Baby Rice Questions

[holliem91]

Hi everyone, sorry if i'm repeating another thread on here but I just have a few questions about baby rice.

I've just nipped to Sainsbury's and got the Aptamil Baby Rice for my little girl who is very nearly 6 months! On the back on the packet it tells you how to make it up but not the following... So my questions are:

How often did you give your LO baby rice in one day? Once, twice, three times?

Also, do I still give her a normal feed with her baby rice? And when? Before the baby rice or after?

FTM so I have no idea and any advice would be great! Also, how long after baby rice did you go on to try other things? What other things did you try? Unless you just skipped baby rice altogether and started on different things but i'm keen to hear people's weaning storiesI do have a weaning book but i'm just still so unsure of where to start!

Thank you!

Personally I think baby rice is a complete con. You don’t need it.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/

Never bothered with baby rice- started my weaning with blended (£10 hand blender and a steamer) Vegetables to get my LO used to bitter tastes. Started with lunch, and always before a bottle/ breastfeed so she’d eat more. I loved this book and followed roughly it’s plan:
www.amazon.co.uk/Ellas-Kitchen-First-Foods-Purple/dp/0600629252/ref=asc_df_0600629252/?hvlocphy=9044978&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=310842649900&hvpone&hvlocint&th=1&hvpos&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-422310988499&hvrand=8856159265684473456

They still sell baby rice? Honestly look at baby led weaning.

As far as I know baby rice doesn't really have any nutritional value so I would start with something else.

My sons first food was sweet potato - cooked it as a jacket and just scooped out the soft inside that's like mash. He loved it!

Throw it in the bin. Baby rice is an an absolute load of rubbish and almost zero nutritional value. Would you like to eat soggy rice?! Yuk.

Look into baby led weaning, or if you don't fancy that then purée normal food. Either of those will be fine.

Baby led weaning (BLW) is the recommended route. They eat normal food. Do some research this evening.

Bin the baby rice and give your baby some avocado, toast with butter, broccoli sticks, steam carrots etc to start.

Good luck!

We skipped baby rice altogether. Weaned at 5.5 months as he was showing signs- sitting up, showing interest in food etc. I did a mix of purées and finger food. I know lots of people are a fan of baby led weaning these days but some of DS’s favourite foods are things that can only be given on a spoon. He loves yogurt but hated when I tried to freeze it so he could have it as a finger food. It worked out great for us so far. He is 9 months now and progressing more onto a lot more finger foods now and I offer some purée alongside it but he tends to enjoy feeding himself.

When I started I would cook off a bit of a vegetable purée some and offer it as a finger food as well. Carrots, parsnip, broccoli, cauliflower etc all worked great this way.

I'll have a read, thank you.

I think I just wanted to start with baby rice since it's mixed in with her formula so i've heard it tastes the same as a bottle but it's the same consistency as puréed foods so helps get them used to the texture without the taste changing and hopefully (i'm hoping anyway) that it'll help weaning a little easier!

Who told you to use baby rice OP? I'm honestly intrigued. My children are young and we never used it (we did baby led weaning) and my parents also never gave it to me (they did purees). As per the link above the NHS guidance shouldn't include it either.

Your suggestion sounds like a choking hazard and not very appetising.

Surely you should give the baby yummy flavoursome foods to encourage enjoyment? Baby rice sounds bland.

Agree with the others. Baby rice is a load of rubbish. You might as well use sawdust.

I did traditional weaning (purees then moving on to lumpier food) with DS. With DD, I did BLW and I so wish I had done it first time round. No faffing about with separate meals for the most part and she could feed herself from the beginning so I could actually eat with her rather than spoon-feeding her and eating mine cold. I highly recommend buying a book called Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley. It explains everything, from what food, what size, the difference between gagging and choking. I'm so glad I went down the BLW route.

Thanks all! I honestly thought that everyone started with baby rice! Oh well, i've learnt something new.

I'll do a little more research.

@Ullupullu quite a few people, but mainly my parents, my partners parents etc so perhaps that was the thing to do when we were babies and that's why they're suggesting it. They also suggested rusks but i've looked into rusk and don't want to give her those just yet.

My plan was to do a bit of both - the traditional baby weaning and the baby led weaning. I'm going to look at some recipes tonight for some nice puréed food and finger foods and gather a little list together.

I pureed single foods, and mixed them with formula (or breast milk, if you're breast feeding). Once you know your baby isnt allergic to one type of food, you can mix them. I started with veg, then moved to fruit. So far, my baby really like brocolli, pear, avocado and sweet potato. He HATES swede, mango and peas 😂

@Ullupullu oh and the weaning book I purchased "Weaning made easy by Dr Rana' mentions baby rice quite a lot too.

Honestly don’t bother. The post about likening it to sawdust is accurate. Times change just like medical advice, so do what’s current not what your parents did.

It's a waste of money.

Same with baby porridge

baby rice is useful for thickening runny puree e.g pear or courgette an it adds a bit of texture/bulk. Its bland and tasteless by itself

I had planned to do BLW but my little girl just wasn't interested in food at all for two months. Wouldn't even take purée from a spoon.

If you've got the rice already, keep it because you could always try mixing it with her formula if your baby is like mine and doesn't want ANYTHING!

We tried everything with ours and one day near 8 months old she just started accepting.

We use the aptimal banana porage for his breakfast, he never liked the rice, then he has blended normal food for lunch and dinner plus 4 or 5 6oz bottles.

Don't give rusks! They're just sugar and rubbish. Just give your baby what you're eating.

We did purées due to weaning at 17 weeks on paed advice. Baby rice is a thickener for runnier veg purées really, not a food in its own right.

Baby porridge however is yummy even for adults!

http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2011/12/nine-good-reasons-not-to-use-baby-rice.html?m=1

Here is the science in why NOT to use baby rice. Please read!

1. It's bland and tasteless, yet sweet - which may influence later food choices

1. It's outdated

1. It's highly refined

1. It can cause deficiencies

1. It's high in sugar

1. It could be linked to diabetes

1. It can contain Arsenic (yes really): From the NHS

1. It can contain other toxic metals

1. It's pointless: Ultimately the question has to be - why use it? Rather than why not. There is no research or logic suggesting a baby needs baby rice, and given potential risks what are the benefits?

Thanks everyone.

I'm trying to get prepared but so many different people have so much different advice and opinions. I suppose everyone does things differently as every baby is different but for a FTM it's just so overwhelming and I just don't have a clue where to start. I think maybe a timetable would help me for the first few weeks so I have a strict routine to follow and then fingers crossed it will all come naturally after that. I'll keep the baby rice then and will mix it in with veg and stuff to thicken it (I didn't even know you could do that either).

If anyone has any links or books they recommend for meal plans that would be lovely too

I would strongly recommend looking up Nanny Louenna on Instagram, or she has an app (you have to pay for it, but its well worth it imo).

She has loads of advice on weaning, including a timetable and how to start.

We did porridge and pureed fruit. Plus things like sweet potato, cooked carrot, strawberries.

Annabel Karmel book seems popular you could try that.

From what I read on here lots of people's families recommend things like rusks but it's not good advice. Go off the NHS website and keep the food as pure as possible