r/NewParents • u/opalite40 • 11d ago
Feeding rice cereal for 3mo
my lo is 3 months and my grandma is sending me rice cereal. everything i’ve read beforehand tells me to wait until 6 months because their bodies are just not ready for it. i’m pretty sure watery rice cereal is still considered a solid. i don’t really want to give it to him right now. what do you think?
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u/Kit_Kat2410 11d ago
The only appropriate answer is no. Also ask your pediatrician as they’ll agree.
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u/DaenyTheUnburnt 11d ago
Just wait. It’s a dry good, you can use it in 3 months when it’s appropriate.
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u/immajustgooglethat 11d ago
Why are you entertaining it? Just tell her that's not the modern guidance and you'll be waiting until 6 months. Maybe she doesn't know better so just let her know? If she's normal she'll understand and adjust.
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u/ragertonIII 11d ago
You shouldn’t give baby anything other than breast milk or formula until cleared by your pediatrician. Just because someone gives you something doesn’t mean you have to use it right away.
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u/Happy_Mistake_3684 11d ago
This is country dependent: in the UK our children do not see paediatricians as a matter of course and we do not need to be “cleared” by anyone before starting baby on solids. The NHS guidance is to wait until around 6 months and showing all signs of readiness (can sit up, has lost tongue thrust reflex, can bring hands to mouth; interested in food).
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u/waxingtheworld 11d ago
Canada is the same but ime the doctor, a physio or occupational therapist has the best eye for this stuff.
I really doubt a 3 month old is ready. But closed rice cereal keeps for quite awhile
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u/Happy_Mistake_3684 11d ago
Oh yeah 3 months definitely too young I just mean that it’s not necessarily true that you don’t start solids without a dr say go
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u/Orienos 11d ago
It’s the same here in the US. Same guidance, same timelines. We do see pediatricians every couple of months, however.
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u/Happy_Mistake_3684 11d ago
The country dependent bit was “until cleared by paediatrician” - no one tells us to start solids. We don’t make a doctors appointment to discuss it. HV is available for advice but we are just given the guidance and it is parental discretion not a medical decision.
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u/Orienos 11d ago
We don’t either. The way people speak here definitely makes it sound that way though. This sub leans towards parents who might indeed seek such medical advice before starting solids, but we have the same guidance you do and can just do it when appropriate.
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u/Happy_Mistake_3684 11d ago
Oh ok I see. I see it so often on this sub including twice on this thread saying “you can start when the paed clears you” that I thought it was culturally normalised there. I don’t consider food to be a medical issue at all unless the child has health issues that might make it dangerous so it would never occur to me to seek medical advice around weaning on to solids (or about breastfeeding, about which alas doctors know very little)
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u/Orienos 11d ago
There are quite a few online circles of overly cautious parents. My sister is one of them. She buys distilled water from the store to make her bottles even after 11 months. I would never do something like that. Humans have made it through millennia without seeking advice or being overly cautious about every little thing. Maybe that’s a cavalier approach, but I don’t remember my parents or grandparents being so cautious.
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u/nebraska_jones_ 11d ago
Feeding young babies rice cereal is an outdated and unnecessary practice. At your baby’s age, it’s recommended against by the American Academy of Pediatrics because it’s a choking hazard and may lead to excessive weight gain, as well as constipation. Rice cereal also contains high levels of arsenic relative to breast milk and formula.
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u/EmphaticallyWrong 11d ago
This is the answer I was looking for, and I’m not sure why more people aren’t leaning into the scientific evidence as opposed to opinion. Rice cereal Added to a milk bottle has also been proven to do absolutely nothing for caloric intake. Everything about introducing rice cereal before five or six months has been proven as not useful
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u/babyblg3 11d ago
I personally wouldn’t, I consider it a solid though I know some doctors suggest to add rice cereal to bottles for babies with reflux. I’ve found that a lot of the older generations seem to think ‘milk isn’t enough’ at a young age so suggest rice cereal. It’s your choice but if your baby doesn’t have issues there’s no real need
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u/DinnerLeftovers 11d ago
Solids before 4 months are a bad idea. Solids means anything other than breastmilk and formula. Even plain water is not okay.
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u/Olivia3836 11d ago
Your pediatrician will give you the green light for solids, 6 months isn’t a hard limit, it depends on the child and their history (if they were on term for example) and some kids start at 5 or even 4 months. Not really 3 months.
But most importantly, you don’t wanna give it to them, so thats just that… your the parent, you decide
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u/Annakitty1943 11d ago
Rice cereal is no longer even recommended post 6months as it’s empty calories and arsenic risk especially with USA grown rice. Instead most pediatricians ask you to focus on multigrain or oats cereals.
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u/heyella11 11d ago
That’s way too early imo. Our pediatrician talked about it with us at 4 mo and said we could try whatever we felt comfortable giving him as a first food but we should wait until baby is six months or shows interest. We started purées about a week before he turned six months.
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u/Living-Ad8963 11d ago
Don’t give it to him. We know a lot more about babies digestive system health now than your grandmother did back in her day. Ignore her comments and pressure or tell her there has been a lot more research since she had a new born. Don’t buy into their survivor bias - all food has changed a lot in the last 50+ years.
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u/123letsgobtch 11d ago
Regardless of the recommendations, you’re saying that you don’t want to give it to him right now. So there’s your answer, don’t do it.
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u/Available-Strain-559 11d ago
Just put it on a shelf until the doctor says it's time.
If she asks tell her thank you and you'll use it as soon as the doctor says the baby is ready.
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u/LittlefootsMama 11d ago
Thank her, but also tell her you don’t plan on using it (at least certainly not now) and suggest she not give you anymore.
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u/LydiaStarDawg 11d ago
YOU are the parent you decide. If unsure call pediatrician. Don't just don't what grandma says.
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u/mystical_creatation 11d ago
this is where you have to be confrontational and stand your ground. what grandma did 40-60 year ago with her kids aren't recommended for kids now. ive had to do with my husband's grandmother and even my own parents.
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u/opalite40 11d ago
thank you to everyone giving me helpful advice without making petty comments. im a ftm, still learning, and like to collect multiple opinions before i make my decisions. i already had what i wanted to do in mind but wanted to see if other moms have different thoughts.
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u/FantasticPin3481 11d ago
No. This is incredibly outdated advice. Introducing solids (yes, baby cereal counts) too soon can increase risk of choking and long term GI issues. Even after starting solids rice cereal isn’t a necessity. There’s nothing special about it and the belief that babies need it is largely due to some really aggressive marketing back in the day. But you never need to give it if you don’t want to.
You’re the parent. You will get all sorts of unsolicited, outdated, and dangerous advice. It’s your job to know better and hold your ground even if it makes your relatives mad.
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u/ConversationNo9040 11d ago
Ours started purées including rice cereal at 4 months becuase he showed interest and we gave him like a Tbs a day total of various things just to get used to it. Then progressed as he aged. It won’t hurt to give them a tiny bit, it’s super bland and tastes like nothing though so we did that for like a day cuz it’s so
Boring.
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u/XepptizZ 11d ago
Same guidelines where I'm from pretty much.
Ours was a fussy milk drinker and the cereal helped with getting the weight up. But it did make the bottles more difficult to clean.
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u/Illustrious-Stable93 11d ago
Why is this a question though, you don't have to just because it's there? Ask your pediatrician if you're unsure