Rice Cereal In Bottle
As your baby starts getting close to the age that he or she can eat solids (6 months), you will hear about all of these benefits of putting rice cereal in a bottle. This of course is always a popular discussion on parenting forums and it is very likely you will hear this advice from your friends who have babies of their own. In fact, you may even be told by your own mother that this is a good idea and something that she did with you as well.
Many of the reasons why parents will put rice cereal in a bottle, is because it is easier than spoon feeding it to your infant. It is also believed that the rice cereal will help to settle a hungry or fussy baby and even help him to nap better.
How Much Rice Cereal In Bottle?
If you talk to many pediatricians and other experts, they will almost always advise against doing this. This is because a baby has a natural inclination of when to stop eating, once he feels full. However, by putting rice cereal into the bottle, your baby is much more prone to over eat, and consume more calories than he needs.
It is much more preferable to feed your baby cereal with a spoon, allowing him time between each bite. This will signal to your baby when he is full and he will not be consuming more calories than is needed. Experts of course fear that when rice cereal is being fed to a baby in a bottle, that it can be a trigger for childhood obesity.
Studies have also shown that feeding your baby the rice in a bottle, will not have a significant effect on how much he sleeps. Essentially, there is no reason to put the cereal in a bottle. It is more or less, a matter of convenience for the parent.
Today the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends against this practice and despite what you may hear from well-meaning friends or family members, you may want to think twice before adding any cereal to your baby’s next bottle.
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