Infant cereal is often the first solid food offered to babies. Offering your baby cereal allows him to experience different textures of food and practice eating from a spoon. The type of cereal you feed your baby matters more than you might think. Certain brands of baby cereal offer different kinds in stages to help you determine when to start feeding them to your baby. Understanding the importance of the stages will help you feed your baby the foods his body needs when the time is right.
Baby Cereal
When your baby is ready to eat solid food, she will be able to sit up on her own and have control of her head. Baby cereal is a simple way to begin teaching your little one to eat a variety of foods and move toward independent feeding. Most infant cereals supply your baby with certain nutrients that she may no longer be getting from your breast milk, such as iron. Certain brands might also divide the cereal into three stages to help you determine which to feed your little one.
Type
Gerber, a leading baby food manufacturer, notes that there is a common order for introducing different kinds of baby cereal. It is important to offer single-grain cereals first, so if your baby has a reaction, you know which type of cereal is the offender. Rice cereal is usually offered first, and then oatmeal cereal is offered later. Following this stage, barley and wheat cereal might be offered. Healthy Children, a website from the American Academy of Pediatrics, notes that many pediatricians recommend offering wheat cereal last because of a higher risk of allergy than other types.
Ingredients
As your baby gets older, you can begin offering her combinations of different foods. Once your baby has tried rice, oatmeal, barley and wheat cereal, you might purchase baby food that includes additional ingredients, such as pureed fruits or vegetables. Your older baby will likely eat more cereal at one sitting, so as she progresses through the different stages, the jars will contain a larger quantity of cereal. As your baby consumes less breast milk or formula, the cereal should be fortified with iron and protein to help your baby get plenty of these important nutrients.
Tips
Do not combine single-grain cereals until your baby has eaten each type and has not had a reaction. Healthy Children recommends waiting two or three days between each type so that if your baby does have a reaction, you know which cereal caused it. Watch your baby for a rash, vomiting or diarrhea, which might signal an intolerance or allergy to the cereal. During the first stage of eating solid foods, your baby will probably eat just 2 or 3 tablespoons of cereal. Combine the cereal with breast milk or formula to help encourage your baby to try the new food.
References
- Baby Love: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler; Norah O'Donnell and Geoff Tracy
- Ask Dr. Sears: Cereal
- Gerber: Introducing Cereal
- Healthy Children: Getting Started With Solid Foods
