Comments on Analytical Armadillo - The Booby Whisperer: Nine Good Reasons NOT To Use Baby Rice

Rice is the common food in Asia and some countries...

2012-02-24T06:30:42.604Z

Rice is the common food in Asia and some countries in Africa. This maybe the reason why many people in this country acquire diseases like diabetes which is considered to be a deadly disease if not properly managed. Since you have cited different disadvantages of eating rice, maybe you could also cite some good advantages of this food. Thanks.

weight loss perth

So interesting, my older son grabbed food off my p...

2011-12-19T01:21:36.398Z

So interesting, my older son grabbed food off my plate before the dr suggested starting solids, at aprox 3 months (mashed potatoes, but he teethed early)I tried the flaked stuff, but moved on quickly to home made veggies cooked nice and soft. My younger son I tried the baby cereals when the pediatrician suggested, but he never liked the mushy stuff. Not even fruits. To this day (9 years old) the only puree that he eats is applesauce. He didn't start solids in earnest till 7 months old when he got teeth and could chew diced foods. None of the lactation info that I had at the time suggested any of the baby centered weaning/starting solids. We do the best we can. unless we are going to go to a world like the movie GATTICA where all babies are engineered for a perceived perfection. We do our best and tweak as new and better info is learned. Keep learning trying and educating.

my little guy has never had a bite of any kind of ...

2011-12-17T03:21:11.305Z

my little guy has never had a bite of any kind of food specifically marketed to babies (except for some 'puffs' offered to him by my sister. i didn't want to be rude and tell her no and figured just a couple wouldn't hurt him.). i think processed baby foods are disgusting and weird and was really exited to find out about Baby Led Weaning. Maybe we haven't always avoided processed foods perfectly but we make a big effort and i find myself eating more fresh fruits and vegetables now. overall i think this approach has been healthier for my whole family.

but honestly, these decisions were made based on my personal bias against baby food. i think it tastes, looks and feels gross. also, it's expensive and i'm cheap; or at least there are other baby things i'd rather spend my money on. i had no idea current baby feeding trends could be so problematic but i'm glad my baby is super healthy and we're on the right track.

2011-12-13T23:15:44.672Z

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I noticed that my first, who was fed per "sta...

2011-12-13T01:29:10.804Z

I noticed that my first, who was fed per "standards" today (rice cereal, baby food, etc) was a much pickier eater than my second born, who we skipped rice cereal with, skipped most purees and went straight to baby-led weaning. I honestly think there is a lot involved with how a child grows up to appreciate (or not) other foods.

Very good blog indeed, thanks. I was a sheeple I&#...

2011-12-08T19:38:32.358Z

Very good blog indeed, thanks. I was a sheeple I'm afraid. I gave it to my girls because my HV said so and all my friends were doing it?! Definitely food for thought and will be avoiding it in the future!

I enjoyed the post and agree! Baby led weaning and...

2011-12-07T22:42:57.953Z

I enjoyed the post and agree! Baby led weaning and straight introduction to whole/ unprocessed foods worked with our first and now she's a great eater and healthy as an ox!

From KellyMom: "The introduction of iron supplements and iron-fortified foods, particularly during the first six months, reduces the efficiency of baby's iron absorption."

its kinda common sense really... the more processe...

2011-12-07T08:56:37.720Z

its kinda common sense really... the more processed the product the worse it is for health.. and as for 'weaning' babies
is it really weaning when all you do is just offer them a wider variety to consume.

YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THE INSTINCT INSIDE. MY KIDS ARE...

2011-12-07T06:12:09.024Z

YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THE INSTINCT INSIDE. MY KIDS ARE OLDER NOW AND BOTTLE FED PER MY DECISION. WHEN THEY BEGAN DRINKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF FORMULA I OFFERED THEM BABY CEREAL TO SEE IF THEY WERE READY FOR IT. ONE WAS AT 4 MONTHS OLD. I STILL CONTINUED BOTTLE FEEDING WHILE OFFERING A SMALL CEREAL ONCE A DAY AND THEN TWICE A DAY AS THEIR BOTTLE FEEDINGS INCREASED. BOTH PREFERRED WHEN WE ADDED OTHER BABY FOODS TO THE CEREAL. WE TRIED WITHOUT FIRST BUT SOMETIMES THEY WOULD SPIT OUT THE STUFF THAT WAS STRONGER. BY BLANDING IT WITH CEREAL THEY GREW TO LIKE IT. AND BACK THEN THE RECOMMENDATION IN THE US WAS TO GET THEM OFF THE BOTTLE AT A YEAR. I LET THEM KEEP THE BOTTLE BUT ALSO OFFERED MILK AND THEY BOTH STOPPED USING THE BOTTLE IN THEIR OWN TIME. THIS WAS AN INFORMATIVE PIECE BUT SOMETIMES THE GUIDELINES CANT BE FOLLOWED. U NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT UR BABY IS SAYING TO U.

I've been noticing that since some parents are...

2011-12-07T02:58:19.161Z

I've been noticing that since some parents are actually following the up-to-date pediatric North American guidelines for when to begin solid foods (around 6 months) that now health professionals are saying "start cereal at 6 months" and basically hold off on meats until much later! The whole point of adding foods to a breastmilk diet is to make up for a naturally-dropping iron level, which occurs around the middle of the first year of life, so why withhold a food that grew with iron in it, heme iron more easily digestible than the ferrous fumerate added to baby cereal??

Ah- okay! That makes sense! I didn't realize...

2011-12-07T00:39:51.278Z

Ah- okay! That makes sense! I didn't realize that this was a UK blog. :-) No offense intended.... Cheers!

Hiya - in the Uk weaning is used to mean starting ...

2011-12-06T23:03:46.355Z

Hiya - in the Uk weaning is used to mean starting solids :)
AA

Excellent article. However, a point to those moms...

2011-12-06T22:02:12.329Z

Excellent article. However, a point to those moms talking about weaning at 6 months and following baby led weaning .... most human infants won't wean until they're close to 2 years of age. :-) And the WHO does recommend: "exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, introducing age appropriate solids at 6 months with continued breastfeeding for up to 2 years and beyond." I'm not sure what the AAP recommends, but that is the current recommendation by Canada Health. No need to wean at 6 months!

V interesting. My second baby was allergic / into...

2011-12-06T20:52:48.337Z

V interesting. My second baby was allergic / intolerant to baby rice when I started weaning her (vomiting) but we've never tried her with 'real' rice. Might be worth suggesting that to her Dr given how far removed baby rice is from the natural food.

I know Anon, how did the world survive before some...

2011-12-06T20:27:57.797Z

I know Anon, how did the world survive before someone decided to market baby rice as an essential food group?

I give my 8 month old daughter baby rice on occasi...

2011-12-06T20:07:42.461Z

I give my 8 month old daughter baby rice on occasions to thicken a runny fruit sauce (home made of course!) It helps stop staining on her clothes when it's very runny and drips down her chin. It has a (small) in our cupboard and happy to use it.

WOW! EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING NOW A DAYS HAS TO DO ...

2011-12-06T20:02:13.245Z

WOW! EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING NOW A DAYS HAS TO DO WITH A LINK TO SOMETHING. HOW HAVE WE SURVIVED SO MANY YEARS AS AN EVOLVED SPECIES, ONLY TO CONTINUALLY HAVE SOMEONE PROVE SOMETHING WRONG, RIGHT? DONT HAVE YOUR BELIEFS, JUST CONFORM AND AGREE WITH THE MAJORITY BECAUSE SOMEONE WROTE A PAPER OR FOUND IN A STUDY OF WHAT, 6 PEOPLE THAT SOMETHING IS NOT GOOD FOR US!

Mandy's got it exactly. Rice - real rice - as...

2011-12-06T19:30:13.916Z

Mandy's got it exactly. Rice - real rice - as part of a normal diet for a growing young person is fine. Processed baby rice cereal is just gross and useless, and as the official "first food" is unhealthy and misguided. (Not a criticism against those who used it -- they've been led to honestly believe that it's the right thing to do. It's what I did with my first! But that's why this information needs to get out there!)

Anon I concur with Cara - I wouldn't give baby...

2011-12-06T17:19:42.458Z

Anon I concur with Cara - I wouldn't give baby rice full stop. Normal rice (which has been rinsed repeatedly) as part of a balance diet when they are older yes.
Thank you for this article AA, I have been saying this for goodness knows how long. No one seems to believe me about the arsenic, I was starting think I had made it up.

To Holly, I also had a lot of people telling me I ...

2011-12-06T16:15:29.104Z

To Holly, I also had a lot of people telling me I should give my little boy food earlier as he is a big boy (8months 11kgs - gold top being supplied courtesy of mummy) - he wouldn't take anything till 6+ months just not interested and was only interested in foods, and still is, that he can hold. Stick by your guns and just nod and smile sweetly at those spouting the crap at you hun. xxx
AA - great article!!

Anonymous I don't want to speak on behalf of A...

2011-12-06T16:03:11.157Z

Anonymous I don't want to speak on behalf of AA, but I speak for myself when I say it's up to you what you take from the article.

I think the point is made when arsenic is brought up as a point, but it's really up to each individual to take from this what they will and to make up their own minds as to which best course of action they should take.

Personally? I see no value; calorie or nourishment wise to baby rice so I wouldn't feed it to my baby.

Loved the article but have a question. Is it sayin...

2011-12-06T15:58:41.288Z

Loved the article but have a question. Is it saying never give rice or just wait until their gut is closed. I would guess never since they point out all the other negatives but wanted to make sure.

Thank you! To all the people suggesting I give my ...

2011-12-06T15:56:34.734Z

Thank you! To all the people suggesting I give my 16 week old daughter baby rice up yours!!
People have been suggesting it to me since she was 10 weeks old because she is a big girl. I felt they were wrong, I trust my milk and I am going to follow baby led weaning at around 6 months (or when she is ready) So the next person who suggests baby rice I will show them this!
More education is needed I would share this on my wall but I can count about 15+ people who would be offended! Thank you for the artcle.

Loved this article. Won't be sharing it on my ...

2011-12-06T11:50:56.945Z

Loved this article. Won't be sharing it on my wall, though, because can't stand the critics! People are obsessed about baby rice as a first 'food.' My gut is very sensitive to rice so I just don't eat it at all, worried the same might be true for my son, so avoided it until he was older.

The same could be said of baby cereals, too. And Rusks. They are snack foods rather than meals and should be treated as such...but when you have a 4 month old stomach it will be filled by these foods and not provide great nutrition or calories.

We weaned at 4 months and that's a decision I can't take back, but I can learn from. If I have another baby we'll wean at 6 months and follow baby led weaning.