How many times should i feed cereal to my baby
When Can You Start Feeding Your Baby Rice Cereal
Adding solid foods to your baby’s diet is a big milestone, and you may be wondering when to begin the process and what foods to start with. In the past, single grain infant cereals have been the traditional first choice when transitioning to solid foods, with rice cereal being one of the more popular ones. These days, though it is still OK to start with cereal, experts say that there is no evidence that introducing foods in a certain order provides any advantage for your baby (though babies do tend to like cereal).
Keep in mind that experts highly recommend giving rice cereal as part of a mixed diet of single ingredient choices, rather than as an exclusive food.
Find out how to safely give rice cereal to your baby, and what other infant cereals you might want to give instead.
What Is Rice Cereal?
Rice cereal for babies has been a traditional first food for infants who are being introduced to eating solids. The most common type is a dry powdered cereal, to which liquid is added to form an oatmeal-like consistency, but it can also be purchased premixed. It's one of the single grain cereals that have been recommended for infants when they start on solid foods.
Is Rice Cereal Safe for Your Baby to Eat?
It’s OK to include rice cereal in your baby’s diet as long as you’re not exclusively feeding your baby rice cereal.
The reason experts recommend rice cereal be limited is because of the naturally occurring levels of inorganic arsenic in rice (in this case inorganic refers to the arsenic’s specific chemical compound bound with carbon).
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.
When body weight is considered, a baby’s intake of inorganic arsenic through rice cereal could be three times more than an adult’s.
Eating too much rice cereal as an infant can cause long-term health problems.
What Infant Cereals Can You Give Your Baby Instead of Rice Cereal?
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.
How Many Times a Day Should You Feed Your Baby Infant Cereal?
When your little one is just starting on solids, spoon-feed your baby a small amount of infant cereal once or twice a day, ideally just after he’s been bottle-fed or breastfed. Start with one or two teaspoons of cereal so that your baby can get accustomed to this new food.
Eventually you can introduce other foods one at a time—and you can even make your baby’s food at home.
Are Other Rice Products Safe to Give Your Baby?
Not necessarily. You can give rice to your older baby as part of a varied and balanced diet. However, it’s best to avoid certain rice-based products like rice syrup, often used as a sweetener in processed foods, as well as rice milk, which should not be used as a substitute for cow's milk.
If your child has turned 1 and is sensitive or allergic to cow’s milk, your healthcare provider will be able to recommend milk alternatives if needed, and can also weigh in on any rice products you’re considering giving.
At What Age Should You Start Feeding Your Baby Infant Cereals?
For most babies, 6 months is a good age to start to introduce solid foods, which can include infant cereals. Breast milk or formula will continue to provide most of your baby's nutrition for the first 12 months.
Waiting until this age is important because by this point your baby would have outgrown a natural reflex that all babies are born with that causes them to push their tongue against anything inserted into their mouths. Most babies grow out of this tongue thrust reflex between 4 and 5 months.
Can You Give a Baby Younger Than 6 Months Infant Cereals?
Most babies are not ready for solid foods, including infant cereals, until they are about 6 months old, though some babies could be ready a month or two earlier. Experts recommend that babies be breastfed or bottle-fed (with expressed breast milk or formula until 6 months of age.
How Do You Prepare Dry Infant Cereal for Your Baby?
If you’re using dry cereal, mix one tablespoon of dry cereal with four tablespoons of breast milk, formula, or water; or follow the recommended directions on the container.
Be sure not serve the cereal from a bottle for reasons we mention in the next section. Gradually, you can add less liquid to the dry cereal to find a thickness your baby likes.
Can You Feed Your Baby Cereal in a Bottle?
Although this might be a practice you’ve heard of, don't feed your baby cereal in a bottle unless your baby’s healthcare provider says otherwise. Feeding your baby through a bottle can lead to unnecessary calories—she may consume more food than she actually needs.
Although rice cereal may have been a popular choice, experts now say there are other infant cereals and first foods that may be safer for your baby.
If you’re ever unsure about which infant cereal to give, or need advice about expanding your baby's menu, reach out to your baby’s healthcare provider for advice.
As your baby transitions to solid foods, you deserve lots of rewards for all those diaper changes. Download the Pampers Club app to get rewards for all your Pampers purchases.
How we wrote this article The information in this article is based on the expert advice found in trusted medical and government sources, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. You can find a full list of sources used for this article below. The content on this page should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult medical professionals for full diagnosis and treatment.
Feeding Your Baby the First 12 Months - Pediatric Nutrition - Golisano Children's Hospital
Golisano Children's Hospital / / Feeding During the First 12 Months
| Foods/Age | 0-4 Months | 4-6 Months | 6-8 Months | 8-10 Months | 10-12 Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breast milk or iron-fortified formula | 5-10 feedings per day; 16-32 ounces | 4-7 feedings per day; 24-40 ounces | 3-5 feedings per day; 24-31 ounces | 3-4 feedings per day; 16-32 ounces start cup skills | 3-4 feedings per day with meals, use cup; 16-24 ounces |
| Grains, breads and cereals | NONE |
Iron-fortified infant cereal (rice, oatmeal, barley). Mix 2-3 teaspoons with formula or breast milk. Feed with spoon. |
Single grain iron fortified infant cereals. 3-9 Tablespoons per day divided into 2 meals per day. | Iron fortified infant cereals. Toast, bagel, crackers, teething biscuits. | Infant or cooked cereals. Unsweetened cereals. Bread. Rice, mashed potatoes, macaroni. |
| Fruit juices | NONE | Infant juice. NO OJ or tomato. ONLY 2-4 ounces/day. | Infant juice. Try cup. Only 4-6 oz daily | All 100% juice, Vitamin C enriched. OJ, tomato are OK. Limit to 6 oz daily. | All 100% juices. Vitamin C enriched. 4-8 oz per day. |
| Vegetables | NONE | NONE |
Strained/mashed, cooked vegetables. If giving corn use strained. 1/2-1 jar. 1/4-1/2 cup per day. |
Cooked mashed vegetables. Junior vegetables. | Cooked vegetables. Raw veg like cucumbers or tomatoes. |
| Fruits | NONE | NONE | Strained/mashed fruits (fresh/cooked: mashed up banana or homemade applesauce). 1 jar to 1/2 cup per day. | Peeled soft fruit wedges, bananas, peaches, pears, oranges, apples. Unsweetened can fruit packed in water/juice. NO grapes. | Any fresh fruit, peeled/seeded. Unsweetened can fruit packed in water/juice. Cut grapes. |
| Protein Foods | NONE | NONE | NONE |
Strained meats/ground lean meat, fish, poultry. Egg yolk, cooked dried beans. |
Small, tender pieces of lean meat, poultry, fish. Whole eggs, cooked dried beans. |
norm, how many times a day, color
So many experiences are connected with how a newborn baby "walks big". Mom is worried about the frequency of the stool, its color, consistency. So how do you determine if the crumbs are all right with digestion? Perhaps he needs help?
Many mothers know that it is very important to monitor the baby's stool, and during the examination, the pediatrician is always interested in how the baby walks in a big way. This information is one of the most important points in diagnosing the health of the crumbs. Unfortunately, quite often mothers mistakenly interpret the completely natural and safe states of the baby. And because of these mistakes, they can start unnecessary treatment and worry about the baby for no good reason.
So let's figure out how a baby's chair should look like and when to worry and when not.
Immediately after childbirth
When the baby is in the mother's tummy, he receives all the necessary substances and trace elements through the umbilical cord. The digestive system of the crumbs does not work, but his stomach is not empty. The baby sucks his fingers, opens his mouth and thus swallows a small amount of amniotic fluid. When the baby is born, this substance will be in his intestines and will gradually come out as the baby is attached to the chest and his digestive system begins to work.
So, the first stool of the baby is meconium: dark, plasticine-like feces. So the baby recovers the first day or two. Sometimes it gives him discomfort: the baby worries, cries, pushes, before he manages to go big. However, this is not always the case - many children recover easily, only slightly pushing.
If everything is in order with the baby, he was put to the breast in time and fed on demand, then his stool gradually changes.
On the third or fifth day, the baby has the so-called "transitional stool", partly consisting of meconium, which is still in the gastrointestinal tract, partly from digested colostrum and milk. As a rule, streaks appear first in the meconium mass, then the feces gradually turn yellow. By the end of the first week, the baby's stool usually acquires the features of a normal infant: yellow, rather liquid.
When should you worry? If the baby did not go down in a big way in the first two days, it is necessary to consult a doctor. There are children with individual characteristics who will continue to do this less often than most babies. However, the cause of the stool retention should be determined by the doctor. If the crumbs have some kind of problem with intestinal patency, help will be needed immediately, but you should not diagnose your baby without a doctor.
We are at home
On the third or fifth day, the mother receives milk, and the baby has a fairly stable stool by the end of the first week.
The literature sometimes says that the stool of newborns is "creamy", and this confuses mothers, who begin to suspect that something is not right with the crumbs. In reality, the stool of a healthy baby is liquid and not always homogeneous. The normal color of feces is yellow and its shades. You may notice lumps, a little mucus - it's not scary. Do not be afraid if the baby's feces have a greenish tint for up to three months due to the immaturity of the liver enzyme systems and the characteristics of bilirubin metabolism, such a condition has the right to be and also does not require treatment.
Many mothers sometimes worry that the baby's stool "suddenly" becomes watery and the baby walks in a big way with abundant gas, a sharp sound. Doctors in this case often suspect lactase deficiency. In reality, things usually go like this. In the period from 3 weeks to a month and a half, the baby has frequent growth spurts, so at certain moments the baby literally “hangs on the chest” to help the mother produce more milk.
Within a day or a few, the baby needs to breastfeed more often and longer than before, and the mother begins to suspect that there is not enough milk. As a result, she often begins to shift the baby from one breast to another, and the baby receives mostly "forward" milk, which comes at the beginning of feeding from each breast. This milk is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, the baby is actively growing from it, however, the stool is liquid and gassy because of this milk (sometimes the “result” looks frothy if the baby is held over a pot or basin when he needs to clear out, and the mother can observe the consistency chair). In this situation, there is no need to panic - just the baby does not need to be constantly shifted from one breast to another, fearing that he is starving. Give the baby the opportunity to get "hind" milk, rich in fats, which will not cause flatulence and stay longer in the intestines.
In this situation (when the baby suddenly begins to clearly suck more milk), the mother may feel insecure and start drinking lactic teas.
From this, more carbohydrates again begin to flow into her milk and the baby's stool becomes more liquid and with gases.
Similar problems due to "front" milk occur in the case of improper attachment to the breast, as a result of which the baby swallows the air and interrupts feeding itself, or simply cannot get "hind" milk. The best way out in this situation is to consult with a breastfeeding specialist to correct the application technique and stop panicking that the baby "does not have enough milk."
In short, don't worry if your baby has problems with this type of stool. Of course, the flora of his intestines is unstable, it is just beginning to be established - it takes at least three to four months. Your task is simply to feed the baby on demand and correctly and not to rush to treat him for imaginary diseases.
Delayed stool
Mothers worry not only about the appearance of the stool, but also because of its periodicity. How often should the baby "do things"? Normally, the baby walks in a big way several times a day, usually after feeding.
However, in some children, the norm may be a chair and once a day, and even once every few days. Typically, these children have an anatomically weak anterior abdominal wall and intestinal motility. Such a periodicity of the stool can be considered the norm, if the baby still walks more regularly, the stool is of normal consistency and, in general, the baby is cheerful and cheerful and does not suffer from colic. It's not worth worrying. However, if the baby is allergic, then you need to do everything possible so that he goes to the toilet at least once a day. Atopic dermatitis is much more severe if the baby does not empty the intestines often enough - consult a doctor about this.
Babies also have physiological delays in stool at the age of one and a half to five months. Here it is important to monitor the condition of the baby. If he experiences discomfort, you should consult a doctor. Children can hold back their stools for psychological reasons, just as adults sometimes cannot go to the toilet if they are nervous.
Do not panic because of a one-time problem, but if the problem persists or recurs, consult your doctor.
However, in babies there are not just "delays" of the stool, but also real constipation. Constipation is called not only when the baby does not go to the toilet at all, but also feces "peas", overdried, when a bowel movement is difficult. What could be the reason?
Regular constipation is usually caused by improper feeding of the crumbs. However, this condition can also occur if the mother does everything right, but she has her own health problems, for example, with the thyroid gland. Medications can also be the cause of constipation. For example, intestinal weakness is provoked by all kinds of sedative mixtures and drugs, which are often prescribed to children by neurologists at an early age. Even cough medicines or tooth gels can cause constipation. In any case, the doctor should deal with this. You should not give your baby medicines and laxatives on your own, or act on it mechanically with an enema or gas tube.
It is better to discuss with the doctor the issues of feeding, drug treatment and the lifestyle of the baby - so you can understand the problem.
Weaning time
Of course, when you start to introduce complementary foods, the baby's stool pattern changes. First of all, you need to remember that the task of the first complementary foods (at 5, 6 months) is not to feed, but to help adapt to new tastes, to new food. Give the baby complementary foods in the amount of "lick" and only gradually move on to doses "with a marigold" or "half a teaspoon". Recall that you need to introduce one product into the diet of crumbs so that you can understand how and what the baby reacts to. Quite often, as soon as we give the baby “with a fingernail” some food, it is not digested - we find the product in the feces almost in its original form. Within one or two days, this is normal, the baby’s body has not figured out the new component in the stomach, but if this continues on the third day, the product must be removed from the diet, since it is obvious that the baby is not yet ready to accept it.
You need to take a break for a week or two, without offering the baby anything but the breast, then try again with another product.
The baby's body can also react more violently, for example, with loose stools and abdominal pain, and sometimes with allergies. In this case, you also need to cancel the product and keep the baby breastfed so that the gastrointestinal tract calms down.
When you introduce protein to your baby, he may react with constipation. To avoid this, you need to remember simple rules. Proteins require more liquid, so if this is your baby's first food (for example, cottage cheese), give him more breast milk. If you started introducing proteins when the baby is already drinking liquid, provide him with a drink. Do not worry about the fact that the introduction of new products has to be postponed - nothing terrible will happen to the baby. And be especially calm about the opinion that at 6-7 months the child needs to be given meat products so that he grows well.
Not all children are able to absorb such a protein; for many, even a homogenized meat product at this age will lead to constipation and overload the kidneys. Let the baby eat breast milk for a longer time and receive vegetables and fruits as complementary foods - this way you will avoid many problems with the stool.
In general, mothers' concern about baby's stool is quite justified: after all, this is an important diagnostic symptom that allows you to understand a lot about the baby's condition. However, it must be remembered that not all situations require intervention, and most problems can be solved simply by correcting feeding mistakes. Do not rush to treat the baby and resort to medication, start with a diet.
Text: Anna Babina
Consultant: Olga Ivanovna Tkach, pediatrician, Center for Traditional Obstetrics
what can a baby eat, what to feed, what vegetables, cereals, fruits to give, regimen and diet for 10 months
Published: 06/20/2020
Reading time: 4 min.
Number of reads: 260319
The author of the article: Ponomareva Yulia Vladimirovna
Pediatrician, candidate of medical sciences, allergist-immunologist
The first year of a baby's life is unique. The processes of growth and development are so intense that each new month is not like the previous one. In this regard, the child's diet undergoes changes every month to meet the growing needs of the body for nutrients, vitamins, minerals and other biologically active substances. Let's discuss what changes are taking place in the baby's diet, and what can be included in the diet at 10 months.
Content: Hide
- The basic principles and changes in the diet at 10 months
- Organization of the baby's diet at 10 months
- First meals
- Drinks
- Polvrek The basic principles and changes in nutrition at 10 months
The basic food groups that must be included in the daily diet of children in the second half of life remain the same - vegetables, fruits, meat, cereals, dairy products.
There are 3 main meals and 2-3 additional ones, while the portion size increases, and the daily amount of food is 1000-1100 ml. The child no longer looks like a baby - he has grown stronger, is trying to walk, he has an interest in all the phenomena of the world around him, including traditional adult food. Of course, the menu at 10 months is still very different from the food of the general table, but in terms of the possible variety of food, the list is already close to the diet of older children. The baby’s menu can already be diversified with homemade dishes in the form of soups, puddings and casseroles. Vegetables and fruits can be partially raw, grated on a fine grater. The drinking diet is still represented mainly by water, but the child can already drink compotes and fruit drinks of home and industrial production without the addition of sugar and artificial colors. Feeding a 10-month-old baby
Daily routine and nutrition are very important in a baby's life. Children quickly get used to a certain routine and more readily eat the dishes that are traditionally offered at this meal.
Of course, each child is unique, and yours has its own favorite foods and their combinations. Try to rationally distribute all the necessary complementary foods in 5 meals, taking into account the characteristics of family life. Adhere to the principle of a balanced menu, plan your diet for the week in advance, while trying to diversify your diet as much as possible, accustoming your child to the taste of new foods. First meal
The first meal is in the early morning - the baby wakes up hungry after a 6-8 hour break in food. It is best to feed your baby with breast milk or an adapted formula. Child health and nutrition experts recommend continued breastfeeding (BC) until at least the end of the first year of life. The nutritional value of mother's milk at this age is already low, but as a source of the most important biological substances and psycho-emotional comfort, it is undoubtedly priceless. If the child is bottle-fed, you can prepare him a drink based on an adapted mixture.
Until the end of the first year of a child's life, it is not recommended to feed whole cow's milk. The fact is that the protein of cow's and goat's milk can cause an allergic reaction, in addition, it causes damage to the intestinal epithelium of an infant and is a serious burden on the kidneys. Do not rush to introduce this unadapted product into the baby's diet. See also: Complementary foods
Breakfast
The second meal, at approximately 9-10 am, should provide energy and nutrients for a 10-month-old baby to be active in the morning. What can you offer your child for breakfast? Milk porridge is the perfect product for a good start to the day - it is rich in complex carbohydrates, which ensures long-term saturation and energy boost. The dietary fibers included in its composition are involved in comfortable digestion. In addition, cereals are a source of almost all essential nutrients. In the nutrition of babies at 10 months, the consistency of porridge may already be less homogeneous.
Try introducing porridge into your diet, which contains cereal flakes and crushed berries, which helps your child learn to chew. At this age, mothers often begin to cook porridge at home, but it is preferable to use industrial products. Commercially produced porridge is often multi-cereal, which makes it possible to use the beneficial qualities of various grain crops, including those that cannot be cooked at home due to poor digestibility. Cereals go well with fruits and vegetables. For breakfast, you can additionally offer fruit puree or slices of boiled / baked soft fruits for breakfast. Cottage cheese and vegetable or cottage cheese and cereal casseroles and puddings can diversify the weekly breakfast menu. Every day a child can eat up to 50 grams of cottage cheese. If the child has not previously had allergic reactions, you can expand the range of fruits and gradually introduce citrus fruits and a number of exotic fruits into the diet. Drinks
It is not recommended to give a large amount of liquid immediately after a meal, as this overloads the digestion process.
Limit yourself to a few sips of water or compote if the child wants to drink food. And between the main meals, periodically offer the baby water, compote or fruit drink, as well as special children's tea. Limit your juice intake, as this is a high-carbohydrate product and is a serious burden on the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. The volume of juice per day should not exceed 100 ml. Lunch
The next meal, lunch, covers a third of the total energy expenditure of the day and provides essential nutrients for active growth and development. At 10 months, it is already possible to offer the baby unpurified soup, provided that well-boiled vegetables are used. Meat complementary foods should be combined with foods that promote the best absorption of trace elements important for growth and development, especially copper and iron. First of all, these are vegetables, with the exception of legumes, and buckwheat. Given that different types of meat contain different amounts of trace elements and vitamins, a balanced weekly diet includes at least 3-4 types of meat complementary foods.
Also, 1-2 times a week, the baby can eat dishes with the addition of offal - the liver, tongue and heart. In addition to mashed meat, the baby can be offered coarsely chopped meatballs or steam cutlets. Adding vegetable and cereal components to a meat dish makes the taste more tender and enriches the diet with other beneficial nutrients. Despite the insipid taste of dinner dishes, which seems to many adults, it is not recommended to add salt and spices to them. At 10 months, onions and parsley and dill can be used to develop taste buds in dishes. Snack
Snack, although not the main meal, is necessary for the baby to refresh himself after a daytime nap and provide the necessary energy for active activities in the afternoon. A dairy product rich in easily digestible protein and fat is ideal, combined with cereals and fruits that complement the dish with carbohydrates and fiber. For a 10-month-old baby, this could be a specialized fermented milk drink combined with baby biscuits and fruit.
