Rice Cereal For Infants
When And How To Start Your Baby On Rice Cereal For Infants
There is some controversy about rice cereal for infants, but the fact is that they do not need anything solid until after 6 months. Even if a solid food is made liquid, it should not be given to an infant. They actually need only formula or breast milk from birth to 6 months.
If given prematurely, solid food can cause indigestion, blood in stool, and intestinal damage. It may even set the stage for digestive problems at a later stage of growth. It is basically a food with very little nutritional value, and contrary to popular lore, it does not help a baby sleep through the night. Another myth about ricer cereal is that it cures colic.
It is contraindicated for infants because they need a certain amount of calories from breast milk for proper nutrition, and feeding ricer cereal reduces those calories, since mothers tend not to breast feed as often.
Although rice cereal for infants contains iron, they already get the needed iron from their own bodies through the 6th month. If iron is a concern you can use iron fortified formula. After 6 months you can give them rice cereal provided they meet certain criteria; the baby should be able to close her mouth around a spoon, to sit up (with support), and to hold up her neck and head.
The best way to feed rice cereal is to mix with breast milk, about 1 teaspoon of cereal to 5 teaspoons of milk, and feed with a spoon. It should be quite watery but do not give it in a bottle because pieces of cereal could make the baby choke.
Because rice cereal causes constipation, if your baby already has constipation, don’t give this food. You may try oatmeal instead.
Begin by feeding the solid food once every 6 days, and add to frequency gradually, until you are feeding it once a day. After your baby is eating rice cereal for infants, you can graduate to 1) other cereals, 2) one type of fruit at a time, 3) yellow veggies, and 4) green veggies. Keep it to one new food every five days. Do not feed your baby sweetened foods or add sugar to the cereal, as it causes tooth decay.
It is interesting to look at changes in pediatric recommendations for beginning babies on solid food. Before the 1960s it was thought best to give only liquids until 1 year old. In the 1960s it jumped up to 3 or 4 months. Then pediatricians became concerned that this early start on solids could cause allergic reactions or overfeeding, and the new recommended starting age became 6 months.
Ultimately, the baby should have the necessary neuro-muscular development before they start on solids, regardless of their age. Your health care provider should be consulted to determine if their development is at the ready stage for eating a solid food.
In addition to starting baby on solids at the proper stage of physical development, they should be consuming 32 ounces of formula or breast milk a day. If they aren’t yet consuming that much, it is too early to begin solid food.