Can i feed my baby rice cereal in a bottle
Should I Add Rice Cereal to My Baby's Bottle?
Sleep: It’s something babies do inconsistently and something most parents are lacking. That’s why grandmother’s advice to put rice cereal in a baby’s bottle sounds so tempting — especially to an exhausted parent searching for a magic solution to get baby to sleep through the night.
Unfortunately, even adding a tiny amount of rice cereal to a bottle can cause short- and long-term problems. It’s also why the experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recommend against the practice of adding rice cereal to a bottle.
Adding rice cereal to baby’s evening bottle is a common practice by many parents who want to fill their baby’s belly in the hopes it will help them sleep more. But the AAP, along with other feeding experts, recommend against this practice, especially as it relates to the issue of improving infant sleep patterns.
Gina Posner, MD, a pediatrician at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, says one of the biggest problems she sees with adding rice cereal to a bottle is weight gain.
“Formula and breast milk have a certain amount of calories per ounce, and if you start adding rice cereal, you significantly increase those calories,” she explains.
Adding cereal to bottles can also be a choking hazard and an aspiration risk, says Florencia Segura, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician in Vienna, Virginia, especially if an infant does not have the oral motor skills yet to swallow the mixture safely. Adding cereal to bottles may also delay the opportunity to learn to eat from a spoon.
Additionally, adding rice cereal to a bottle may cause constipation as a result of a change in stool consistency.
Despite what you may have heard, adding rice cereal to your baby’s bottle is not the answer to better sleep.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the AAP say not only is there no validity to this claim, but doing so could also increase your baby’s risk of choking, among other things.
“Rice cereal will not necessarily help your baby sleep longer, as older studies have demonstrated,” says Segura.
More importantly, she says good sleep always starts with a bedtime routine as early as 2 to 4 months of age, which will help your child get ready for rest, especially once they start to associate the routine with sleep.
If your baby has reflux, your doctor may talk to you about adding a thickening agent to a bottle of formula or breast milk. The idea is that doing so will make the milk sit heavier in the belly. Many parents turn to rice cereal to make their baby’s food thicker.
A 2015 review of literature published in American Family Physician reported that adding thickening agents such as rice cereal do indeed reduce the amount of observed regurgitation, but also pointed out that this practice can lead to excess weight gain.
The article also noted that for formula-fed babies, offering smaller or more frequent feeds should be the first method parents should try to reduce reflux episodes.
Segura says adding rice cereal to a bottle should only be used when medically indicated for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). “A trial of thickening feeds for infants with severe reflux or children diagnosed with a swallowing dysfunction can be safe but should be recommended and supervised by your medical provider,” she explains.
Additionally, the AAP recently changed their stance from recommending rice cereal to thicken feeds when medically necessary to using oatmeal instead, since rice cereal was found to have arsenic.
While rice (including rice cereals, sweeteners, and rice milk) can have higher levels of arsenic than other grains, it can still be one part of a diet that contains a variety of other foods
Although it may help with GERD, Posner says that, due to the increase in calories, she does not recommend it. “There are special formulas out there that use rice cereal to thicken them, but still maintain the correct calorie ratio, so those are a more effective option,” she explains.
Many parents look forward to the day they can spoon-feed cereal to their baby. Not only is it a major milestone, but it’s also fun to watch their reaction as they take their first bites of solid food.
However, since a baby’s motor skills and digestive system need to mature before they are ready to process cereal and other foods, this stage of your baby’s development should not take place before 6 months of age, according to the AAP.
When your baby is about 6 months old, has control of their neck and head, can sit in a high chair, and they are showing interest in solid food (aka your food), you can talk to your doctor about introducing solid foods such as rice cereal.
The AAP says there’s no right food to start with as baby’s first food. Some doctors may suggest pureed vegetables or fruits.
Traditionally, families have offered single-grain cereals, such as rice cereal, first. If you start with cereal, you can mix it with formula, breast milk, or water. By the time solid food is being given more than once per day, your baby should be eating a variety of foods other than grain cereals.
As you move the spoon towards your baby’s mouth, talk them through what you are doing, and pay attention to how they move the cereal once it’s in their mouth.
If they push out the food or it dribbles down their chin, they may not be ready. You might try diluting the cereal even more and offering it a couple more times before deciding to hold off for a week or two.
The AAP, CDC, and many experts agree that adding rice cereal to your baby’s bottle is risky and offers little to no benefit.
Creating a healthy sleep routine for your baby will help them get more hours of rest and allow you to get more sleep too. But adding rice cereal to their bottle should not be a part of this routine.
If your baby has gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or other swallowing issues, talk with your pediatrician. They can help you strategize a method to manage the reflux and bring your baby relief.
Remember: Even though your baby may be struggling with sleep right now, they will eventually grow out of this phase. Hang in there a little longer, and your baby will grow out of it before you know it.
Putting Rice Cereal in Your Baby’s Bottle: Is It Safe?
Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors
In this Article
- Solid Foods for Babies
- Is Rice Cereal Safe to Put in a Baby’s Bottle?
- Arsenic in Rice Cereal
- How to Feed Your Baby Cereal
- Other Supplementary Baby Foods
During their first 6 months, most babies’ diets consist of mostly breast milk or baby formula. Sometime between 4 and 6 months, you may decide to start supplementing your baby’s diet with solid foods. Most babies’ digestive systems aren’t ready to process anything but milk or formula prior to 4 months of age, at the very earliest.
For years, many new parents have started their babies out on solid foods by adding rice cereal to their baby’s bottle. However, new research has provided several reasons why parents should avoid this method.
Solid Foods for Babies
Before the age of 4 to 6 months, babies are not yet ready to eat solid foods. It’s around this time that your baby’s digestive system can start to handle certain supplementary foods. They also usually stop using their tongues to push food around or out of their mouths.
Signs that your baby is ready to start eating solid foods as a supplement to breast milk or formula include when they:
- Can support their head steadily on their own
- Can sit upright without help
- Show interest in your food when you eat, at times moving their mouth around while watching
- Can grab at objects
Is Rice Cereal Safe to Put in a Baby’s Bottle?
Your baby’s first foods should be simple, one-ingredient foods with no added salt or sugar. For this reason, many new parents turn to cereals like rice, oatmeal, or barley.
It was once thought that adding rice cereal to a baby’s bottle at night would help them sleep longer without waking up to feed during the night. Recent studies now show that there is no reason to believe that this is true.
Babies usually can’t sleep more than 5 hours at a time at this stage. They also naturally wake up to feed, whether or not they are full. Not only does adding rice cereal to a baby’s bottle not keep them asleep, but it can also raise their risk of choking.
Adding rice cereal to your baby’s bottle makes the liquid thicker. Babies who get used to drinking thick milk like this might later develop a difficulty telling solid foods apart from liquid foods. This can make it hard for your baby to start eating solid foods.
Arsenic in Rice Cereal
Another risk associated with putting rice cereal in a baby’s bottle is that rice has higher levels of arsenic in it as compared to other cereals and grains.
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring substance in soil, water, and air. Rice that grows with trace amounts of arsenic in it can have lasting effects on your baby’s health.
Arsenic is a carcinogen that is linked to several different diseases. Even low levels, like those found in rice cereals for babies, can affect their development. Instead, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends that you introduce oatmeal to your baby instead.
How to Feed Your Baby Cereal
No matter which cereal you decide to give your baby when introducing solid foods, you should never put it directly into the bottle for the reasons mentioned. Instead, you can feed cereal to your baby with a small baby spoon.
To do so, mix 1 tablespoon of single-ingredient, iron-fortified cereal with 4 tablespoons of baby formula or breast milk. Once your baby is sitting upright, offer them about a teaspoon of the cereal. This kind of feeding takes practice, so it might get messy. As your baby learns to swallow and manage the cereal, you can increase the thickness over time.
If your baby enjoys the food, try giving them a little more. If they aren’t interested or don’t like it, don’t force it. You can try it again in a few days.
Other Supplementary Baby Foods
It’s important not to introduce solid foods, like cereal or others, to your baby before they’re ready. Introducing your baby to cereal too early is linked to obesity later on in their life. There is also a higher risk of allergy activation, especially with cereals that contain gluten.
When introducing a new food to your baby, wait a few days to see if they develop symptoms of allergies or diarrhea before introducing another new food. Doctors recommend giving your baby foods with potential allergens when you start giving them supplemental foods. It’s a myth that waiting to introduce foods like peanuts, fish, or eggs can prevent food allergies.
Once your baby has mastered eating cereal, try giving them pureed fruit or veggies with no added ingredients. Only give them one kind of fruit or vegetable at a time. You can also try giving your baby pureed meat. Wait 5 days after introducing each food to check for a reaction.
Should I add rice cereal to my baby's bottle? – Drink-Drink
Sleep: This is something babies do inconsistently and what most parents lack. That's why grandma's advice to put rice cereal in a baby's bottle sounds so tempting, especially to the jaded parent who's looking for a magical solution to keep their baby sleeping through the night.
Unfortunately, even adding a small amount of rice porridge to a bottle can cause short and long term problems. That's why experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), don't recommend adding rice cereal to a bottle.
How safe is it?
Adding rice porridge to baby's evening bottle is a common practice for many parents who want to fill their baby's belly in the hope that it will help them sleep more. But the AAP, along with other feeding experts, discourages this practice, especially when it comes to improving infant sleep patterns.
Gina Posner, MD, pediatrician at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fontan Valley, California, says one of the biggest problems she has with adding rice porridge to a bottle is weight gain.
“Formula and breast milk have a certain number of calories per ounce, and if you start adding rice cereal, you will increase those calories significantly,” she explains.
Adding cereal to bottles can also be a cause of choking and aspiration risk, says Florencia Segura, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician in Vienna, Va., especially if an infant doesn't yet have the oral motor skills to swallow formula safely. Adding cereal to bottles can also delay the ability to learn how to eat with a spoon.
In addition, adding rice porridge to a bottle can cause constipation as a result of changes in stool consistency.
Effects on sleep
Despite what you may have heard, adding rice cereal to your baby's bottle is not the answer to improving sleep.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and AAP state that not only is this claim unfounded, but it could also increase your child's risk of suffocation.
“Rice porridge will not necessarily help your baby sleep longer, as studies have shown,” says Segura.
More importantly, she says that good sleep always starts with a bedtime routine as early as 2 to 4 months of age, which will help your baby get ready for bed, especially when he starts to associate the routine with sleep.
Effects on Reflux
If your baby has reflux, your doctor can discuss adding a thickener to your formula or breast milk bottle. The idea is that this will make the milk heavier in the stomach. Many parents switch to rice porridge to thicken their child's food.
A 2015 literature review published in the American Family Physician reports that the addition of thickeners such as rice cereal does reduce the amount of observed regurgitation, but also indicates that this practice may lead to excessive weight gain.
The article also notes that for formula-fed babies, the first method parents should try to reduce reflux episodes should be to feed less or more frequently.
Segura says adding rice porridge to a bottle should only be used if there is a medical indication for treating gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). “Testing thickened foods for infants with severe reflux or children diagnosed with swallowing dysfunction may be safe, but should be recommended and monitored by your healthcare provider,” she explains.
In addition, the AAP recently changed its position from recommending rice flakes for thickening when medically necessary to using oatmeal instead, as rice flakes have been found to contain arsenic.
Although rice (including rice cereal, sweeteners, and rice milk) may contain more arsenic than other cereals, it can still be part of a diet containing many other foods.
While it may help with GERD, Posner says that due to the increased calories, she doesn't recommend it. “There are special formulas that use rice cereal to thicken, but still maintain the right calorie ratio, so this is a more effective option,” she explains.
How to introduce rice porridge
Many parents look forward to the day when they can spoon-feed their child cereal. Not only is this a milestone, but it's also fun to watch their reactions when they take their first bites of solid food.
However, because a baby's motor skills and digestive system must mature before they're ready to process cereals and other foods, according to the AAP, your baby's developmental milestone should not occur before 6 months of age.
When your baby is about 6 months old, can control his neck and head, can sit in a high chair, and shows interest in solid foods (i.e. your food), you can talk to your doctor about introducing solid foods such as rice cereal.
AAP says there is no suitable food for a baby's first solids. Some doctors may suggest pureed vegetables or fruits.
Traditionally, families first offered single-grain cereals such as rice cereal. If you start with cereal, you can mix it with formula, breast milk, or water. By the time the baby is given solid food more than once a day, he should be eating a variety of foods other than cereals.
As you bring the spoon to your child's mouth, tell him what you are doing and pay attention to how he moves the porridge when it is in his mouth.
If they push food out or it drips on their chin, they may not be ready. You can try diluting the porridge even more and offer it a couple more times before deciding to put it off for a week or two.
Conclusion
The AAP, CDC, and many experts agree that adding rice cereal to your baby's bottle is risky and has little to no benefit.
Creating a healthy sleep routine for your child will help him get more hours of rest and you will get more sleep. But adding rice cereal to the bottle should not be part of this routine.
If your child has gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or other problems with swallowing, talk to your pediatrician. They can help you develop a strategy for treating reflux and help your child get better.
Remember that even though your child may have difficulty sleeping now, he will eventually grow out of this phase. Be patient a little longer, and your child will grow out of this before you notice it.
Which porridge to choose for the first feeding | How to introduce porridge: how to cook, properly breed porridge for the first feeding
Your baby is growing up, getting stronger, gaining weight, and now there comes a moment when feeding only breast milk or formula is not enough for the full development of the crumbs. It's time to introduce complementary foods into your baby's diet. The question arises - where to start? Your pediatrician should answer it.
Today we’ll talk about how to properly introduce complementary foods with cereals. Let's talk about how to breed porridge, which one is better to choose for the first feeding, and how homemade porridge differs from store-bought.
Cereals for children up to one year old
Porridge contains all the necessary set of trace elements, is perfectly absorbed, and has a beneficial effect on the digestive system.
Usually, cereals begin to be introduced into the diet of a baby at the age of six months. If the child is bottle-fed, it is permissible to start earlier, at 4-5 months. These are only approximate dates, in fact, everything is individual. It is necessary to take into account the pace of development of the child, his readiness for adult food and the tendency to allergic reactions.
Complementary foods with cereals are recommended for children who are not gaining weight well. Most likely, the baby simply does not have enough calories. In any case, before starting complementary foods, a pediatrician should be consulted. He will help you choose porridge, tell you in what quantities and how often to feed her child.
It is important that the first porridge be:
- Industrial production . Not only because the raw materials are sterilized and undergo rigorous quality control. But also because at home it is difficult to achieve such a degree of grinding cereals, as cereal manufacturers do. For example, Materna porridges consist of delicate cereal flakes, which form an absolutely homogeneous mass when brewed. If desired, they can be diluted to a thick mixture and offered to the baby to drink from a bottle.
- Single component . To track down the cause of an allergic reaction if it occurs.
Dairy or non-dairy: with which cereals does the first complementary food start
Pediatricians recommend starting complementary foods with dairy-free gluten-free cereals. Gluten is a fairly heavy vegetable protein for digestion by a child's body. Its use can lead to allergies. Dairy-free cereals can be diluted with breast milk or your own milk formula to make them more nutritious and taste more familiar to the baby.
The first gluten-free cereals include: corn, rice and buckwheat.
How to switch from dairy-free to milk porridge
If no allergic reactions occur within 4-7 weeks from the start of complementary foods and dairy-free cereals are well absorbed, you can start offering milk cereals for children up to a year old to the baby, their energy value is much higher.
How to properly organize complementary foods with cereals
For the first acquaintance, you need to cook a five percent porridge, which means that for five grams of dry porridge there should be 100 mg of water. The resulting consistency will be ideal for a child who is not yet able to chew and swallow thick food.
The best time to feed is the morning meal. So you will have time to track the baby's reaction to a new product: if there are any allergies or stool disorders.
For feeding, a baby spoon made of safe material for the baby's delicate gums or a regular teaspoon is used.
As a first test, it is enough to give the child about half a tablespoon of liquid porridge. The kid should try out a new product, get used to the change in texture and taste.
Make sure the porridge is not too cold or hot, and does not contain lumps.
After porridge feeding, feed your baby his usual food - breast milk or formula.
Increase the volume of a serving of porridge only when you are sure that the baby eats it with pleasure, and he does not experience unwanted reactions.
Every day, increase the amount of porridge per spoon until the serving is 150 g for a six-month-old baby, 160-170 g for a child aged 7-8 months and 170-180 g for an age of 8-9months. Closer to the year, the serving volume will be about 200 g. And the five percent porridge is replaced by a thicker, ten percent one.
We remind you that these are only general recommendations, and the development of each child is individual and the dosage may differ from that described above. It is important not to change cereals at the beginning of complementary foods, your baby should get used to one cereal, and only after a successful debut, you can offer the next one - not earlier than in two weeks.
If you start experimenting ahead of time and give your child a different porridge every day, in case of an allergy, it will be very difficult for you to understand what exactly the child's body reacted to.
The child does not eat porridge
Toddlers refuse porridge for various reasons.
- Don't like the taste or texture.
It happens that children who started complementary foods with fruits and vegetables do not eat porridge, because their taste is very different and not so bright. Try adding an already familiar apple or broccoli to a new porridge. In addition, a child may not like the taste of some cereal today, but in a couple of weeks he will eat it with pleasure. Set this mess aside for a while and try again later. - The porridge is too hot or too cold.
Check food temperature on the inside of your wrist. If you do not feel cold or hot, then the temperature is optimal. - The child is not yet hungry. Set the plate aside for half an hour and then try again.
The main advice to parents is not to despair, and offer the same porridge many times in different combinations.
What kind of porridge to introduce into complementary foods first
Be sure to ask your pediatrician for advice on which cereal to give your baby first. After all, all kids are different.
The main types of cereals recommended for consistent introduction into the child's diet:
- Buckwheat porridge . It is considered indispensable in the diet of the child. Contains vitamins B1 and B2, iron, magnesium, protein.
- Rice porridge . Contrary to the common misconception of many parents, baby rice porridge will not cause constipation because it does not contain crushed rice. For the manufacture of these cereals, rice flour is used, which has a beneficial effect on the digestion of the child and is rich in healthy dietary fiber.
- Corn porridge . Such porridge is a leader among other cereals in terms of the content of potassium in its composition. Also contains a large amount of protein, iron and fiber.
- Oatmeal . No other cereal compares to oatmeal in terms of fat and fiber content. In addition, oatmeal is rich in vegetable protein and calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamins B1, B2, PP.