When first starting infant cereal check the label to make sure that the cereal is a single ingredient product that is rice cereal or oatmeal and does not contain added fruit milk or yogurt solids or infant formula.
Giving baby cereal with breastmilk.
Some doctors will recommend it even earlier as a way to help newborns sleep.
If you are mixing oatmeal cereal in formula.
This means it is a more efficient food to give to babies who may still be under six months but whose appetite seems to be outgrowing a liquid diet alone.
Mix 1 tablespoon of a single grain iron fortified baby cereal with 4 tablespoons 60 milliliters of breast milk or formula.
If you mix it too early the enzymes in the breast milk will break down the oatmeal making it ineffective.
Find more baby food cereal recipes here what is the best oatmeal cereal for babies.
Mom s are urged to add a little rice baby cereal and formula to baby s bottle as a way to keep him full and sleep through the night.
Feed only a quarter of a teaspoonful of baby cereal or mashed food to begin with increasing the amount very slowly as your baby shows more interest.
Some people mix rice cereal with fruit juice too.
Formula or breast milk thickened with rice cereal is more dense in calories than formula or breast milk alone.
It is most effective if done no more than 20 to 30 minutes before your infant will feed.
Don t serve it from a bottle.
Most pediatricians recommend starting rice baby cereal at about 4 6 months old for baby s first food.
A runny cereal 1 tablespoon of oatmeal mixed with 4 or 5 tablespoons of breast milk or formula provides your baby with good practice in learning how to manipulate and swallow solid food.
Solids can be offered just once a day in the beginning and then slowly increased as the baby wants.
Start by serving one or two teaspoons.
Feeding him an iron fortified cereal also helps prevent iron deficiency anemia.
Iron fortified infant cereal such as rice cereal or oatmeal is another good solid food to complement breast milk.
To start the introduction process mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of iron fortified rice cereal with 4 to 6 tablespoons of formula breast milk or water.
Parents can mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of baby oatmeal cereal with about 4 to 5 tablespoons of breast milk or formula.
Mix cereal with 4 to 5 teaspoons breast milk or formula.
Begin with about 1 teaspoon pureed food or cereal.