When should babies eat rice cereal?

More attention needs to be paid to the baby's diet. Professional baby rice cereal will make it easier for the baby to absorb and digest. Generally, the baby can eat rice cereal when he is six months old.

When should babies eat rice cereal?

Generally speaking, it takes about 6 months for the baby's digestive system to produce amylase, which helps digest starchy substances. So scientifically speaking, babies should be around half a year old before they can eat rice noodles. But when they just start eating rice noodles, they need to pay attention to the following issues.

1. Some babies start eating rice noodles when they are more than 4 months old. Don’t feed them too much at the beginning because the baby’s gastrointestinal development function is not yet perfect. Just 1 to 2 spoons is enough. Let the baby’s stomach adapt to the starch before slowly increasing the amount.

After 2 or 3 days, increase the amount by 1 to 2 spoonfuls. When mixing the rice flour, make it thinner to prevent the baby from having difficulty swallowing it.

3. If your baby feels uncomfortable after eating rice noodles, he may not be adapted to them. Take your baby to see a doctor as soon as possible to determine the cause of the discomfort.

Feeding rice flour

1. Use a spoon to feed, not a bottle

This can train the baby's swallowing and chewing functions. The viscosity and amount of rice cereal should be gradually increased. You can start with one or two spoons, let the baby taste it and get used to it, and then gradually increase the amount. Observe the baby's urination and milk intake for any abnormalities, and whether the baby has any allergic reactions, so that the baby can gradually adapt.

2. Do not add sugar or salt to rice noodles

Rice flour itself is a carbohydrate, which will be converted into sugar in the human body. Adding sucrose will cause the baby to have too many calories. Salt will increase the burden on the baby's kidneys and heart. Babies under one year old do not need to add extra sugar or salt.

3. When to add rice flour

When a breastfed baby is 6 months old, or a mixed-fed or bottle-fed baby is 4 months old, you can start adding rice cereal and other complementary foods. For more information about adding complementary foods, you can also refer to my article "The first complementary food for a baby is very important, and there are some tips on how to add complementary foods."

4. Rice noodles are a supplementary food, not a staple food

It is also important to understand that the most important nutrition for babies under 1 year old is protein. Breast milk or formula milk is still the main food for daily feeding, and rice cereal is a complementary food. In the above case, the baby's anemia was caused because the grandmother gave the baby homemade rice cereal as the staple food! Both staple and complementary foods are indispensable, but the priorities cannot be reversed.

How to prepare baby rice cereal

1. Do not use boiling water to brew rice noodles

Some mothers think that rice noodles can only be brewed with boiling water, and then they can feed them to their babies after the rice noodles are no longer hot. In fact, this is wrong. Brewing rice noodles with boiling water will destroy the vitamins in the rice noodles and greatly reduce the nutritional value. Normally, rice noodles only need to be brewed with warm water to become rice paste, which can be eaten directly by babies.

2. Do not soak rice flour and milk powder together

Many mothers mix milk powder and rice flour together, thinking that it is more nutritious for their babies. This is also wrong. Milk powder has its own brewing requirements, and rice flour has its own brewing requirements. Mixing them together may result in neither milk powder nor rice flour being able to exert their maximum effect. In addition, eating milk powder and rice flour together will increase the gastrointestinal burden of the baby, which is not conducive to normal nutrient absorption.

3. Don’t add sugar and vitamins to rice noodles

Some mothers think that rice noodles taste bland and babies don't like them, so they add a little sugar to the rice noodles for flavoring. Baby rice noodles contain a certain amount of sugar. If mothers add sugar, the calories in the rice noodles will increase, and the baby will easily become obese. In addition, if mothers add sugar when they first feed their babies complementary foods, the baby will develop bad taste habits, which will not be easy to correct later. Similarly, mothers do not need to add vitamins to rice noodles. The baby is still young, and breast milk, milk powder and rice noodles in the daily diet all contain vitamins, which can meet the baby's normal development needs. Adding vitamins will cause the vitamins to accumulate in the body, which is not good for the baby's health.

4. Don’t make rice noodles your main food

Many mothers think that eating rice noodles for babies is the same as eating for adults, and that they are both staple foods. These mothers let their babies eat more rice noodles and less breast milk or milk powder. This is also a wrong approach. Babies need enough protein for healthy growth. Breast milk and milk powder are rich in protein, while rice noodles have a lower protein content. Therefore, the baby's staple food should be mainly breast milk or milk powder, and rice noodles as a supplement.

5. Don’t feed your baby homemade rice cereal

Many mothers believe that baby rice cereal sold on the market has additives, so they buy organic rice and make their own rice cereal to feed their babies. Babies need to take in iron from rice cereal for growth, but homemade rice cereal does not contain it. Therefore, mothers should buy rice cereal with added iron for their babies to promote their healthy growth.

6. Don’t use a bottle to feed your baby rice cereal

Some mothers put rice porridge in a bottle and let their babies eat by themselves, thinking that this is convenient. In fact, mothers should use a spoon to feed their babies rice porridge. Mothers feeding rice porridge with a spoon can exercise the baby's tongue and mouth, allowing the baby to learn to chew and swallow food, laying the foundation for the baby to eat by himself. In addition, mothers feeding the baby rice porridge with a spoon can help the baby's hand-eye coordination ability develop.

7. Do not use mineral water or purified water to brew

Mineral water is rich in various mineral elements and is beneficial to the human body. Many mothers choose to use mineral water to make rice noodles for their babies. This practice is unscientific. Mineral water is rich in mineral elements, which will increase the burden on the baby's kidneys, causing the baby's appetite to decrease, indigestion, and affect normal nutrient absorption. Purified water does not contain organic salts and is not suitable for making rice noodles. The most suitable water for making rice noodles is boiled water.

Top 10 baby rice cereals

1. Gerber Baby Rice Cereal

Gerber is an American brand with 80 years of experience in rice cereal production. Gerber rice cereal is very natural, with a pure and natural taste, a smooth and smooth texture, rich nutrition, and is easy for babies to swallow, digest and absorb. According to mothers who feed their babies Gerber rice cereal, Gerber rice cereal is very natural and very healthy for babies. However, since rice cereal does not contain sucrose and is less sweet than other rice cereals, babies may need some adaptation.

2. Heinz Baby Rice Cereal

Heinz rice cereal is rich in various nutrients needed for baby's growth and development, which is conducive to the healthy growth of baby's body and helps improve baby's immune function. It does not contain preservatives. According to mothers who feed their babies Heinz rice cereal, most of Heinz rice cereal tastes good and is not expensive, so babies like it. However, the pork liver and vegetable ones have a bad taste and babies don't like them.

3. HiPP baby rice cereal

HiPP rice cereal is made from 100% organic rice grown in Italy. It is a completely organic rice cereal. It is a natural, nutritious and safe organic food that ensures that babies can get the best nutrition. HiPP baby rice cereal is very delicate, easy for babies to absorb, and no sugar is added.

4.Beinmate baby rice cereal

Beingmate rice noodles add different ingredients according to different types, such as vegetables, fruits, meat, etc. The product has a delicate and smooth taste, is easy to mix, has the natural fragrance of grains and added ingredients, and can help babies' appetites. However, some mothers reported that most of Beingmate's rice noodles are too viscous and taste bad, and babies don't like to eat them.

5. Mingyi Baby Rice Cereal

Mingyi infant formula contains high-quality protein that can provide a variety of amino acids. In addition, it scientifically adds DHAAA vitamin D, calcium, iron, and a combination of prebiotics to provide a variety of nutrients. The balanced ratio makes it easier for babies to digest and absorb, providing more nutritional protection for their healthy growth.

6. Biostime Baby Rice Cereal

Biostime Organic Rice Cereal for Infants and Toddlers comes from the fresh air of North American farmland, organically grown, without any added pigments, flavors, or preservatives. The unique SRB whole-grain rice control technology completely retains the various nutrients naturally present in rice, and the thin, light rice fragrance makes the taste natural and pure. Babies love it, and mothers can rest assured!

7. Nestle Baby Rice Cereal

Although Nestle rice noodles were accused of excessive heavy metal content, it has been confirmed that someone was maliciously hyping it up. Nestle rice noodles have always been well known and sold well in the rice noodle market. Mothers who feed their babies Nestle rice noodles say that Nestle rice noodles are very nutritious, easy for babies to digest and absorb, and the rice noodles are fragrant, smooth and tender after being made, and babies have always loved them.

8. Meiban Baby Rice Cereal

There are 9 types of Meiban baby rice noodles, namely: nutritious rice noodles, iron, zinc and calcium nutritious rice noodles, carrot nutritious rice noodles, yam and coix seed nutritious rice noodles, whey protein nutritious rice noodles, egg yolk bifidobacterial factor nutritious rice noodles, fruit and vegetable multi-dimensional nutritious rice noodles, chicken and vegetable nutritious rice noodles, fish DHA nutritious rice noodles, etc.

9. Healthy Times Baby Rice Cereal

Healthy Times baby rice cereal does not contain genetically modified ingredients, no additional salt or sugar, no artificial coloring, flavoring and preservatives. It is rich in calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin D and multiple vitamins, which can promote the development of baby's teeth and muscles, and enhance immunity.

10. Fang Guang Baby Rice Cereal

Fang Guang baby rice cereal is a nutritious complementary food designed by Shanghai Fang Guang Food Co., Ltd. specifically for babies aged 4 to 18 months. It uses high-quality organic rice. In addition to whey protein, it also adds lutein, taurine, bifidobacterial factor and other nutrients. It also fortifies the calcium, iron and zinc components, adds a variety of vitamins, and uses rock sugar as a formula, which is not easy to cause heatiness. Mothers who have used it say that it is effective.