When you start with baby rice , do you only replace one feeding a day?
Source : http://www.parenting.com/Answers/Q/When-You-Start-Baby-Rice-Do-You-Only-Replace-One-Feeding-Day
Our doctor told us to start our daughter on baby rice cereal at 3 months and if she did well with that to move towards stage 1 baby food at 4 months. I don't know if I'm supposed to mix the rice cereal with her formula at every feeding or what....
First off, I would look more into feeding a baby that young. I'm not an expert but every doctor/nurse/book etc that I have ever read/heard said not to start cereal until 5 months or at least until the baby could sit and support itself. I would rec. you look into this further.But once you start I would add formula or breastmilk to the cereal until you get a runny-type consistency. At first the cereal will be more of a snack than a meal. Babies have to learn to adjust from getting a liquid only diet to one with more texture. Be patient, it can take a few days or longer before more cereal gets in the baby than everywhere BUT the baby. :) Maybe feed the cereal twice a day? And work up as she gets the hang off it.
You have to listen to your baby's needs. He/She will tell you exactly what they want. I started my first daughter on rice cereal at 3 months and moved her to stage 1 foods at 4 months. My second daughter started eating stage 1 foods at 4 months, she did NOT like cereals so I just started giving her fruits. Make sure that your baby can sit supported and that he/she can support the head.
I come from a medical family, have one child and nanny for friends. I think this is all good advice. Babies get their main nutrition from breastmilk and/or formula so cereal is just a supplimental thing early on until you add real food to it. Pediatritions usually say between 4-6 months to start letting them taste it. Keep all the feedings and just give cereal as a mid-morning snack or late-afternoon snack or after dinnertime feeding. Cereal really does not have much nutritional value; it is just a filler. Then you increase thickness of cereal and feeding it more often and more at meal times as time goes on.
When you start feeing your baby cereal it's adding to the meal of milk, not replacing it. They still need their milk wether it's formula or breastmilk. One thing is when you start feeding them the cereal it should be feed to the child from a spoon and bowl. Don't mix or add cereal into their bottles. As for starting them at 3 months, I do feel that's a little too young as baby's tummies are not ready to digest solids yet. It can be hard on thier little tummies also could cause constipation or difficultity having a bowel movement. You do need to do your own research via doctors, pediatricians, books etc, as they may say differently. The guidelines change over time as well so need to look and go with the most recent one and as well as with your instincts and baby's. The Canadian Pediatric society say not to start solids until 6 months. I just started my baby at 5 1/2 months on cereal and they are loving it. I started him as he was nursing every 2 hours! So you do need to take in consideration of your baby. If your baby's eating fine and fairly spaced out and you don't really feel they need cereal yet, don't start. They don't need solids nutritionally until closer to 6 months. Hopefully that helped some more.
My son was 3 months old when his doctor put him on rice cereal. He was spit-up over half his milk he would eat during feeding. So his doctor told me to put one spoone full in 4oz of his milk. His did not spit-up as bad. Well when I tired to take him off his cereal he cried like he was not full enough. So I started adding it back in but cut back on the cereal. He is now 9 months and i still give him cereal in his bottles but only at night
Source : http://www.parenting.com/Answers/Q/When-You-Start-Baby-Rice-Do-You-Only-Replace-One-Feeding-Day
