rice vs fruit

Khaye_telogss - posted on 01/27/2010

try to combine and mix some fruits and cereals like fresh banana in cereals or apples because as we see a baby doesnt want a pure cereals only

Crystal - posted on 01/26/2010

Anything other than breastmilk or formula for the first year is strictly "for fun." Babies do not need anything but milk for the first year. If you try something and they like it great, but if not, don't force the issue on them. Also, if your trying to feed your child cereal and they refuse it, just stop feeding it to them. There is no set in stone bible to child rearing that says you must do "XYZ" and in that order. My daughters never like cereal, so I didn't feed it to them. We started with fruits when they showed interest, and then veggies. We also did not do the whole "1food for a week then move on to the next" That was stupid in my opinion since if a baby is going to have an allergic reaction after something it sure wouldn't take a week for it to show up.

Just feed him what he wants when he's ready, and remember they do not need the "nutrition" from anything other than breastmilk/formula!

Ify - posted on 01/25/2010

Hi Angie! Your post has been quite helpful to me because, right now, i'm having the same problem with my son. I guess i've learnt a lot.

Kristen - posted on 01/24/2010

Always remember, solids are just extras till they are a year old. They get all the nutrients they need from their formula or breast milk. Also never give them cows milk until they are atleast 10mths old. My daughter didn't like the cereal at all either so I didn't want to force it on her. I made homemade apple sauce for her and she loves it. I started her on the solids a wk ago, and I tried the cereal for a few days and then just went to the apple sauce. Always introduce 1 food at a time just incase they have a reaction and wait 3 days till you give them another type of food. If they are going to have a reaction it would show up in the first 48hrs. I work in child care and have studied child development and nutrition so thats why I know alot about this. Also start with the beginner fruits (apples, pears & bananas) and veggies (carrots, peas & sweet potatoes). If you are going with Gerber, look for the jars that say B.G.for beginner. I always learn't that you start with cereal, then fruit then veggies. But if they hate the cereal don't force it, just go straight to fruit, they love it!

Sandra - posted on 01/24/2010

With my first son I started him on rice cereal ... which was fine ... then veggies .... then fruit and then I alternated etc. With my second son I started him on oatmeal instead - I heard there was more nutritional value in the oatmeal. He loves it and I plan on giving him barly next.

Rachele - posted on 01/23/2010

Kylie,
They have proved that is incorrect.
Not sure how long ago your doc told you that, but it if was recently I would tell him to read up on new information. :)

Rachele - posted on 01/23/2010

It is absolutely fine to skip over cereal.
If he likes fruit, feed him the fruit :)

Marivic - posted on 01/23/2010

i started with oatmeal (beechnut) mixed it with formula on about 5th month for my baby boy. my dr. says its ok to start with veggies or fruits but follow the 3 day rule before introducing new food (for allergy test). most babies start cereals because those have less allergic reactions on many babies, just a good start atleast training your baby on a spoon feeding, if your baby doesnt like it but ok with the veggies and fruits then stick to that.
i decided to just give my baby homemade foods, i tried to give him brown rice (powdered brown rice before cooking it) in replace of beechnut but he doesnt like it. so now been switching from veggies and fruits., no allergies so far. he can finish 2 ice cube size each feeding then follow up 3oz of milk=)

Latrese - posted on 01/21/2010

LOL I had the same issue with my son, he will be 5 months on the 26th. I gave him cereal in the bottle starting ar around 6 weeks, but when I tried to spoon feed him the cereal he didn't like. I like you tried to add fruit with it, didn't work, so I started just give him fruits and veggies. And he been eating them since 4 mos. It funny because my oldest son was the exact opposite. He loved the cereal with applesauce.

Kylie - posted on 01/21/2010

I have asked my doc about this, and they say to start with the cereal because its bland, and if you start with fruit which is sweet then when you go to veges and things they dont like it and become fussy because they will always like sweet. i have had the same problem with my little girl, i now just boil my own veges and blend them up so there are no lumps and give her this. She doesnt mind it. just remember that they are only little and will only have 1 or 2 teaspoons then will be over it. :)
good luck :)

Xiomara - posted on 01/21/2010

i had the same problem with my son...my doctor said it didnt matter if didnt take the cereal so you could just give him fruits and juices..also rice does get baby constipated so it better or avoiding it

Becky - posted on 01/21/2010

my son doesn't like the rice cereal, but likes the oatmeal, maybe try that.

Shirley - posted on 01/21/2010

I was advised by my hv to start on baby rice, because it doesn't taste of anything, just tastes of thr milk you mix it with. Can't see any harm going sticking with fruit and veggies

Latasha - posted on 01/21/2010

I know your not supposed to but we played up different veggies and fruits pretty close together... my little one loves ALL veggies and prunes and pears. She's a funny little thing. I kept trying to get my little one to eat cereal but she prefers real food. I had a friend who's baby didn't like veggies so she had to mix it in cereal so I thought that's what you were supposed to do but if they don't NEED cereal I guess we will just stick to the good stuff!! :)

Emily - posted on 01/20/2010

I think rice cereal is pretty much just to use as a transition food to get baby used to solids, don't think it has much nutritional value. My baby girl is also 5 months old and I've only given her rice cereal a couple times. Now I supplement her bottle with sweet potatoes and carrots. Her pediatrican said those and peas are the easiest on their systems to start with and better than starting them on too much sugar which is in fruits. The Dr. even said stage 2 is okay to use if the thicker food is easier for the baby to eat. Apparently that's the only difference b/n stage 1 & 2. I'm not giving her jar food every day yet, and when I do, I only give her half a jar at a time, but I may be taking it too slow. :-)

Kaitlin - posted on 01/20/2010

My daughter is 5 months and she hated rice cereal too. I tried everything with her as well.. She has a hard time passing her bowels so I got her baby food prunes. And she liked those. So I figured I might as well try the other veggies and fruits they have out there. It took her a few tries but she now eats them from the spoon. And loves all the flavors. (except peas!!)

Angie - posted on 01/20/2010

Yeah, I know about keeping my baby on one thing for about a week to watch for allergies. Thanks, though!

Lisa - posted on 01/20/2010

hi my son also didn't like the cereal but I put a little bit of sugar in it and he loves it now....

Jessica - posted on 01/20/2010

make sure you keep him on one thing for atleast a week to see if he has any allergies to any of the food... my doctor told me not to mix them in one day or over a few days because you wont beable to tell wich one he is allergic too

Jessica - posted on 01/20/2010

my doctor told me that i could start my son out on vegtibles at 5 months she said that babies like it alot more than the ceral beacause its not chunky. she also told me that you should start the baby on vegtibles before the fruits so they dont get use to a sugary meal. but every doctor is different... i would say just keep him on the veggys and friut i skipped it cuz my son didnt like it either... and he is in perfect health and absolutly loves the vegtables, he gets so excited he tries to take the spoon from me and feed himself

Angie - posted on 01/20/2010

Thanks everyone for your comments! I love this message board.



Yesterday my son's daycare mom said he had a bit of a tummyache, very gasy and tooting a lot. I am wondering if the fruit is the culprit. So this morning I decided to stick w/ the cereal to be safe, but I added a teeny tiny splash of gerber's 100% pear juice along w/ the formula for his tummy. He really seemed to like that.

Jacqui - posted on 01/19/2010

I think the recommend cereal to start their little digestive systems to get used to food. Its pretty bland and not much of a chance of them being allergic to it as doesn't contain wheat. Babylove says its ok to mix fruit with the cereal if it doesnt like the cereal or to try one of the other suggested foods. ie cooked apples and pairs, mashed bananas, mashed avocado, full fat unsweetened yoghurt cooked vegies. So don't worry I think you are on the right track. Don't stress too much if your baby doesn't eat, they aren't needing it for nourishment until they are 6 months old anyway... your baby is just learning!

Emily - posted on 01/19/2010

I think that cereal stuff is nasty. There's not much nutrition in it anyway. I have no idea why they recommend that. We haven't started solids yet, but I'm not even bothering with rice.. going straight to the fruits and veggies. Your baby won't miss anything if you skip over it.

Jo-Ann - posted on 01/19/2010

My son hated the rice cereal so my pediatrician recommended going to oatmeal cereal and then barley cereal. He loves both. I threw the rice cereal out and now he just gets either oatmeal cereal or the barley. I tasted them and admit that rice cereal was nasty.

Michelle Carpenter - posted on 01/19/2010

It is ok not to feed cereal!! My Pediatrician recommended starting with fruits and veggies with my son b/c he screamed for 2 hours after trying rice cereal and he is an infrequent pooper so she thought he would get constipated. If fruit works for you both, then go for it!! :)

Angie - posted on 01/19/2010

Yeah, I've heard the veggies before fruit debate (fruit being sweeter, people worry that babies will prefer that over veggies). I was more or less starting w/ ANYTHING as an experiment. I'm going to do veggies next.

Crystal - posted on 01/19/2010

My little girl refused rice cereal as well, alone or mixed with anything (at least for me.) So, we moved on to baby food. However, the doc suggested to start with veggies before fruits. She has taken well to eating baby food. We started feeding her veggies in the evening.
I did notice that she was getting a little constipated after introducing baby food into her diet, so I started giving her fruit at lunch. Now the daycare provider can get her to eat some fruit that has rice cereal mixed in it, but I can't. :)
So now at 5 months my little girl is eating fruits at lunch and veggies at supper.

Heather - posted on 01/19/2010

He might not like the taste, I don't know about nutrition from cereal, just that a baby should still get the main of their diet from the breast or bottle. My daughter is formula fed and the Dr. said as long as she does 30 or more ozs a day, not to worry about how much food she is doing. She hates the taste of barley cereal, loves rice cereal, I tasted them myself and the barley is gross! Mine will also not take the rice if it is mixed with water, has to be formula. Their taste buds are picky just like ours. For example she loves one brand of organic yams and hates another, and is in between on the yams I made at home.