Need advice on rice vs oatmeal

[Leanna5813]

My son will be five months on the 8th. I asked his pediatrician if starting him on cereal would be okay at this point. He sits up great in his high chair. She recommended rice over oatmeal, at only one teaspoon per day to start. I did that for three days in a row and baby seemed to enjoy it, though he was a little confused about the spoon. (The faces he made when it got to his mouth were adorable!) He has been EBF so far, and the three days I did feed him cereal he was extremely fussy afterwords. He would fight me at his bedtime nursing, and he would growl and tense up like he had gas. Is this normal? I'm worried he's either not ready or that I'm feeding him too much. This is my first baby and I don't know much about introducing food. Any recommendations?

 

[Larkspur]

Sounds like he's not ready to be honest. I would hold off till six months. There's no need to rush in.

 

[Leanna5813]

That's what I was thinking too. Like maybe his tummy and intestines aren't developed enough to digest food yet. Kinda sad to think I put him through some pain.

 

[MindUtopia]

When you do start I think it's probably always a bit rough on their digestive systems. I know we had about 3 weeks of very disrupted sleep and she seemed really windy and gurgly in her belly (and we started at 6 months). But if it's actual discomfort rather than just a bit of wind, then I wouldn't push it. There's no need for him to have solids at that age and if it isn't settling well with him, better to wait it out and try later on when he might be more ready.

Anyway, I think the reason for rice instead of oats before 6 months is that oats are similar to wheat and you aren't supposed to give wheat before 6 months because of risk of creating allergies or intolerances later in life.

 

[melfy77]

I started DD on oatmeal when she was 4.5 months and she never had any issue. Maybe wait a few weeks and try again?

 

[korndogger123]

Naomi wasn't ready for solids until she was about 9 months. Until then she would be gassy and very constipated. I used oatmeal cereal and skipped rice because it constipated her.

 

[sillysapling]

Is there any reason on trying grains rather than fruits/veg for the first food?

 

[ruby09]

I've heard that a lot of babies have trouble with the rice as it can cause bad gas pains. Personally, my son hated it so we switched to oatmeal after a few days. Nutritionally I found it to be about the same. He was just over 6 months when we started the cereal.

 

[MummyMana]

What time are you feeding? Try the food earlier in the day if it's the bedtime bf he's fussing with also I'd recommend a fruit or veg puree as opposed to cereal, I started with pear and introducing solids instantly made her a much more settled baby