Breast Feeding and Introducing Rice Cereal

Per our Pediatrician:
For the 1st year of life, breastfeed/Formula on demand. 24/7. Day and night.
Solids, is not as nutritionally dense, as breastmilk or Formula.
Solids, for the 1st year, is not a replacement for nursing.
For the 1st year, solids is only an introduction to "eating." Not the baby's main meal, nor do they need to eat or have to eat, 3 meals a day, like an adult.
For the 1st year, solids is not a baby's main source of nutrition.

Also, before giving solids, always nurse, first. If you nurse after, baby will be too full...to nurse. And/or, this can affect your breastmilk production.

My kids, even if started solids at 6 months old, they only ate like a teaspoon. And only once a day. I still predominantly, nursed. 24/7. On demand. Be aware of "serving size" of solids. Their tummies are tiny.

I just want to point out that every bite of food that you give your baby keeps them from getting the much needed nutrients that your breast milk provides. She's still pretty young.

I'd wait at least a month more before introducing any food to her. She doesn't need it at all. Breast milk or formula is complete nutrition.

If you still want to start her on cereal make sure it's really really runny and only a teaspoon or so. Her stomach has to digest it and it's not really ready to yet. She might do fine too. Our little granddaughter screamed the whole day the first time we tried cereal. Her tummy didn't digest it well at all and she was a full 6 months old.

My DD ate rice cereal at first but we quickly moved to oatmeal as rice is very bland and not nutritious. We used water for cereal, as my DD hated anything mixed up. To this day, she's not a fan of soups, casseroles or anything with sauce.

I started her at 6 mo., per the advice of our pediatrician. Her first food was mashed up avocado.

Anything you give her before 1 yr is supplementary. She should nurse first, as much as she wants, as solids should not be primary before 1 yr old. In fact, around 6 mo. expect her to nurse A LOT as prep for a growth spurt, not less. Supply comes from demand.

If you think your supply is low, why? Is it because of her nursing habits? Her weight? Her output? You may have no issue at all, but just the perception of one because many people look at things like pumped output or cluster feeding and think something is wrong. If she's growing, peeing and pooping, you got what she needs. I always struggled with pumping, but DD was fine and I didn't have an issue nursing her.

Which isn't to say you can't try eating oatmeal, keeping hydrated and lowering your stress. But if she's otherwise healthy, don't worry.

I heard they dont give rice cereal any more bc of empty carbs and arsenic concerns. Not sure but might want to check.

I can't answer from experience, b/c when we tried rice cereal (mixed with breast milk) with my son, he got this absolutely stricken, horrified look on his face and spat it right out. I wish I'd gotten a picture.

And, it's pretty common for babies to reject rice cereal. If you can get some into her, she'll likely have about a teaspoon -- it won't change the amount of milk she needs at all.

If you're concerned about your supply, try drinking more water and possibly taking fenugreek. If that doesn't work, try La Leche League, a lactation consultant, and the website Kellymom. But solid food won't replace breastmilk until age 1.

Remember to always nurse first, then offer solids. As long as you nurse first, you'll be fine.

So, at dinnertime, nurse the baby. Then sit down to dinner and offer her a few bites while you eat.

You want her to nurse first, because if she spoils her appetite with cereal, she won't nurse well and your supply will decrease (and also your milk is MUCH more nutritious than cereal).

for the first year.. solid food is practice for eating food later... all of her nutrition comes from breast milk. (My pediatricians words) you do not want her to eat so much cereal that she wont nurse much.

In the beginning a serving of rice cereal is about 1 tablespoon of cereal powder and enough liquid to make it the right consistency. if you mix the cereal with breast milk.. the cereal will liquify as you feed it.. it wont set up nicely.. you can use powdered formula to make the cereal. (buy a can of powder and make 2 or 4 ounces to last 1-3 days just for mixing with the cereal)

Rice cereal is constipating and doesnt taste like anythiing. Oatmeal has a bit of flavor and is not so constipating. One of my kids couldnt handle the rice cereal .. we switched to oatmeal.

if you need to increase your milk supply take some fenugreek capsules. they are safe and they really do work. buy them at the health food store.. start slow with one or 2 capsules a day. if you take a lot of them -- you will smell like maple syrup. fenugreek upset my stomach a tiny bit.

it is somewhat normal to have low supply at this time ti happened to me too..

When we first started rice cereal at about 4 months we only gave it in the morning, and I mixed it with formula (or breast milk) rather then water. Rice is really just for training purposes so you just give a small amount once a day so you should not see a huge decline in the amount she nurses.

When I started feeding my little ones rice or oatmeal; I always mixed it with the breastmilk with a little fruit for flavor. I also continued to pump breastmilk for the entire first year. If you want to keep your supply either nurse a little first or begin pumping to have a plentiful supply. Also, remember...taste the babyfood; if you don't like it neither will your child. Hope all goes well :)

Always nurse first and then offer solids at that age. But, honestly, I would wait another month or 2. All solids are at this age is practice, they get nothing nutritional from them of any substance and even less from rice cereal. There is nothing nutritional in rice cereal really, just a lot of empty calories. Before the age of 1 the main source of a baby's nutrition should come from breastmilk (or formula) and not from solids.
She may not nurse as much as she needs to because the rice cereal will fill her up and make her feel full for too long.

With my son, at least, food at that age seemed more of an experiment not a meal. He did not change the amount he nursed or drank from bottles of breast milk. I did what the previous poster did...offered cereal after he already nursed or had his bottle of breast milk. If you are concerned, you can even hold off another month of solids.

She won't really nurse less at all. The rice cereal is just to practice eating food, but it's not going to fill her up much. I didn't drop any feedings when either of my kids started cereal. Both started at six months and were nursing five times a day both before and after.

You can also mix the rice cereal with pumped milk to continue giving her the nutrients from the milk.

Finally, you can consider single grain oatmeal instead of rice cereal - it tastes better.