To Rice it or not to rice it. This guy makes his case.

[holliberry28]

So, after my pediatrician recommended mixing in 1.5 teaspoons of rice cereal in M's formula at night to help with reflux, I started looking into different products on Amazon.  Stumbled upon this review, and had to share.  Hopefully, y'all will think its as funny as I do (I am two glasses of wine in, so who knows).

If anyone wants to weigh in, skip the rice and go straight to solids at 6 months? or earlier?

"This is a lot of oatmeal. Excellent.
By Ben R. on March 10, 2015
Flavor Name: OatmealSize: 16 Ounce (Pack of 6) Verified Purchase
I was born in July of 1976. Throughout my childhood and into my adult years I always enjoyed Gerber Baby Oatmeal. Somehow I never outgrew it. My mom used to prepare it for me, and I’d sweeten it with syrup and sometimes I’d throw in some raisins. What a warm and tasty breakfast!

When I left for college in the fall of 1994, I stopping eating Gerber Baby Oatmeal. I stopped cold turkey. I moved on, and to be honest, I forgot about it. Once in a while I’d remark to my friends that I ate baby oatmeal until I was 17 years old, and I’d get a few laughs.

Now, fast-forward to the year 2015. I’m 38 years old, living in Brooklyn, NY, and I’ve developed a passion for long distance running.

Runners often experiment with different types of food to eat before running, and I’ve heard that oatmeal is an excellent choice. Full of nutrients and easy to digest, oatmeal is almost pure carbohydrate, and is soft and light in taste. I decided to give it a try.

After scanning the aisles at my local supermarket I found several brands of oatmeal, but nothing from Gerber. (I checked the baby section too.) So I went to Amazon and placed my order.

Imagine my surprise when a rather large box arrived from UPS, weighing about 7 pounds. I could not imagine what this box contained. I grabbed my swiss army knife, sliced opened the cardboard shipping box, and pulled out another box— I had not ordered six *servings* of Gerber Baby Oatmeal, but rather six *boxes* of it!

What is a man to do with all of this Gerber Baby Oatmeal? I don’t have a baby, and I only eat it once it a while. I now have enough baby oatmeal to feed an army.

I am pleased to report that this oatmeal is as tasty and delicious as I remember it being back in the 80s and 90s. Gerber has stayed true to this great product, and I applaud them for it. If you’re looking for tasty pre-run meal, I suggest you try this. I have a box available for you at no cost. You don’t have to be a baby to eat Gerber Baby Oatmeal. Just don’t order a 7 pound box of it."

[mrsmonogrammed]

+1 to what @babybean9 said

And lololol at that review....I have a family friend (37) who still keeps a box of Gerber baby cereal in her cabinets to eat occassionally. Her youngest is 5! She says she likes the taste and can't find anything else quite like it.

[Deleted]

We will probably skip rice cereal and do baby oatmeal and purées at 5-6months. Not really interested in trying baby led weaning.

[sugarkissed]

We did BLW with our first and it worked well, so we'll start that again at 6 months or whenever she seems interested.

@jemomma, Our paediatrician said that she doesn't NEED anything besides breastmilk or formula until 6 months, so I just didn't see a reason to add anything else until then. Boobs are free, and I'm lazy.

[Deleted]

Sept 25, 2015 20:59:08 GMT -5 @jemomma said:

I'm curious why so many are waiting until after 6 months...is it the recommendation of your pedi's or another reason?

I'm just going to wait and see when she shows interest. She turns 4 months next week and is no where near showing interest in food. She only just today started being able to hold a toy and grab her feet with intention.

[Deleted]

Sept 25, 2015 21:05:51 GMT -5 sugarkissed said:

We did BLW with our first and it worked well, so we'll start that again at 6 months or whenever she seems interested.

@jemomma, Our paediatrician said that she doesn't NEED anything besides breastmilk or formula until 6 months, so I just didn't see a reason to add anything else until then. Boobs are free, and I'm lazy.

Im curious why your pedi said she doesn't need anything besides breastmilk and formula for the first 6 months. Isn't the rule that they don't need anything besides F or BM for the first year? The saying goes ' food before one is just for fun'

[erbear]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to do purées or BLW at 6 months, but I'll probably introduce some oatmeal, too. Now I want to try this kind! I need to get a book on BLW. I do know I'm eyeing sweet potatoes and avocados as first foods..

And I'm choosing six months based on the current recommendations from literature my doctor has given me. I think it's the AAP recommendation? Pretty sure it's not WHO.

[Widget123]

I prefer oatmeal over rice cereal. We introduced oatmeal to DD just for fun shortly after 4 months. But this LO is almost 4 months and seems nowhere near ready. Im looking forward to the purees when the time comes. Feeding a baby is so much more fun than feeding a picky toddler.

[PurpleIris]

We tried rice cereal once with my son (who's now 5). It's the only time he ever projectile vomited. After that it was BLW for us, which was actually really fun! At 5.5 mos he grabbed a roll off the table at a restaurant and nommed it so we figured he was ready.

Now I realize my findings have a n=1, but he turned out to be a decent eater who is willing to try most things.

[holliberry28]

Sept 26, 2015 2:05:23 GMT -5 erbear said:

I'm pretty sure I'm going to do purées or BLW at 6 months, but I'll probably introduce some oatmeal, too. Now I want to try this kind! I need to get a book on BLW. I do know I'm eyeing sweet potatoes and avocados as first foods..

And I'm choosing six months based on the current recommendations from literature my doctor has given me. I think it's the AAP recommendation? Pretty sure it's not WHO.

This is why when my pediatrician said 4 months, I was confused because of the current recommendations I had read.  I'm also thinking sweet potatoes and avocados!

Stupid question, what does BLW mean?

Thanks for all your responses.  Probably going to go straight to purees once M has good head and trunk control, and skip the rice cereal, unless we just use it to thicken formula for reflux.  

[silv3rlining]

SS: No rice cereal. And will do a mix of BLW/puree sometime around 6ish months.

[honeybunches101]

I will probably go straight to regular food at 6m. DS had no interest in purees and they were a pain and messy. If this LO doesn't seem to take well to regular food, I will make purees and maybe add some breastmilk and baby oatmeal to them. DD always had low iron and I think our oatmeal was fortified by iron so that is why I used it.

[dmoney]

I have no desire to do BLW, ive seen my sister do it with her kids and it just isnt for us. We are going to wait to start food until 6 months and at that rate probably not do rice cereal. I have read so many horrible things about it that Personally I just dont want to give it to her. We will probably give baby oatmeal though.

[dmoney]

Sept 29, 2015 8:52:59 GMT -5 @jemomma said:

Sept 29, 2015 7:34:26 GMT -5 dmoney said:

I have no desire to do BLW, ive seen my sister do it with her kids and it just isnt for us. We are going to wait to start food until 6 months and at that rate probably not do rice cereal. I have read so many horrible things about it that Personally I just dont want to give it to her. We will probably give baby oatmeal though.

What horrible things have you heard about rice cereal???

That there is arsenic in it, and that there is no nutritional value for babies.  I have also read that it can be really hard on their stomachs as they are not fully developed. 

[holliberry28]

Sept 29, 2015 7:34:26 GMT -5 dmoney said:

I have no desire to do BLW, ive seen my sister do it with her kids and it just isnt for us. We are going to wait to start food until 6 months and at that rate probably not do rice cereal. I have read so many horrible things about it that Personally I just dont want to give it to her. We will probably give baby oatmeal though.

Just curious at what you've read about rice cereal? It does seem nutritionally empty to me.

Edit: just saw you answered the question

[ashbash]

Same as a lot of you, BLW mixed with purees at 5/6 months maybe some baby oatmeal. Not doing rice cereal because as others mentioned its hard on their tummies, no nutritional value, and arsenic contamination. Id rather stick with something flavorful and good for his development like mashed avocado and breastmilk

I loved starting food with DD and look forward to it with DS is a month or 2

[ashbash]

Also the OP was funny! I love the free of charge box