How old was your baby when you added rice cereal?

There are no benefits. In some cases it’s needed for SEVERE reflux but that is only per doctor’s orders.

You don’t NEED to add rice cereal to your baby’s bottles. It’s not necessary and it doesn’t make them sleep longer. It’s also a choking hazard. Cereal belongs on a spoon when your baby is old enough to eat from one, not in their bottle.

5 reasons NOT to add rice cereal to bottles;

#1. You can cause your child’s allergies. . .

While no one agrees completely on what it is that actually causes allergies, we do have enough research to see certain connections. One, very well documented connection to serious allergies is when a baby has been exposed to the allergen too early. Putting cereal in your baby’s bottle, even rice cereal, can cause allergies.

#2. Choking hazard

Some infants do not fully have their swallowing reflex fully developed at birth. Sucking cereal from a bottle can cause a choking hazard. . .and babies have actually died this way. Choking on cereal from a bottle certainly isn’t a common cause of death. . .but why do it when it is linked to something like choking?

#3. Digestive Issues

There is a connection between babies who have solids too early and digestive problems. The fact of the matter is that baby tummies are designed to take in breastmilk. When you can’t breastfeed, there’s formula which mimics breastmilk. Baby tummies are not designed to take in solids, and it’s not surprising that they malfunction when forced to do what they’re not designed to do.

#4. Obesity

One key factor in obesity is infant feeding. Infants are born with a self regulatory ability to take in only what they need. By feeding on demand and following a baby’s cues, you are essentially helping them form habits of eating when hungry and eating until they feel full. This sets them up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits. But when you add cereal to a bottle, it bypasses their system and essentially they take in more calories than they need.

#5. It Doesn’t Work!!!

There is no scientific evidence to support the notion that baby’s sleep better with cereal in their bottles. The truth is, babies are designed to wake frequently at night. Dealing with sleep deprivation is part of the parenting package.

You should never add rice cereal to bottles. I started my daughter at 6 months and mixed her milk from her bottle in to a bowl with the rice cereal baby’s hate the taste and wont eat much the first time but after a few days add some purred apples to it to give it some flavour hope all goes well good luck.

I never added rice cereal to the milk until my babies were at least 4 months old and ready to try it from a spoon. You shouldn’t put it in the bottle unless you have a recommendation from a pediatrician to treat a certain problem.

I never added anything to my baby’s formula. I can’t think of any benefit — only downsides.