend waiting to start any kind of solid food until 6 months...is there any reason you are starting so early? It seems like your little guy ( or should I say BIG guy-17lbs at 4 months!) is doing great on milk, maybe he is not ready for solids yet? If he nurses well, sleeps well and is gaining weight, why not wait until he is a bit older?

Aww sorry your little guy has a tummy ache!

You don't have to start solids at all yet, it's actually not recommended until after six months. Starting solids so early is not recommended because a baby's digestive tract is very permeable, and this can trigger alergies later in life if the body builds antibodies against foods. (this is one reason why breastfeeding is preferred; milk and soy, the bases of most formulas, are common alergens) After six- nine months, the body is better able to digest foods that might be allergens without putting up a defense, although a lot of people say to wait on things like peanuts until much later, even five years.

Many people start solids by
letting the child self feed when he's able. (can sit up on his own, can pick up objects between two fingers, doesn't have a tongue thrust reflex)

You can find info about this online by googling 'baby led weaning', or 'self feeding. ('child led weaning' is not the same thing, that's about ending nursing.)

I hope your babe feels better soon!

I just read all your responses and I just need to get this out.
At 4 mths many things can cause a baby to be fussy, I know my now 9 mth old started teething at 4 mths. So I would go ahead and try the rice cereal again.
I always started my children on Rice cereal and we never had a problem. I would start at 4 mths and go from there. I never mixed any fruit with it until they were onto stage 2 foods.

The fact is that babies don't know that Rice cereal is bland. My 9 mth old who is eating all the stage 2 foods now, still gets his cereal mixed with just formula and he eats it up. There is no need to mix anything with it.

Also just as a suggestion after you go through the cereals, I would go on to veggies instead of the fruits. I have always started with the lighter veggies like squash, carrots, and so on and then the greens. After going through all the veggies, then I introduced the fruits. Now that is only a suggestion, but the mixing cereal with fruit right away, is just not needed. The babies are use to the taste of the milk/formula, so if your mixing it with that then that is what it tastes like.

Your doing just fine, but I would give it a few more days of trying. Your baby just trying to get used to the new food, just remember to only try a little bit and make it quite runny for the first few times.

None of my children had problems with rice cereal. The reason why it is the food typically introduced first is because it is the least to cause adverse/allergic reactions in typical babies. And in all honesty, he probably didn't ingest enough to really make a difference if you spoon fed him. Or did you put it in a bottle? If you used the bottle, don't. Bottles are for liquids, spoons are for solids. You absolutely can introduce something else, but since you started the rice, I'd stick with it for at least 5 days.

My advice would be to conduct an experimnet to rule it out. Because frankly you cannot know for a fact what caused the screaming. It is just natural to assume it was the rice since that was new. Give it again and note any atypical behaviors.

The following are some things to keep in mind:

Do not give it to him when he is hungry. He wants his milk/formula because he knows that will satiate him. Try giving him the cereal about an hour after his regular feeding.

Do not replace nursing/bottle with the cereal. The cereal is to introduce him to solids, learning to sit upright and use a spoon, introduce new flavors. It is not meant to be used as a meal, at least not in the beginning.

Make sure the consistancy is right. No chunks, almost watery.

In 5 days put a little applesauce in it. That will make it more palatable. And after 5 days of that you can either add a new grain such as oatmeal, or another fruit such as bananas.
At least that is what always worked for me.

Good luck and try and have fun with it.

A.

Edited in response to above post:

I., please make sure you talk to your pediatrician before you allow people such as the above scare you unnecessarily. The Aerican Academy of Pediatrics recommends solids be introduced between 4-6 months. Here is a link

http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm

Please do not let the above post scare you into thinking you are doing any harm to your baby. The reason dr.s suggest 4 months is because the reflex to push foods out with their tongue usually disappears. I have never heard of this "open-gut" thing and I do keep myself educated and informed. I however tend to stick to organizations that I trust such as the CDC and the AAP for such info and not the fringe groups that have some bizarre agenda.

Just know that the links given above are biased. Kellymom is a group of people who do not believe women have the right to give their babies anything but breast milk until college (an obvious exaggeration but they use scare tactics to drive their agenda). Dr. Sears does give great advice on some things but I would never take my children to a dr. with his philosophy. It is different and not as mainstream as I am or my children's pediatrician whom I trust.

I do not know what your philosophy is on things but I just wanted you to know that there are two sides to everything. Ask a dr. whom you trust for the most reliable advice.

You are doing a good job!

hi, my daughter never really liked the rice cereal either. it used to (i'm assuming) make her stomach hurt because she would cry during her next poop after eating the rice cereal, but never with the oatmeal...at least not until she was almost 1...then the rice didn't seem to bother her as long as i only gave it to her 1-2 times a week. i would try the oatmeal, or barley (she absolutely hated the barley though...taste and smell was kinda funky). but no matter what cereal it was she was eating, she wouldn't eat any of it unless i poured about 1/2 of ANY of her puree fruits in the cereal. good luck, hope this helps.

I would give him oatmeal cereal as rice cereal is binding. I just started my daughter who's also 4 months old with the oatmeal and so far she's doing ok with it.
good luck!

I only used barley cereal. Rice cereal can bind them up and cause gas.

My suggestion is to make the cereal more runnier but if you think it's an allergic reaction I'd suggest switching him to the oatmeal or other plain grain cereal. If you want to hold off on the cereal for a month just to see if he'll do better with it I don't think that'll be a big problem. I'd recommend after the cereal is working to start with stage 1 veggies first followed by the fruits and then once you get to stage 2 and 3 give them both :) Just take note if this continues with the other foods to talk to your babies doctor :) Good luck to you and your baby :)

My daughter would projectile vomit after eating rice cereal. She couldn't handle it all. We originally gave it to her on the doctors advice because she had GERD. We had to switch her over to the oatmeal and she fine.
I don't know all the ins and outs of it but we say a consistent pattern after feeding it to her only a few times.

N.

My daughter got horrible constipation from rice cereal and later bananas too. ( keep this in mind to remedy the runs)
She would have bowel mvements the size of ping-pong balls.
OOOOUCH!!!
I switched her to oatmeal and she did much better, annd fed her more apples, pears and less bananas.
Best wishes & good luck

breastfed babies shouldnt really be eating solids until 6 months. try single grain oatmeal instead of rice. i used oatmeal on my son at 6 months, mixed cereal with my breastmilk and a little fruit and he loved it! 4 months is too early!! wait a couple of months and try again! Good luck!

I.,

His digestive system might not be ready for solids yet. Many babies need to wait until closer to 6 months before starting solids. Have you spoken to the doctor?

Hugs,
L.

Sometimes, like with any food, baby's get gas! Did you mix the rice cereal with breast milk? You should for the first few feedings mix it with breast milk to help it digest better!! Make the mixture really thin, just a slight bit thicker than milk. My baby boy did not want to eat cereal till he was 5 months old, it could also be that his system is not ready for the cereal!

Hi, My 18 month old daughter had a similar situation. Rice cereal constipated her terribly, so we switched to oatmeal then barley and avoided rice for a long time (still it constipates her). She woke up a mess for several days then exploded through her diaper, her clothes and onto mine of course we were at a playdate with a few friends of mine when this happened.
A.
White Plains, New York

I started my first on cereal at 4 months, but with my second I opted to wait until 6 months. Especially if your baby is nursing well, he really doesn't need cereal just yet. I know that my first child didn't do nearly as well with eating cereal and later foods as my second did, and I am convinced it is because I waited until he was really ready to start cereal. If you really want to start cereal now, then I would use some gas drops after he eats and before any nap to help his tummy sort it all out.

I had a similiar problem when I started my son on rice cereal too when he was 4 months. The rice cereal can be constipating for some babies. My Dr. told me to switch to Barley and it made a huge difference.

You can wait until 5 months or even six if your baby really has a hard time. They suggest that you start with grains because they are easy to digest but any new food is going to be a shock to their system. My DD had gas and very wet BM's for days when she started solids. Best of luck, hope that helps.

Dear I., Rice cereal is the least likely to cause any reactions as the baby's digestive system adjusts to the changes. Try using less cereal, more formula--make it quite liquid. As he adjusts, gradually add a bit more cereal every couple of couple of days until teh cereal is a thin paste consistency. Feed it only once daily, preferable at the same time of day. Keep track of reactions. If after a day or two he still has tummyache after eating, postpone solids for a couple of weeks and try again. If there is still a problem, consult his pediatricioan. BLessings to you both!
Great-gramma....

I am not sure if you have too many requests, but, I wanted to comment. You can give your baby any solids that you want to start with. I chose a veggie, carrots, and followed the guidelines, start with a little, dont mix foods in case of an allergy, etc. The rice cereal is so popular because it is a bland solid, that can be mixed with what they are normally eting, /breastmillk, formula/. There are no rules on this mommy thing. Consider what you are feeding him solids for. Watch for those ready signs, does he watch you eat? Does he seem interested in your driink? I found that when /i held off on the solids, it was less complicted and that my son needed only breastmilk until he was 6 months old. Godd luck- KM

I.-
Both of my children, now ages 5 and 2, didn't start with rice cereal. They started with barley cereal. My mother had always told me it was the mildest and not constipating. So, the pediatrician gave us the go ahead and neither had a problem with it. We started VERY slowly at 4 months for both of them - like only a teaspoon or so each morning for the first week and then we moved it to the evening. The second food that we heard was the mildest was pears. So, after the barley was moved to the evening and increased to 1-2tsp, we introduced a tsp. of pears in the morning. Apples can be very gassy for babies. After pears, we did some more fruits like apricots and apples and by then the baby was 5-5 1/2 months old and we introduced a vegetable at lunchtime - we started with carrots, then squash. By that time in the morning they were having a little cereal- usually oatmeal or barley with some fruit, then the veggie at lunch and then more cereal and fruit at dinner. And these meal were really just teaspoons- maybe a tablespoon- of these foods. I think I introduced rice cereal around 6-7 months and then that became their night cereal. By 8-9 months both were eating the three meals a day, with 1-2 tablespoons of cereal in the morning with a stage one jar of fruit and then a stage one veggie at lunch and another serving of cereal and fruit or veggie at dinnertime.
It's hard to say what happened to your little one. You could stick with the rice - just a teaspoon- and see if it happens again. But whatever you do, be sure to give only a taste as at this age, babies do not need a lot of food as a nutritional requirement.

I had the same problem when my son was small, found that oatmeal seemed to smooth and fill much better. He was much more content and slept more soundly. Hope this helps. Oh by the way with him we found that when the rice started to break down it caused gases in his stomach.

I.-
When I had my son, I was told to use Barley or Oatmeal and skip Rice all together. It is very gassy for many babies. I used Oatmeal and Barley and my son loved it and did well on it. Also, you can try to mix it with breastmilk or formula and that might help as well. It is perfectly fine to introduce cereal at this point, especially if your baby is hungry. I was an avid nurser but introduced cereal at 4 months as well. There is no harm in that at all.
Kristen

I would try switching to Beechnut brand, if you aren't already using it because Gerber brand contains soy and beechnut doesn't and alot of kids are allergic to soy so that may be why he reacted that way. You could also give Beechnut oatmeal a try(the plain one). My daughter has had the oatmeal in her bottles since she was 7 weeks(helped with her acid reflux). Also. more and more doctors these days are recommending not starting solids till 6 months. Give that a try!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

Don't feed your baby any "solids" until he is 6 months old! The GI tract is NOT fully developed until 6 months. I don't know why every one is in such a rush to feed their babies that stuff. I tried it just fot the heck of it with my son and he didn't want it. I started solids at 6 mos and today he's just fine (18 months old and healthy). Never had any GI problems. Never been constipated or anything!

I would wait a few days and then try again making it thinner, and just give him a few spoons not a whole meal. Sometimes they get constipated.

He there. Maybe you gave the baby too much rice cereal. Give him a smaller amount today and see if that helps.

Of course you can give the baby other baby food without the rice cereal (a great age by age guide food guide is in the book "Mommy Made" by Martha and David Kimmel) the rice cereal is important b/c it is a great source of iron. At 6 months old babies have used up their natural stores of iron. Of course there are iron supplements out there. You should consult your doctor. Good luck!

You're not really supposed to give solids to a baby until 6 months old. I would continue with only breastfeeding and start solids in 2 months.

I have two boys (2 1/2 years old and five months old) and both adjusted very well to rice cereal. Since the next step is fruit (which could give them gas or a bad stomach) I would talk to your pediatrician before just switching over. FYI...both of my children had gas when they were first born and my pediatrician had them take Gaviscon (over the counter medicine) which really worked. Good luck to you!

Hi I.!
I would say wait until your little guy is older. I tried to feed my first solids at 4 months and he also couldn't handle it (and he was a BIG BABY!!!). He wound up breastfeeding exclusively until 6 months. My second little guy was ready at 4 months...like grabbing the spoon out of my hands kind of ready! I definitely am for waiting on the solids. They're still so little at 4 months and it's better to wait if they're happily nursing than to deal with belly aches and trying to figure out where it came from, why, which kind of cereal...know what I mean. Hope he's doing better today!

He may just not be ready for solids yet. The doctors and baby books tell us you can start them on cereals at 4 months, but many babies can't handle it digestively. Every baby is different. My son was around 21 pounds at 4 months and was just starting to sleep well. When I started him on cereal, he did great with it, but his sleeping habits changed. I felt it was because the food was not agreeing with him. Since he was nursing well and was plenty big without solid foods, I took him off the solids and waited until he was 6 1/2 months old. It worked out much better. You could try switching grains, but I dont know if that would work. Good luck!

Try staying off the rice cereal for 1 day and see if you find a difference in his sleeping habits. Try the cereal again and if he reacts the same way it could very well be the food. Could he be waking due to teething?? Is he drooling a lot or gnawing on his hands? Some babies are early teethers.
I have a similar situation with my 6 month old son. I put him on solids for the 1st time about 2 weeks ago. He is eating everything pretty much except poultry and meat. Since I put him on the solids he has been waking at least once a night. Strange right? Sometimes I think it could be the teething but I'm not so convinced.

Hello,

How much Cereal did you give him? He may have had a stomach ache or gas pains. I introduced cereal to my kids early too, but only as little as a 1/2 teaspoon. Believe it or not, that's actually alot, since babies are used to milk alone.

Hi I.,

I have a 5 month old and he's been on rice cereal since 4 months. He eats his cereal in the early morning.(around 7:30-8:00am)I found that it works better for his system. He also eats stage 1 foods. So the chain of events goes like this...morning he gets cereal (1/4 cup mixed with 2ounces of formula) warmed, along with that he gets a fruit(peaches, pears, banannas,applesauce, warmed.) It has worked well this way. He then naps around 9:30am and sleeps until noon. Wakes and gets a bottle of formula. He will not have anyother solids until 5pm. Stage 1 (peas, sweet pot., squash, carrots etc) acompanied by another fruit. With our new guy it started very rocky lots of stomach issues. Much better now. Hope this info can help. Take care.
S.

Rice constipates and is more difficult to digest,

Try the oatmeal , its easier on the stomache and helps them to Go poo.

M

What a nice big, healthy boy you have!

Rice is actually a common allergen in babies. At this age, it's really not necessary to give him food - the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends in their statement on breastfeeding, that breastfed babies be given no supplemental foods or liquids in the first six months, so it's okay not to give him food. However, if/when you do opt to, I'd suggest trying another grain, maybe barley or any of the other whole grain cereals - often the "organic" brands have more interesting options than the regular Beech Nut or Gerber varieties.

If you think that something isn't agreeing with your baby, then just don't give it to him. During the first year of a baby's life, their milk (whether your milk or formula) is their primary nutrition and foods are just a supplement so don't worry if he doesn't take food at this point.

Good luck!

hi I.,

you may want to wait a bit on doing solids altogether... wait a couple of weeks and then try again to see what happens. if you get the same response then try another grain (although oatmeal is quite difficult on a newborn's digestive tract) or even a root vegetable, like sweet potato or carrot (cooked of course). if you get the same reaction then your little one probably isn't ready for solids. stick to the nursing a while longer then try again. the attempts won't hurt him, but persisting even with the signs that his body can't take it might hurt him.

good luck
K.

Rice can constipate. I would try the mixed grain instead.

A similar thing happened to my son. I started rice cereal at night after his 4 month check up and everything seemed to be fine. It was about one week later and he started having trouble sleeping. My son is a very good sleeper at night and has been sleeping through the night for a few months now. After the cereal he was waking up screaming every few minutes. A similar thing happened to him after a week of the powdered formula so I decided to stop feeding him the rice cereal and see if the problem stopped. It did instantly so we have been giving him fruits and vegetables and skipping the rice. My suggestion to you would be to stop giving it to him and see if the problem subsides. You can always try the rice cereal again as some babies don't begin eating solids until 6 months. If so, I would talk to your pediatrician about what to do next. Hope this helps!

A lot of people will tell you 4 months is too early to put a baby on cereal. Not necessarily true. Depends on your child. My children started at 4 months and it really helped them sleep through the night. If this is the first time you put your son on cereal, I would give him a small amount with a bottle. Make it very runny and thicken it as he gets used to it. I have 2 daughters (2 1/2 and 6 months) with both kids I started out slow. Small amounts and my peditrician reccomends rice for a week, then oatmeal for a week etc... Rice does constipate so I would do it for a few days just to see if he has any allergic reactions and then switch to oatmeal. It is tough at first but stay with it. He will do much better when you switch to oatmeal (they like it better) and also after you try each cereal then add some fruit to them, applesauce is good to start. My girls love oatmeal and applesauce. Your son's reaction is not uncommon. He is just adjusting to the new food added to his limited diet. Good luck. I learned that sometimes what is recommened by the experts does not always work. Be willing to try things out and just do what works best for you and your child.

you can try giving the baby gas drops when you try the rice cereal. but he may be young yet where his body can't handle it. you can also try oat or barley cereal. my daughter preferred the oat. you can try giving some orange baby foods but just a little. or try bananas. If those don't work wait a few weeks and try again, his belly may not be able to handle solids yet. Don't give up. But at his age he should only be tasting it. it should not be a full meal until they are about 6 months old.

I just started today with rice cereal with may daughter. She is almost 5 months old and is about 14 lbs. I started at 8am and gave her about a little less than a tablespoon. I mixed it with her bottle formula and used warm formula milk. Then I gave her about an hour to hour an 1/2 before her regular bottle, she drank that and went down for a cat nap. We shall see how the rest of the day goes. I would not worry about what others say, if its to soon. Only you know your son. She was sitting up, mouthing a lot, watching us eat, and could suck very well, so I decided to do it before 6 months. I would not try anything else with it for a while and maybe try again tomorrow. No need to rush him or you. I think that I will do it once a day for a week or two and see, then up it to 2 times and then 3. I want to see how she goes BM later, and how she sleeps. Then we can go from there. There is so magical number to when to start or how often, use your gut feeling, and that will help. I am sure he's not allergic, there would probably be other signs, ie rash. I was allergic to milk when I was younger, and you would know if it was that. He may just not wanted a nap then. She is usually a good napper too, but once in a while I get a 15 minute nap and not a two hour from her. Don't feel panicked, and go slow. Hope that helps. A mother of one, but over 15 years experience with children....