Brown Rice????

Hi K. -- I don't think the rice cereal comes in anything other than just rice cereal, does it? I bought rice cereal for months and I didn't think it said one way or another on the box...just rice cereal. It is just flakes...not real rice. My baby was large (nearly 11 lbs at birth and 14 lbs by one month). I didn't feed her cereal until 6 months. I breast fed and used formula until then. She's a hearty 40ish lbs (very tall) now at nearly 2 years and she eats just fine.

Good luck!

D.

if you are using formula, make bigger bottles; if you are breast feeding, trust that your body will produce enough food for your baby. trust your instincts. i don't think its a good idea to give a baby cereal at such a young age.

if he is already that big- why would you want to put cereal in his bottle? I have read several articles that this really isnt a good way to introduce solids to a baby. I f Iwere you , I would wait to introduce solids until 4 to 6 mos old. They really don't need anything else.
When you do- I know beechnut makes a brown rice cereal...
Good Luck

No grains until they are over a year. Your ped. has old information. The old school ones tell the moms to do this to get their children to sleep longer, but in fact it is not proven and results in digestive problems (they are not ready for any food until somewhere around the middle of the first year of life). It also increases the risk of obesity. Do your own research and get the most up to date information and bring it to your ped. if you want. If you want further info let me know...

I have to agree with the other moms, my last was born at 10lbs and is now almost 11 weeks and almost 15lbs. You really shouldn't give rice or anysolids until at the very least 4 months and I waited until almost 6 months with my 1st (who was not a light weight either) the longer you can wait the better. Your body should be able to produce enough milk to satisfy your baby or if you are feeding formula thats fine too, at this age their bodies don't need the solids it's not good for their digestive system and if i'm not mistaken I think it also has links with diabetes in children. Go check it out on the web. Im not sure if you can get brown rice cereal it's more difficult to digest so it might not be the best to start with, with a newborn gentleness in food is first b/c their systems are just learning to handle something other then milk. I'd wait until the white rice goes ok they also have wheat oats and even barley all of which are whole grains but not reccommended for 1st. Good luck. I was happy to see I'm not the only mom here with such a big baby.

Hi K.,

I know lots of moms that give rice cereal early - especially to large babies as it helps them stay full a bit longer - but it's a really bad idea. Babies digestive systems aren't ready for anything other than milk until 4-6 months old. Feeding foods earlier than this can lead to digestive issues, constipation, and food allergies. It's something to think about. I am not trying to condemn your decision, but I would evaluate why the pediatrician is recommending this. Is it so you can get more sleep? ...or so baby can go longer without food? Is it worth the risks associated with introducing foods to a diet too early?

I am not trying to scare you, but I don't think you should blindly make a decision like that. At a minimum get a second opinion.

As for foods, Earths Best makes many organic rice cereals for baby and does make one in whole grains. Keep in mind that a babies digestive system is very new though and simple is better for them. There primary diet should be breast milk (or formula) up until they are nine months to one year old with food supplementing beginning at six months (on average). 11 works is really early.

Good luck!

I completely disagree with the doc, your babe is WAY too young for cereal, the system is not ready to digest solids until 6 months. Please do some research on this before feeding your little one rice. (and I have 2 big ole chunkers too, that doesn't matter, the digestive system is same as the smaller ones)

I don't think they make brown rice for infants. Enfamil has a formula A/R that has riced already in the formula. This is what I use for my 8 week old daughter and it works wonders.

I'm sorry but your doc has mislead you big time. He is very off on his information and it is your child that will suffer from that later in life. At 11 weeks old, regardless of his weight, his digestive system cannot handle baby cereal ( I hope this is what your refering too and not regular rice) without major health problems! Please do some research on this, if you've already started the cereal, then stop. It leads to not only obesity later in life but diabetes, Irritable Bowel, gastric intestional distress, abdominal pain, stunned growth, acid reflux,the list goes on and on. If he is lucky enough to not show any of these signs in childhood, he will as an adult. Check out drgreene.com or google 'when to start rice cereal'. You can also find some good books at Barnes & Noble on the subject. At least wait until he is 4 months old, it isn't that far away. When you do start, Earths Best has really good cereals for every stage, and I believe they do have a brown one too.
Bless you and your baby!

I think the rice your Ped is speaking of is not the same as the rice you're thinking of. The rice cereal for infants is in the baby food section and is labeled Rice Cereal. It looks like instant mashed potato flakes.I believe there is oatmeal and barley cereal. I hope this is helpful.

They make several different kinds of cereals that you can put in his formula. . . they are all okay, just start with the rice and try one at a time to make sure he doesn't have an allergy. At this age, it doesn't really matter about the white vs brown rice.

My son was 4-1/2 months when we started him on rice cereal. He was so hungry and could not be satisfied with breast milk and formula alone. We didn't put it in his formula, as we felt that was kind of sneaky, so we actually just spoon fed him. He LOVED it! You know what is right for your baby, each child is different just follow your instints and let your son grow at his own pace.

You don't actually give them rice like we eat. Babies may choke on the rice we eat. Its rice cereal and its on the baby food isle. Its in a flaky, powder form. They have whole grain, rice, organic and they have it with fruit already in it. I add a little water and some formula to it and my 6 month old loves it. Shes been eating it since she was 3 months. I also add baby fruit in a jar to it. My baby girl has been eating baby food since she was 3 months old, she still has her bottles as well. Shes very satisfied. She gets fruits and veggies twice a day and I was given the ok today at her 6 month check up to start introducing table food. My baby is only 15 lbs at 6 months though. I hope that helped. Every baby is different and they all start at different times.

I would say if you can find it- use it... I've never heard of it, though...
Rice cereal has the consistency of cream of wheat- you would never know it was rice...

Maybe you could find brown rice cereal at a "whole foods" type store?

We put rice cereal in the bottles of all three of my kiddos- and you can only put about a tablespoon of the mix, otherwise they can't suck it through the nipple of the bottle- it gets too thick...

Wow! He IS a big boy! You'll drop your baby weight in no time!

No, the brown rice is still to raw for his tummy to digest. At 11 weeks he still needs to have simplest starches for his belly. Get the organic rice cereals that are more wholesome than the stuff we find in the baby aisles. Best wishes!

Hi K.! I'm no pediatrician, but 11 weeks is way too young for starting solid foods. My daughter was almost 10 pounds when born, but we didn't start her on rice cereal (in the baby food section of the grocery) until she was 4 months old. I mixed just a little with breast milk and started her that way. She ate it up and as she grew to about 5-6 months, we started her with Stage 1 baby food with a little rice cereal mixed in. They also make apple and banana rice cereals that Elaina loved! BTW: It is an old wives tale that they sleep longer when they start on solid foods...sorry! Good luck! D. H.

Rice cereal and rice are not the same thing.

Rice cereal comes in a box in the baby food isle. When mixed with water/milk/juice looks kind of liked instant mashed potatoes.

I would ask before putting "real" rice in anything you plan to give your 11 week old.

However, if your Ped says real rice is okay, then you can use any that you want :)

Happy Feeding :)
~A. C

Infant rice cereal is flakes, like instant patatoes come, so I don't know about white vs brown rice for babies. But I wouldn't give a baby that young rice cereal either. It can cause gas and constipation problems. I'd rather just make bigger bottles or more of them than deal with a gassy, constipated infant!! How much does he normally eat at a time anyway??

~S.

I don't think you need to worry about the fiber like you do for adults so much he's just a new little guy...a small tea spoon or so to the bottle just adds substance and that's what you are looking for I wouldn't put drown rice in it I'd stick with the baby rice cereal. I had a 10lb baby at birth don't go by size either it's just for substance and to give him a little more feeling of fullness.

BROWN RICE??? They make brown rice cereal? IT is babyfood cereal you are to give our son, not some kind of thing you make with brown rice. Excuse me if I am ignorant and there is a brown rice cereal baby food and I have jumped the gun.

I imagine the cereal is because he is hungry, yes?

The doctor is probably referring to the rice cereal made for babies.

K.--I don't know that you can get brown rice baby cereal. I would check out Whole Foods or Garner's because you can at least get an organic version. My youngest is almost a year, so I can't look at his and see if it proclaims to be whole grain brown rice or not. I do know that we feed organic with no genetically engineered ingredients.

I think that the point of the rice cereal is different in a baby than rice to an adult. Adults need the fiber of the whole grain for our digestive system to work properly. Adults often do not get enough whole grain. The rice cereal for the baby just makes him fuller, for a greater period of time and will decrease the number of feedings.

If you can find a brown rice version of baby cereal I would use that, just because of the idea that less processed is better. But more processed at 11 weeks might be easier on his little system.

Be sure to fill out the follow-up and let us know what you find!

I'm curious why he wants you to put rice in the bottles. If you're hoping for more sleep, this is an old wives tale. It does nothing to help a baby sleep. Just because it works for some does not mean it was the rice. It just happened that the baby was ready to sleep that long! I have twin boys. We put rice in their bottle to help with acid reflux. I would want to understand why it's needed. it really is more of a pain (it's just one more thing to put in the bottle) and comes with no benefits. it's better to serve it on a spoon. Unless there's a valid reason to do it, I would wait. JMO.

I know I'm a little late on this... please please please do some research on this! I know that so many other mom's said the same, but I can't stress enough to research it! There is soooo much out there about all of the problems that show up in teenage/adulthood that are linked to starting ANY food items to early. My son is a very very big boy, who wanted to eat a lot! I breastfed him exclusivly until the 4-5 month mark... now we use cereals and baby food and lots of breastmilk. Anyway... good luck and think of his future!

It's better for adults because it requires your digestive system to do more work to break it down. I would stick with white rice cereal since he is so young. If he seems satisfied with formula, I would just stick to that alone.

I think that regular baby cereal has the adequate nutrition that they need. My son is also big and was 15 pounds at his 2 month checkup and I was told I could give him cereal also because he would just not stay satisfied. I gave him the regular gerber or beech-nut rice cereal. I think they have a whole wheat one now or something but I just used regular cereal. There is also mixed cereal but I never used that. Your baby should be fine with rice cereal. It has all the nutrients they need. I would just put some in my son's last bottle at night and sometimes once in the morning or afternoon. Once he started eating baby food I stopped putting it in his bottle but did sometimes mix him some in a bowl and feed it to him at night with his last bottle. Hope this helps

Earth's Best, Healthy Times and Healthy Bellies all make infant rice cereal with whole grain brown rice.

K.-
Your doctor is working on old info and wives tales. Your breast milk is the best thing you can give your child exclusively until atleast 4-6 months. The longer the better. Once you introduce anything else, you change the gut and the way things are digested. It even screws up how breast milk is received.

If you have already introduced other foods, then no sense beating your self up. do the best you can and know that your doctor is maybe not the most up to date. Do some research yourself. Super baby food is a good resource, but it is also way on the other side of this subject.

Also, he was most likely referring to rice cereal and not rice! There are so many gluten allergies that I would consider not starting him on the grains right away. His little tummy is still very small and very new.... not ready for table food for sure!

All the best!
C.
www.candlewealth.com/soy4u