How should I give my baby his first rice cereal?

Kelsey - posted on 01/02/2012

I gave my girls rice cereal and i mixed it with juice until it was the consistancy of oatmeal. It takes time for babies to learn to eat off a spoon. Be patient.

Darleen - posted on 01/01/2012

Make the rice and formula a little thicker and just keep spooning it in...it takes them awhile to get the hang of not spitting it out because their tongue is used to sucking which pushes the tongue out. He'll get it...they all do.

Laura Zoey - posted on 12/30/2011

http://www.foodrenegade.com/why-ditch-in... I would say not to feed rice cereal at all! It's really not a good food for babies and he's better off with formula until 6 months. Then start whole foods

Angela - posted on 12/30/2011

Rusks were popular when my children were small. Crumble them & mix with formula milk to a smooth paste. Some people even added them to a bottle of formula, though this is frowned upon nowadays.

Teresa - posted on 12/28/2011

You don't have to start w/ rice cereal. If he's spitting it out he may not be ready... or he might just not like it. ;)

The first thing my girls ate (at 3.5 months) was rice cereal, but the first thing my son ate (at 6 months... I tried earlier, but he wasn't ready) was avocado. My girls took right to eating, but my son really wasn't interested except at random til close to a year.

Carla - posted on 12/28/2011

@Linda, I think it was a sweeter, less outside influences involved type of life. We raised our children the way Grama and Mom and countless generations of women did, and they survived and thrived. I miss it!



My daughter was born October 29. First year I couldn't go trick or treating, because in those days, they kept you in the hospital 3 days!



God bless

Linda - posted on 12/27/2011

Hey, Carla! I'm the same age as your oldest! :). I have no idea how I survived! I didn't even wear a seatbelt until high school! (and I only started then because two of my classmates died in a horrific car crash--my mother had nothing to do with it. It was a different age for sure)

Elizabeth - posted on 12/27/2011

I first gave my daughter rice cereal when she was just under 3 months (earlier than our pediatrician recommended but it was the right choice for her). She couldn't figure out how to eat off a spoon when it was real liquid-y so I made it a little thicker and she got it. I would not advise putting it in a bottle, we used the rule if she doesn't eat off a spoon she's not ready.

Carla - posted on 12/27/2011

My first baby was born in 1966, then 68 and 73. I am surprised all my children survived, because we fed them rice cereal with a little pear in it early, drove with them in a car without safety restraints, just Mom's arm protecting them as they rode in their little car seats with little plastic steering wheels. We/they rode bikes without helmets and kneepads, they played on monkey bars-----.

I guess, bottom line, talk to your doctor.

Angela - posted on 12/26/2011

My Health Visitor (baby Nurse that visits parents with small children in their own home) suggested baby rice mixed with water - boiling water - and then wait for it to cool. The rice is then offered to baby from a spoon. We were always advised to use water rather than milk. She said that the rice was to be kept plain and nothing added. Only when baby has been on solids for a while should other flavours be added. It's apparently not about the taste, but about consuming a thicker texture than just milk.

Carla's right, it's disgusting stuff! Also the Health Visitor said that when giving baby fruit drinks just add it drop by drop to a bottle of cooled, boiled water - and only enough to colour the water.

Introducing solids too early or giving children fruit drinks that are too strong is a strain on the kidneys, we were told.

My first baby was born in 1980, last one in 1989.

Linda - posted on 12/23/2011

When I first started giving my babies cereal, I would mix just a little cereal with breastmilk....though I'm sure it's the same with formula. I don't know that there is ONE right consistency. I started with it pretty liquidy, feeding him with a spoon, and slowly started to thicken it. Don't forget...he doesn't know HOW to eat solids yet. It is something he needs to learn. I wouldn't put it in a bottle. Use a spoon and be prepared for mess. And ENJOY the mess! :) After you've given him rice cereal for a few weeks, add some pears to it. Only introduce one food at a time in case he's allergic to something. Don't worry if he's spitting it out at first. The whole idea of something in his mouth that's not liquid is strange at first.

Carla - posted on 12/23/2011

I don't know what pediatricians are advising anymore, but when my babies were that age, I put a little strained pears in it to make it more palatable. Have you TRIED that stuff? It's nasty alone! I started mine earlier than that, so I took a nipple, cut an 'X' in it, then made the mixture about the consistency of a milkshake.

I'm not a doctor, so I can't tell you this is right. In my day, we started our kids on cereal earlier. It satisfied them, they slept longer, but what do mothers know, eh? lol

God bless, darling, have a wonderful Christmas!