Rice cereal is one of the most common and nutritious foods given to babies after they have stopped using their mother’s milk. It contains a sufficient amount of iron and other essential nutrients for your baby’s growth. It is not recommended to add rice cereal to your baby’s bottle. Instead, you should start spoon-feeding them at the right age. Sometimes it gets difficult to access what amount of cereal should be given to your baby. We will discuss the exact amounts of cereal to be used depending on your baby’s age and the bottle sizes.
How Much Rice Cereal According To Bottle Sizes?
The amount of solid or liquid food a baby can have depends on multiple factors. It is always important to consult with your pediatrician, but as for an approximate value while starting, one teaspoon of cereal for a 4-ounce of powder formula or breast milk is recommended.
Bottle Size And Amount Of Rice Cereal
The amount of rice cereal in a bottle depends on the age and feeding routine of the baby. Here is a basic idea of what bottle size is used with respect to the baby’s age:
|
Bottle Size |
Amount of Rice Cereal |
|
4 oz |
1 teaspoon |
|
6 oz |
1.5 teaspoons |
|
8 oz |
2 teaspoons |
|
12 oz |
3 teaspoons |
When To Start Adding Rice Cereal To A Bottle?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), parents should wait about 4 to 6 months before adding rice cereal to their baby’s diet. The reason behind this is that the baby’s digestive system is not completely developed before 4 months of age and can have difficulty digesting solid foods. So you should keep your baby on liquid foods before 4 months. Other major risks include choking on food as they would not have been able to develop their eating reflexes properly.
Signs That Your Baby Is Ready For Solid Foods
It is always recommended to consult with your pediatrician if you are concerned about when your baby can have solid food. Still, there are some signs by which you can tell if your baby is ready for solid food intake. You can know your baby is ready for solid food when:
- The very first and basic sign is when your Baby Shows Interest In Food, and you do not actually have to force him to eat during meal times.
- Your baby should be able to sit up with support for quite some time. This will help him avoid choking on food.
- One of the most important pointers is when your baby stops throwing food out of his/her mouth. It is termed as “Tongue Thrust Reflex.”
- He should be at least 4 to 6 months of age. Only by then his/her digestive system is developed enough to cater to solid foods.
How Much Rice Cereal To Add To A Bottle?
You should consult with your doctor as to when your baby is ready to take solid foods, but according to the AAP’s guidelines, the baby’s age should be at least 6 months, and his/her weight should be 17 pounds at least. Also, the baby should be given the signs of appetite. As for the specific age and diet ratio, you can have a look at the table below.
|
Baby’s Age |
Quantity |
|
1-3 Months |
No Solid Food |
|
4 Months |
1 teaspoon |
|
5 Months |
2 teaspoons |
|
6 Months |
3 teaspoons |
|
7 Months |
4 teaspoons |
|
8 Months |
5 teaspoons |
Guidelines For Adding Rice Cereal To A Bottle
Only your doctor can give you the best guidance as he or she is the one physically monitoring your baby, but there are some basic tips and guidelines you can follow for adding rice cereal to a bottle:
- Firstly, you must Wash Your Hands properly and Gather All the Necessary Supplies for making cereal.
- After that, you need to Sterilize Your Baby’s Bottle and its nipple by boiling it or washing it under hot water.
- The next step is to Measure and Warm the desired amount of formula or your breast milk.
- Then Add rice cereal to the bottle and Stir the mixture until it is smooth. The mixture is ready for use.
Safety Considerations
One of the major risks involved in feeding your baby solid food is choking. It is basically a situation when food is stuck in your throat and blocks your airway, causing partial or complete closure of air. It is a life-threatening situation. Another major issue that can occur is aspiration. In Aspiration, food enters the lungs and causes the obstruction of air.
To avoid these, you should never leave your baby unattended, and instead of rushing, you should feed him slowly. As for the start, start with small portions of cereal and always remember to mix the cereal thoroughly.
Tips For Starting Solid Foods For Baby
It is very important to know when and what to give your baby, especially when you are starting to give them solid foods. According to the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP), you should keep some important things in mind before giving your baby any solid foods. These include:
- You should Be Patient and avoid forcing your baby to eat if they resist. You should try again later after some time.
- Always Start With One Food at a time. So if they get any infection or allergy, it will be easier for you to diagnose what caused the problem.
- Try experimenting with Small Quantities of all varieties of food.
- Avoid giving your baby Honey Before 12 Months of age. It may sometimes contain bacteria and be the cause of serious illness.
- Always remember to Keep Your Baby In A High Seat or in an infant cart during the initial days of solid food intake.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Putting Baby Cereal in a Bottle?
Like everything, adding rice cereal to your baby’s bottle has its benefits and disadvantages. Some of them are discussed as follows:
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
It is easier to digest. |
It has High content of sugar. |
|
It contains some essential vitamins. |
It might be challenging to digest. |
|
It helps the baby sleep longer at night. |
It can increase the risk of choking. |
|
It helps babies learn to eat solid foods. |
It can lead to excessive weight gain. |
|
It helps in increasing the appetite. |
It usually contains additives & preservatives. |
What Are The Alternatives To Adding Rice Cereal To A Bottle?
Although adding rice cereal in a bottle is the basic and most common method of introducing of solid foods, it is still not that safe and beneficial. There are a lot of other ways by which you can introduce solid foods to your baby. These include Pureed fruits and vegetables, yogurt, cooked pasta, beans, lentils, etc. You can also introduce your baby to mashed food like mashed potatoes or vegetables.
FAQs
How Many Times A Day Should I Put Rice Cereal In My Baby’s Bottle?
Although it is not recommended to add rice cereal to your baby’s bottle as it can cause choking. Instead, you can give him rice cereal via spoons, but if you are still planning to add rice cereal to your baby’s bottle, you should not increase it more than twice daily.
Is It Safe to add cereal to a bottle for a 1-month-old baby?
No, it is definitely not safe to add rice cereal to your 1-month-old baby’s milk bottle. By this age, your baby has not even developed his digestive system completely for solid food intake, which can cause him choking on the food or the food entering his/her lungs. As these conditions are very fatal, giving any solid food can be fatal for your baby.
How To Thicken Breast Milk For Reflux?
There are a number of feed thickeners present in the market which can thicken your formula or breast milk, but these are not safe for your baby if they are under 4 months of age. They can cause choking as being vicious. These thickeners are especially not to be given solely.
When Can You Start Rice Cereal For Reflux?
Although adding rice cereal for reflux is not a proven treatment and can actually worsen the reflux, you can add 1 teaspoon of rice cereal to your 4 months or older baby’s diet. You can increase the number of teaspoons of rice cereal as the months of your baby’s age pass by.
Do Babies Sleep Longer With Rice Cereal?
This was thought that rice cereal in your baby’s bottle could help them sleep for longer periods, but there is actually no significant scientific research to back this up. Instead, it can cause them to have carious teeth and can also be a potential cause of choking.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, you should avoid giving your baby any solid food before the age of 6 months. Also, there are a lot of other ways to introduce your baby to rice cereal, and adding it to your bottle can cause a lot of complications like choking, etc. you can start with 1 teaspoon of rice cereal in your baby’s bottle along with milk formula or breast milk as a starting quantity. It can be increased as the baby grows older.
