Some people might suggest feeding a baby rice cereal starting at 6 months, whereas others might suggest as young as only 2 or 3 months old. Anything other than breast milk or formula is considered a solid food. So when deciding the right time to start your baby on rice cereal, you should follow the same guidelines for starting a baby on solid foods.
Yet, rice cereal is a solid food. You should hold off feeding a baby solid food until they have control of their neck and head. Your little one will need to be upright while eating, so they should be able to sit in a highchair. Another telltale sign that your baby may be ready for solid food is when they express an interest in your food.
After several months of only consuming breast milk or formula, some babies have difficulty adjusting to solid foods. To start the introduction process, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of iron-fortified rice cereal with 4 to 6 tablespoons of formula, breast milk, or water.
Some people mix rice cereal with fruit juice, too. Spoon feed an iron-fortified rice cereal to your baby. You can nurse or bottle feed first, and then end feedings with rice cereal. And do include other iron-fortified, single-grain cereals besides rice.
Variety is the spice of life — even for baby! The recommendation from the AAP is for parents to use rice cereal as only one source of solid food and one piece of a healthy diet.
The goal with solid foods is not only to provide key nutrients, but to offer a variety of flavors and an introduction to social eating experiences. Not only is this important for overall health, but it can also help diversify your baby's palate for a lifetime of enjoying nutritious foods.
Fruits and vegetables, beans and lentils, meats, eggs, nut and seed butters, and other foods the whole family eats can be integrated safely as first foods. Some parents choose to use purees, including jarred baby food, to introduce these foods.
Others opt to include safe, appropriate versions of foods babies can feed themselves, via a technique called baby-led weaning. The good news is that it only takes a small amount of each food at any meal to introduce these healthy eating habits. These foods don't have to be complex. Some foods, such as bananas and steamed sweet potatoes, can even be mashed with a fork, so you don't have to pull out the food processor for every meal.
Or, if you're using baby-led weaning, offer your baby soft banana or steamed sweet potato in small pieces they can hold and feed themselves. Also, you can prepare small amounts of a variety of baby-friendly foods ahead of time so they're ready for any meal. As you're starting solid foods, keep in mind that variety not only increases the range of nutrients a baby gets, but also the variety of flavors.
Adding these fruits, veggies, and meats can expand the nutrients that babies get beginning at six months of age:. Fruits and vegetables only have to be pureed until your baby is ready to eat soft foods by hand. Babies can eat dairy products not including whole milk when the texture is developmentally appropriate: first yogurt, then small pieces of cheese, and so on.
If you use the baby-led weaning technique, skip purees and give baby soft foods to eat by hand from the start. It's important to talk to your pediatrician before starting solids , especially if your family has a history of food allergies.
This conversation can offer direct guidance on what types and varieties of food your baby can be introduced to and when to do that. Choosing a first food for your baby doesn't mean that you're left feeding that single food for the first few weeks or months.
While cereals might be the right choice for your family, try to include a variety of developmentally appropriate foods whenever possible, and let baby join the family at mealtime to encourage healthful eating habits that can last a lifetime. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're reading. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Baby cereal mixed with breast milk or formula has always been a classic first food.
And baby-friendly types of regular cereal make for a fun, easy snack once your little one has the skills to pick them up. Fortified infant cereals are designed to be a first food, so you can spoon-feed them to your cutie as soon as she starts on solids , usually around 6 months.
Single-grain cereals like rice, oatmeal or barley are best at the beginning, so you can introduce your baby to one ingredient at a time. But avoid serving just rice all the time, since it can expose your baby to too-high levels of arsenic. Stick with cereals where whole grains are the main ingredient; they should contain at least 2 grams of fiber per serving more is even better and be free of added sugars.
Starting off, cereal pieces should be small, with a consistency that dissolves fairly easily. Mixing up infant cereal is as easy as combining a tablespoon or two of the cereal with enough formula or breast milk to achieve a thin, soup-like texture and spoon-feeding it to your little one. As your cutie gets comfortable with the texture, you can gradually cut back on the amount of liquid to make the cereal thicker.
Prepare the ground brown rice cereal just like store-bought cereal. But hold off on an actual bowl of cereal and milk until your little one is well into toddlerhood and her spoon skills are fairly solid plus, children should not drink cow's milk until age 1. The tips below can help parents determine how to serve cereal at different stages, but keep in mind that all babies develop at their own pace. Speak with your pediatrician before beginning baby-led weaning, and talk to him or her if you have any concerns about your child's oral-motor skills, chewing skills, swallowing skills, or if you're unsure whether or not your baby is ready for certain food preparations.
Start by mixing a tablespoon or two of fortified infant cereal with enough breast milk or formula to reach a soup-like consistency. You can let your baby dive in with her hands or offer the cereal on a preloaded spoon for her to put in her mouth. It's one of the single grain cereals that have been recommended for infants when they start on solid foods. As rice is grown, the plant absorbs more inorganic arsenic from its environment compared to other crops.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that can enter the food supply through water, soil, or air. Eating too much rice cereal as an infant can cause long-term health problems.
Instead of rice cereal, you can offer another single grain infant cereal such as oat or barley cereal. You can find many of these infant cereals in premixed or dry versions to which you would add breast milk, formula, or water to create a consistency that your baby will like. Look for cereals that are specifically made for babies because they will be fortified with nutrients like iron and zinc that your baby needs.
Just remember that when introducing new foods — including different types of infant cereals — do so gradually, offering one new food at a time, and then waiting a couple of days before adding another food, to watch for any possible allergic reactions. Once your baby has become accustomed to eating solids, feel free to offer a variety of single ingredient, soft foods.
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