Gerber Cereal question..Rice or Oatmeal?

OK so I am playing devils advocate here, because you've got a lot of good answers.

1. Most of Asia would disagree that there is not nutritional value in rice. And you don't often see a lot of overweight Asians in Asia.

2. Rice is less likely to upset a young gastrointestinal system.

Gluten intolerance is a growing problem, one theory is introducing grain products too early. That includes oats and wheat.

3. Most paediatricians suggest waiting until the baby is 6 months before introducing solids, and then one food group at a time. Again, rice has been proven to be gentle on the stomach.

4. My baby was hungry for food earlier than that, and got boiled rice at our mealtimes until she was around 4 months. Then it was eggs and 'soft' food for a while.

5. There is no doubt that ready made baby food is convenient when you are on the run, but really, home made can't be beat in terms of nutritional value and getting the child to eat what you eat. Putting a mixture of your meal in the blender and giving the baby that is way more economical, and you don't get the "I want special food" tantrums when they hit 2 or 3. They are just used to eating what you eat.

Whatever you do, you will get a thousand opinions. At the end of the day, this is your child and your family. Providing you don't starve him, you do what feels right for you.

We all survived our parents!. Good luck and have fun.

My baby likes the oatmeal better than the rice, and so do I, to be honest. They've got versions with DHA in them... probably not all that important if your baby gets plenty of formula with DHA, but once baby starts eating lots of solids the extra DHA might be nice. Since I bought the rice cereal and the oatmeal and my 8mo won't eat the rice cereal, I just mix them. I usually add water and unsweetened apple sauce (adult jar... same stuff as baby food but so much cheaper).

My son prefers the oatmeal and barley cereal over the rice. The rice is really bland..has no taste at all so I can see why he doesn't enjoy it. My peditrician reccommended starting with the rice and then moving to oatmeal then barley. Rice is easier on their digestive system and should be the first cereal you start with. Have fun!

For sure! As long as it's a single grain cereal ... those are all ment as "starter" cereals. But to be honest at 6months+ you could even start him on stage 2 cereals like single grain + fruit so oatmeal and apple or rice and banana type thing.

All baby cereals are over-processed. The grain is so refined it may as well be wallpaper paste you're buying, and the addition of a few vitamins does not make wallpaper paste a nutritious food...

Skip the baby aisle entirely. If you want to feed your baby rice, cook up regular brown rice; if you want to feed your baby oatmeal, cook up regular oats. Baby cereals are unnecessary at best.

i started off with rice first and then gave oatmeal ... i don't think it really matters ... if they don't like one then switch to the other one instead

oatmeal, add some juice to it instead of formula or water and the combination will help your childs digestion out too

Rice cereal has no nutritional value; go with oatmeal.

oatmeal

oatmeal, rice has no nutritional value. but personally Im not going to spoon feed my child. she will eat when shes ready