what to feed your baby instead of rice cereal

7 first foods to give your baby that are better than rice cereal

1. Red meat (0.5 to 0.8 mg iron per ounce)
2. Dark poultry (0.4 mg iron per ounce)
3. Egg yolks (1 mg iron per yolk)
4. Baby cereal made from oats, barley or quinoa (4 to 5 mg iron per ¼ cup)
5. Beans (1 to 2 mg iron per ¼ cup)
6. Lentils (1.5 mg iron per ¼ cup)
7. Pasta (1 mg iron per ½ cup)

Full Answer

How can I get my Baby to eat rice cereal?

Spoon feed an iron-fortified rice cereal to your baby. (It’s important that babies get enough iron once they start solid foods.) But don’t be surprised if it takes a couple of feedings for your baby to get the hang of eating this way. You can nurse or bottle feed first, and then end feedings with rice cereal.

Can I Feed my baby cereal with a spoon?

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.

Is rice cereal good for babies with iron deficiency?

Babies need 11 milligrams of iron per day for normal growth and development, and iron is vital for brain health and red blood cell production. Though rice cereal is fortified with iron, it’s a kind of iron that doesn’t absorb well.

Should I give my Baby oats or rice?

Choosing which one to give your baby may depend on your personal preferences and your baby’s reaction to the new food. Oats have a nutty taste that your child might love. But brown, black, and basmati rice can also have a nutty flavor. (4) Oats can prevent gastrointestinal problems and may have anticancer effects. (5)

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Can I skip rice cereal for my baby?

The good news is, you're totally fine to just never use rice cereal (or any other baby cereal!). In fact, there's plenty of reasons (including toxic chemicals) to avoid it. If you want, you can skip rice cereal and go straight to baby food.

Why do pediatricians not recommend rice cereal?

Rice is not a natural source of iron. The iron available in fortified cereals is not always processed in the body the same way as naturally occurring iron, and fortification can lead to too high of iron levels.

What do I do if my baby hates rice cereal?

So instead of giving up, be sure to prepare baby cereal with a familiar flavor, using either breast milk or her formula. If she still refuses, consider adding some variety to the mix. Stir a little of a good first fruit, such as pureed applesauce or pears, into the cereal.

Is rice cereal the best first food for baby?

Iron-fortified cereal—not only rice, but also oat, barley, or multigrain cereal—can still be one of many foods your baby eats throughout the day but cereal no longer tops the list of recommended first foods.

Is oatmeal or rice cereal better for baby?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends oatmeal cereal for babies with acid reflux. Because of the possible arsenic exposure with rice cereal, experts believe oatmeal is the safer choice. It's also wheat-free, so won't irritate your baby's stomach if she is sensitive or allergic to gluten.

Can you skip rice cereal and go straight to vegetables?

Bester recommends skipping the rice cereal altogether and instead focusing on foods with strong natural flavors, like vegetables and fruit. Then, she says, when parents do decide to introduce grains, they should look for them in whole, unprocessed form — steel-cut oats, brown rice, quinoa, and millet are great choices.

When should a baby stop eating rice cereal?

Babies who ate rice cereals had higher concentrations of arsenic than those who didn't. Here's some advice for parents who are wondering if, why and when to consider feeding rice cereal to babies. Follow the “six-month” rule. Don't feed your baby rice cereal—or any other solid food—prior to six months of age.

What is the best solids to start baby on?

Solid foods may be introduced in any order. However, puréed meats, poultry, beans and iron-fortified cereals are recommended as first foods, especially if your baby has been primarily breastfed, since they provide key nutrients. Only one new single-ingredient food should be introduced at a time.

Is baby cereal necessary?

Baby Cereal Provides Much-Needed Iron Just two 1/4-cup servings of iron-fortified infant cereal (oatmeal, rice, barley, or mixed grains) deliver most of your baby's daily iron needs. Infant cereal also provides other nutrients, such as zinc, calcium, and vitamins B, C, and E.

Which cereal is healthiest for babies?

Final Verdict. Happy Baby Oatmeal is our best overall pick for baby cereal. With just three ingredients—oatmeal, vitamin C, and iron—your baby is getting only what you want them to have. It takes the pick for simplicity, whole ingredients and fortification.

When should babies have 3 meals a day?

about 10 monthsFrom about 10 months, your baby should now be having 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea), in addition to their usual milk feeds.

Is Banana OK for babies first food?

Benefits of Banana For Baby Bananas are a great first food for babies because they are loaded with essential nutrients for a growing baby. They are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, manganese, and potassium, and they are high in vitamin B6.

Does Gerber rice cereal have arsenic?

And tests cited in the September congressional report found average inorganic arsenic levels of 87.4 ppb in Gerber's conventional rice cereal and 65.6 ppb in its organic rice cereal. Both companies told CR their products meet the current government limit for inorganic arsenic, as confirmed in CR's recent tests.

Does baby rice cereal have arsenic?

Arsenic is present in rice and is also found in infant rice cereal. Fortunately, the relatively short duration of time in which infants are given rice cereal in their diets significantly reduces the risk of arsenic poisoning. Providing a balanced diet can help reduce an infant's exposure to arsenic.

Which rice cereal has less arsenic?

Both white rice and brown rice cereals showed improvement in meeting the 100 ppb level, but the improvement was greatest for white rice cereals, which tend to have lower levels of inorganic arsenic overall.

Is Gerber rice cereal good for babies?

Gerber infant rice cereals are a nutritious first solid food for babies starting around six months of age. Two daily servings of Gerber infant cereals provide 90 percent of baby's daily iron needs as well as other essential vitamins and minerals including zinc and several B vitamins.

What’S Really in Baby Cereal?

Let’s first take a look at what baby cereal really is… because it’s not just plain rice. Since it’s usually made from white rice, there really isn’...

When Is Rice Cereal recommended?

Most pediatricians recommend starting rice baby cereal at about 4-6 months old for baby’s first food. Some doctors will recommend it even earlier a...

Supplementing With Baby Bottles

If your baby is colicky and fussy at night, this could be related to digestion or latent food allergies (source). Lulling them to sleep with rice b...

Why Rice Baby Cereal Is Not Good

Arsenic is naturally found in soil and water, however it can become concentrated due to conventional farming practices. When pesticides and herbici...

Best First Foods For Baby

So now that we’ve covered why rice baby cereal isn’t the best first food for baby, what is? Nutrient dense foods– animal foods, in particular– are...

What cereals are good for babies?

Baby cereal made from oats, barley or quinoa (4 to 5 mg iron per ¼ cup) Alternate brown rice cereal with these nutritious options. All of these cereals are low in arsenic, iron-fortified and easy to prepare. Stir them with some breastmilk or formula, and add pureed vegetables and fruit to help your baby better digest the non-heme iron.

What is the best food for a baby?

Here are some great foods to choose from. 1. Red meat (0.5 to 0.8 mg iron per ounce) Babies don’t have molars yet, so meat needs to be soft and easy to chew. Ground beef is an easy solution, since it’s already in small pieces. You can also puree beef or lamb with some formula or breastmilk, and serve it with a spoon.

How much iron should a baby have?

Babies need 11 milligrams of iron per day for normal growth and development, and iron is vital for brain health and red blood cell production. Though rice cereal is fortified with iron, it’s a kind of iron that doesn’t absorb well. Heme iron, found in meat, fish and poultry, is easy to absorb, while non-heme iron, ...

How to help a baby digest iron?

Stir them with some breastmilk or formula, and add pureed vegetables and fruit to help your baby better digest the non-heme iron. 5. Beans (1 to 2 mg iron per ¼ cup) Chickpeas and beans are rich in non-heme iron and are a good source of protein. If you buy canned beans, choose “no salt added” varieties.

What to feed a baby when they start solids?

Meat, poultry, beans, tofu and enriched pasta are common foods to start with instead. When babies start solids, it’s imperative that iron-rich foods are introduced. That’s because babies are born with a reserve of iron that begins to deplete by six month of age if they are breastfed.

Why is brown rice more arsenic than white rice?

Brown rice actually contains more arsenic than white rice, because the chemical stays trapped in the outer fibrous hull of the grain. Fortunately, there are plenty of other iron-rich options to feed your baby.

Is rice cereal safe for babies?

Dietitians and paediatricians say rice cereal isn't the best option. Here are healthier iron-rich foods to feed your baby. For decades, parents have used infant rice cereal as baby’s first food.

What is the best food for a newborn?

Pureed pastured/organic meats. Mashed ripe fruit like avocado and banana. Fruits high in pectin like apples, pears, peaches and plums should be cooked, cooled and then fed to baby. The Surprising Best First Foods for Baby by Mama Natural. Here’s more info on best choices for baby’s first foods.

What is baby cereal made of?

Let’s first take a look at what baby cereal really is… because it’s not just plain rice. Since it’s usually made from white rice, there really isn’t any nutrition in it. As a result, it’s fortified with synthetically produced vitamins, like ferrous sulfate (iron), folic acid (vitamin B9) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Some manufacturers are offering organic rice baby cereal, but it’s not much better. The baby cereal may be from brown rice but it’s processed into a flake so that it’s quick to prepare (which spikes blood sugar levels) and smooth for baby’s palate.

Why do babies sleep less after eating cereal?

In fact, in this study babies who were fed rice baby cereal before 4 months slept less than the babies who weren’t fed solids ! Food is supposed to energize us. When your baby is excessively sleepy after eating solids, it may mean that his body is diverting energy resources to digestion because he is overfed. (Kinda how you feel after overindulging at Thanksgiving dinner!) ( Source ).

What happens when you use pesticides on rice fields?

When pesticides and herbicides are used on fields, the runoff contaminates the so il and local water with arsenic. This irrigation water is then flooded over the rice fields for long periods of time. Arsenic accumulates in the soil and water, and rice absorbs more arsenic compared to other crops.

Is rice baby cereal low in nutrition?

2. Low in Nutrition. Rice baby cereal is naturally devoid of nutrition, so manufacturers add synthetic vitamins back in to fortify it.

Is baby rice cereal whole?

1. Highly Refined. Baby rice cereal isn’t whole rice for obvious reasons, but it’s not even just ground. Rice cereal is usually highly processed until it’s converted into light flakes, which are “instantly” ready for consumption.

Does rice cereal cause thyroid problems?

It can cause thyroid damage and health issues for the estimated 50% of the population with MTHFR mutations ( Source, Source ). 4. Fortified With Iron. Rice cereal is fortified with iron, and pediatricians and dietitians argue that a baby’s diet is too low in iron.

Overview

Rice and oat cereals are often the first foods introduced into a baby’s diet because they’re less likely to cause allergies than other grains, particularly wheat. (1)

Infant Cereals Pros & Cons

These are the advantages and disadvantages of giving iron-fortified infant cereals to your baby, no matter which infant cereal you pick between rice and oatmeal options.

Best Baby Rice Cereals

The type of cereal you choose to give your baby depends on your preferences. But if you want to give one with rice grains, you can choose from these products:

Best Baby Oatmeal Cereals

Oatmeal cereals may be a healthier choice, especially if you want baby food that doesn’t have high levels of arsenic.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

Why is rice cereal limited?

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).