Rice Cereal Reaction

Happy Bellies organic cereals with probiotics recommended by Dr. Sears - have only found it at Whole Foods. In the baby aisle. Also, be careful about soy formula - so many people/babies are allergic to soy - all of mine reacted to soy so I had to buy the super expensive formulas that are broken down - don't remember the names but on the can it says things like already broken down for easy digestion, etc. Soy is rough.

There are a few different types of cereal. Perhaps try oatmeal or barley. Stay away from mized grain cereals, they need to be a bit older for that. Good luck! I hope it isn't another allergy!

Oatmeal cereal worked much, much, much better for us. Constipation was also reduced. He seemed a lot more satisfied on oatmeal, too.

most definitely. he could also be having a bad reaction to the soy formula. my daughter had all kinds of problems when she drank that stuff. i know there are other non dairy formula options you could try. i read an article on the prolonged side effects of soy formula and babies. people can develop soy allergies if taken for too long periods of a time. such as soy milk and soy products. even vegetarians have to be careful how much soy they consume. good luck.

If he was allergic to regular formula, then be sure you are removing all dairy from your diet as well so that he is not getting the protein from milk passed through when he has breast milk. I would remove the cereal and any breast milk that might have milk protein in it and let him get all cleared up. After that you might try the rice cereal again and that way you will have a better idea of what is going on.

Our son was severely allergic to milk (among lots of others) and had horrible diapers, horrible gas, and really bad eczema. His diet is finally under control and I have had so many that do not get to see us often say that he looks like a completely different baby.

I would also suggest you taking your son to a pediatric allergist. There is a great clinic in Austin that has two and it is called Specially for Children. That is where we take our son and I will NEVER regret it. They can do and offer you so much more information than a pediatrician ever could.

Another thing is to be on top of where he stays during the day, especially as he gets older. They have to be aware of all of his allergies and make sure they do everything possible to not let him have the allergy foods and even that cross-contamination does not happen. That has been one of the hardest things in our house as I will never get my husband to not drink his cow's milk and even just kissing our son after drinking a glass he will have a horrible reaction. So it is not always the ingesting, but the contact with it on skin or their food being on the same surface that has not been cleaned.

Sorry for my rambles...Good luck!!!

My son had the same problem with the mucus in the diaper. How long has yours been on the soy formula? My son had a milk protein allergy that caused it. I was mostly breastfeeding, but would give 2 bottles a day. My doctor said that those kids that have the milk protein allergy are usually also sensitive to soy. I changed his 2 bottles a day to Similac Alimentum (for protein allergy) and I was taken off of all food that contained milk and soy and my son has been absolutely fine since then. It was very hard for me being on a strict diet, but I did lose 12 pounds doing it:) You just have to be sure that you get enough protein and take a calcium supplement everyday. Hope this helps.

Hi K.,
I'm sorry you're having such problems.
Please, take my word for it, you absolutely MUST get the "SUPER BABY FOOD BOOK." Look it up on amazon and read the reviews. I was given it when I had my little girl and it was great! It gives you about 5 beginning foods. I think some of the best were avocado and sweet potatoes (individually of course. Anyway- it is a must have book in my opinion.
Best wishes!

I have a similar situation &would like to see the responses. about 2 weeks ago when we started rice cereal from a spoon (he's been getting it in his bottle for 2 months for his acid reflux), he stopped sleeping through the night, he had been sleeping through for 6 weeks (he's almost 5 months old). The first night, he woke up with tummy troubles (gas), then every night for the 4-5 days we did the cereal from the spoon he woke at night to eat. so, I stopped the cereal from the spoon, but he's still been gettting up. I'm thinking he needs the extra cereal to fill him up & that's why he's getting up, but it disrupted our night's sleep, so now I'm scared to try it again. also, since he's been getting it in his bottles for months, I can't understand why it would hurt his tummy or have a different reaction to it?! Not much help to your qusstion except maybe it makes you feel better to know someone else is having a similar situation. Best of luck!

My son also had bad gas from rice cereal. I started him with Oatmeal and he has done really well. I hope this helps.

Hi K.!

We had the same problem - and I found out the all those starter foods - rice cereal, bananas, etc... really aren't so great for allergic or tummy sensitive babies. Here's what really did well for us - Barley cereal. You cannot always find it in the grocery store. I have had great luck with it being available at the new Target store just past 183A/1431-Whitestone. That is the Gerber brand. I also like the Earth's Best Organic - also hard to find the Barley though and our little one did not like that one nearly as well as the Gerber-Earth's Best does have a mixed grain one with brown rice which seems better than the typical white rice cereal. Try the Gerber Barley - it looks just like the reg. box. Also, the P's are your best bet - peaches, pears, plums - very good for their tummys.

Good luck!
Alli

It could also be the teething. Take away the cereal. Wait awhile, and then try again when you feel he over the teething.

Try pureed bananas? If you're adding the cereal (or bananas) in his bottle, then you will a bigger nipple hole size.

Hi K., How frustrated you must be. I would hold off on any solids for as long as possible. I actually didn't start my daughter on solids until she was almost 7 months old. Breastmilk only until then. Also, adding cereal to the diet isn't a fail-proof way of getting them to sleep through the night. It did nothing for my two babies and I hear/read the same over and over. With his history with formula allergies and now this reaction, I would hold off and give his body and immune system more time to develop. The longer you give it, the less likely food allergies will become a problem for your little man. Good luck.

The cereal is not the problem I would guess. The teeth coming in are most likely the problem. The can cause all kinds of problems of little one's and it sounds like your child has them. Good luck. All I can say is get something for the teeth to sooth the pain. Hopefully you will be able to sleep soon.

Hi K.,
I hope your doctor was able to give you some good suggestion. Sorry I didn't see this post until now and I didn't get a chance to read every response but our pediatrician told me when my son was 6 months old that the reason why rice cereal was used to start the babies with solids is because most babies to not have allergies. Unfortunately yours does it seems. Also she suggested cereal because it has iron. She told me that when babies are born, they are born with iron reserve that lasts about 6 months, shorter for premies. So when they hit 6 months of age, their reserve is gone and now they need something with iron in the solids you are giving. I waited full 6 months until I gave my son his first solids because I have also heard that you want to give your baby enough time for the digestive tract to fully develop. If it is not, that's when you see more food allergies.

My DD who is 7 months old now has been allergic to dairy and nuts so I have cut all of that out in my diet while I am BF. So I can't give her cheese until she is older. I'll probably wait until she is fully year old before trying. So do some research on nutrition and see what's best to give your child. The reason why people give certain food to babies to start is to minimize allergies. You can certainly start with avocado or bananas or whatever. Just make sure and talk to your pedi about iron and make sure he is getting enough.

Also, I have heard all kinds of stories about soy. Some say it's good, some say it's bad. Most recently I read that if you were raised on soy from childhood, it's fine but if you start eating large amount as an adult, it doesn't have the benefits. So check your sources and make sound decision for your baby. I always believe in moderation. I think people go overboard when they hear something is good and then find out later that too much is never good.

Good luck!

HK

My 4 month old had a very similar reaction to rice cereal when we started solids just 3 weeks ago. My doctor told me that it was just his digestive system getting used to the solids. he'd wake up at night with horrible gas and even had really bad constipation. So i ended up feeding him rice cereal once a day and then some baby food another part of the day (always giving him gas drops after each solid food eating). I also gave him infant apple juice (per the dr.s request) to help with constipation. His system is finally working itself out. He's been sleeping so much better and even though he has a little gas, it's been much better. Of course I would definately talk to my dr about it, but I don't think you have much to worry about. many babies go through this problem as their system is getting used to the new solids. i hope his symptoms clear up and you get your happy little baby back. good luck!

mucous in the diaper ect can be teething signs. However, there are A LOT of children allergic to rice so you can try other cereals. Other potential allergens are soy, strawberries, apples, oranges...I think I'm forgetting something. :(

When I started feeding mine solids because of being hungry at night, I fed them something from a spoon at night before bed. I mixed cereal with breastmilk or a little juice and breastmilk or formula and later a veggie and some cereal. It really helped!

S., mom to 5 ages 5 and under

I would definitely call the Dr. You can also try a different kind of cereal once you know any alergic reaction is over from the Rice (if that's what is going on). Good luck!

When a baby cuts teeth they can have very strange "mucusy" poos. I worked in an infant classroom for many years and when we saw this we called it teething poo. My daughter started rice and was very constipated so we switched her to oatmeal. She did fine after that.

There are other cereals that you can give him. I would first stop the rice cereal. Are you feeding it to him putting it in his bottle? Putting it in his bottle it not a good idea. I doesnt teach him to eat food properly. Definantly go to the doctor with some of the problems you mention it might be more than just a reaction to the cereal. Good luck and hope he becomes a happy eater!

My pediatrician told me, when introducing new foods, if you feel a reaction is happening, stop the new food. Give the situation time to clear up, then retry the food. If you get the same reaction, stop the food and dont use that one for a while. Sometimes allergies are cleared up as the child gets older too. Rice, being a single grain, is usually the easiest to digest and least likely to cause reactions. Good luck with your new little one!

I have read that many firsts (rolling over, standing, etc.)will wake the baby in the middle of the night. If he is waking at the same time each night it is probably a habit. However, if it is at different times he could be hungry. Or, it could be the teething. It is so hard to tell.

Are you putting the rice cereal in the bottle? Some advise against this. Do you feed him before you go to bed at night? Try feeding him around 10 pm and at his age he should be able to make it through until 7am. I started my first (he is 18mo)on rice cereal at 18wks and it was with the spoon during the day. My doctor and some reading say not to put it in the bottle. It is so crazy how different the advice is. Some reading will also tell you that starting the baby on food does not help them sleep thru the night. ??? Sorry I couldn't help more.

My second son had the same reaction to rice cereal. I stopped it and tried again a month later. Same reaction - gas, uncomfortable, irritable. I went straight to baby oatmeal and it worked just fine. My pediatrician said that babies on formula are getting all the iron they need (rice cereal provides a good sorce of iron). Since your baby is on soy formula, that would probably cover the iron. Talk to your doctor about using oatmeal instead. Good luck.

My son was also allergic to regular formula, and we tried soy but he still had the mucus in his stool with tiny dots of blood as well. We ended up giving him Similac Alimentum and once he was on that, we had no problems at all. It was a very trying time, but I am so glad we pushed the doctor to keep on top of this. We were very fortunate that his eating issue was solved and when he was one, he did absolutely fine with switching to regular vitamin D milk and everything that followed. My son is now 4 1/2 years old and is a very healthy eater & is not allergic to any foods. Good luck!

Have you tried the organic rice cereal like you can get at whole foods? I am by no means an organic only person, it can be expensive. I'll buy organic when I can get it. However, my youngest had issues with acid reflux and we had trouble with the regular cereal from the grocery store. My Pedi told me to buy this kind from whole foods and it worked great! A little pricey and a little out of the way, but a small price to pay for some sanity in my life. She is now 5 and doing great in kindergarten!

D.
Busy working mom of 2 great girls!

I too breastfed my son for many months and also fed him rice cereal. He had the same reactions plus severe skin eczema. We ended up taking him to an allergist and found that he had a very high milk allergy plus a moderate rice allergy among other things. However, after removing milk/dairy from my diet, he improved. (I removed dairy from my diet because the doctors told me that milk/dairy passes through my breastmilk to him). I also tried the other cereals available such as oat and barley and mixed grain.

But do keep in mind that those other milestones he is accomplishing definitely interrupt the patterns of sleep.

Good luck.

Honestly, I think the rice cereal at 5 months may be a little too soon and that's why he's having a reaction. The mucus in the diaper seems like a food reaction and not teeth or milestone related.

I see you say he's on breastmilk and soy formula. My boy was born prematurely and needed to gain weight, so I got a formula from the NICU on adding formula powder directly to the breastmilk to increase calories. Maybe you can speak to your doctor and get the ratios?

I read through your responses and was surprised no one mentioned La Leche League! LLL suggests starting with mashed avacado instead of rice cereal. Other simple mashed fruits and veggies follow like bananas. We never gave my daughter "baby food" just table food mashed without additives like butter or salt. She's two now and has the most amazing appetite and LOVES her fruits and veggies. The extra bonus of this is that it really makes you remember to prepare fruits and veggies for the rest of your family so you all are eating what's best for your bodies. FYI, I was a little worried about if it was OK to skip the rice cereal and asked my pedi and he said of course! The reason we went this route was that my daughter had a severe allergic reaction to rice cereal so we explored other methods. Good luck!!

my little one had BAD gas on rice cereal so i switched him to oatmeal with no problems (i think barley cereal is also an option)

If you think it's the rice cereal--I would stop giving it to him--there is no hard fast rule that you have to start solids now--maybe he's not ready and you can try again in a month or so. Does he need extra calories because he's below weight? If that's the case, ask the doctor what else could be done--rice cereal is not going to provide that much extra calories.
If he seems hungrier than normal--he may also be going through a growth spurt in that case more breastmilk/formula may be needed. good luck--if he's not feeling well--don't push new foods--just wait.

Maybe it is the iron that they add to the boxed rice cereal that is upsetting his little tummy. What I do is buy organic brown rice. Grind about 1/2 cup for three minutes in a blender (it will sound awful, but the blender is meant to do this). Then boil a cup of water on the stove, add 3-4 tbsp. of the ground up rice and stir for a few minutes until it is the consistency I need. Let cool and serve to baby. Both my kids have loved it. Of course, always talk to your pediatrician, but this is a natural way to give your baby rice cereal.

Hello, whenever my daughter started something new, whether it be teething, or standing, all the of the routines are out of whack. It is possible that it is the rolling and teething and not the cereal. Give your son another week to get over the new and then try the cereal again. Only feed small amounts in the morning. Also, is your cereal organic? If not, try that. My daughther has a hard time with non-organic baby food. I think the organic and non-organic are processed differently and therfore a difference in tolerance. I hope this help.

Use oatmeal. I did that and had no problems.

Hi I am D. Savage, massage therapist and natural health advisor in Bacliff TX. I have found that eating 4 your blood type solves many problems with food allergies. the book is available on line ebay or any book store. I am an O so my body needs red meat protein and veggies, carbs cause abdominal problems, body aches and sinus problems. Pears might be a good start for your angel. If I can help you can email me at ____@____.com

Hi K.,

Gripe water works wonders for baby tummy problems. The kind that I give my baby is Colic-Ease.
I heard alot about gripe water from the moms here on mamasource and decided to try it for myself. There are several different recipes for gripe water. Most of them have chamomile, ginger, and fennel extracts. Colic Ease has five essential oils: Dill weed,clove,caraway seed,cinnamon,and cardamom seed. It smells and tastes good. I am going to orer some more. Just do a google search on gripe water and it will bring up lots of information. Also check out www.colicease.com

My dd had a reaction to rice cereal and actually I am allergic to rice so I never gave my other 4 kids rice cereal at all. I have given my kids mashed banana as a first food and avocado. My youngest ds LOVED eating avocado. I would just cut it open and he would eat it right out of the shell! Of course they were ripe ones, not hard at all! I certainly would NOT give the rice cereal again.

You can also give frozen vegetables to help w/teething. My babies ALWAYS loved them! It is very soothing. They really liked peas. Also, like pps said, soy for long periods of time is bad. It has a lot of estrogen in it and is especially bad for boys... I would definitely look into other options. Can you give more breastmilk?

I also waited to give my kids solids as long as possible so that their systems had enough time to develop. The sooner you introduce food, the more likely they will have sensitivities/allergies, especially since he has already demonstrated problems w/the formula in the past.

Blessings,
M.
Mom to 5 Wonderful Kids
www.4MyChildrenSake.com