2023-06-26 11:46:00
June 26, 2023, 10:00 AM
With rice flour you can make porridge for your baby. When can you start and how do you make it? Everything about the baby bottle, sleeping through, practice snacks and why your baby is not allowed rice flour every day.
Rice flour consists of finely ground and then sieved rice grains, without germ and seeds. You can add it to your baby’s milk to make porridge.
From 4 months old you can give your baby rice flour. The Nutrition Center advises against giving rice flour to a baby of 3 months, because the intestines cannot digest the fibers yet. It also does not help your baby sleep better.
Start with a small amount of rice flour porridge and see how your baby reacts to it. If he doesn’t get colic, you can offer rice flour more often (but not every day) and gradually other types of porridge.
Rice flour for your 4 month old baby
Rice flour porridge is one of the first supplementary foods (practice snacks) for babies from 4 months. It is suitable to start with as it contains less fiber than other types of porridge. Your baby’s intestines have to get used to digesting fiber at first. Rice flour is easily digestible, so the chance that your baby will get intestinal cramps is smaller than with other types of porridge.
Practice snacks are purely intended to get your baby used to solid food. Your baby will get to know a different taste and structure than milk and his stomach and intestines will get used to digesting other foods. Until your baby is 6 months old, the practice snacks should not replace his milk feeds.
Read more: This is how you introduce practice snacks to your baby
You should not give your baby cow’s milk porridge until he is 1 year old. Until your baby is 6 months old, prepare rice flour porridge with infant milk. After 6 months you use follow-on milk. Of course you can also pump some breast milk to make porridge. Something to take into account: breast milk contains an enzyme that binds the rice flour less well, so the porridge remains thin. Rice flour porridge from bottle feeding is smoother.
Find out more: Read here why your baby cannot yet use regular milk
Would you like to try a baby bottle? Check the packaging of the rice flour to see how many scoops you can give your baby. Mix the rice flour with the warm milk and stir well. If you think the porridge is still too thin, you can use less milk next time (and no more scoops of rice flour). Make sure that your baby gets enough milk during the day, because of the nutrients it contains.
In the beginning you may find it easiest to give your baby the rice flour porridge with the bottle. A baby bottle with a special teat causes the least mess. On the other hand: if you give the porridge as a training snack, it is not a problem if your baby only eats a small amount of it. The disadvantage of a baby bottle may be that your baby drinks it quickly. Feeding with a spoon is slower and that gives his intestines more time to process the porridge. The chance that your baby will get a stomach ache because of the rice flour is also smaller this way.
It is better for your baby’s oral motor skills to eat and ‘chew’ the porridge from a spoon. Are you gradually transitioning to solid food for your baby? It is therefore preferable not to give the porridge in a bottle, but with a spoon.
Also read: Pap bottle for your baby, to do or not to do?
Rice flour is not the same as locust bean gum. It is believed that rice flour in your baby’s bottle can prevent him from spitting up. After all, it makes the milk thicker. Still, rice flour does not work against spitting up or reflux. This is because the enzymes in your baby’s saliva make the food in the stomach thin again.
Does your baby spit up often or does he suffer from reflux a lot? Then you might consider adding locust bean gum to your formula or breastfeeding. This makes the milk thicker, but also heavier, so that it stays in the stomach better. However, there are also disadvantages to the use of locust bean gum, such as it can cause constipation in your baby. Always do this in consultation with your GP or consultation office.
Also read: You need to know this if you want to try carob bean gum
Some babies sleep better at night if they get a baby bottle with rice flour in the evening. According to the Nutrition Center, this is a coincidence. Rice flour does not ensure that your child sleeps better. Research has also shown that babies who received rice milk in their last bottle did not sleep longer than babies who received only milk.
A porridge bottle with rice milk does not provide longer satiety than regular bottle or breast milk. Some babies actually have a restless sleep because of a baby bottle or have to poop at night. Too much rice flour can also cause constipation and cramps, which is never good for a good night’s sleep.
It is best to give your baby a bottle of milk every now and then before going to sleep, but do not make it part of his sleeping ritual. It can be harmful to give your baby rice flour every day.
Is your baby suddenly sleeping worse than usual? Or does your baby wake up from the slightest thing? Most likely your baby has a sleep regression. Read all about sleep regressions here and find practical tips and advice in this article when your baby is 4 months old and has his first sleep regression.
Another thing to keep in mind: (prolonged) drinking from a bottle is not good for your baby or child’s teeth. Your child can get bottle caries from it. This is a form of tooth decay in which the teeth become yellowish or brownish and cavities can form. So don’t give your baby a bottle of milk to bed to sleep with, but make sure he drinks it before going to bed. It is best to brush his teeth afterwards.
How much rice flour can you give your baby (and how often)? Rice and products made from rice, such as rice flour and rice cakes, contain a relatively large amount of arsenic. Arsenic (arsenic) is one of the heavy metals and is found in soil and groundwater. Plants, such as rice, absorb it from the water. It could be harmful to health if your baby ingests a lot of arsenic for a long time.
Fortunately, there is strict control for too much arsenic in food products, but as a precaution, the Nutrition Center advises not to give your baby rice flour every day. Toddlers and older children should also not eat rice (products) every day. Check the package how much rice flour you can give your baby at a time.
Usually there is an age indication on the packaging of rice flour, which shows you from how many months it is suitable. Also make sure that no sugar and/or flavorings have been added, such as with special pajama porridges or ready-made porridge.
Sugars are not healthy for your baby: he will then consume too many calories and it is bad for his teeth. It is also not necessary to let your baby get used to sweet flavors. So take a look at the ingredients on the label, in addition to sugar, honey and dextrose can also be used to sweeten the porridge.
If your baby switches to solid food from 6 months, you can give him porridge for breakfast. Rice flour porridge is suitable to start with and if this goes well, you can also try oatmeal or other breakfast porridge. Rice flour is gluten-free, so it is also suitable for children with gluten intolerance (check the packaging to see if the rice flour may have come into contact with gluten).
Your baby will also eat pieces of light brown bread from 6 months (or from 4 months as a practice snack). Make sure you don’t replace the sandwich with porridge too often, because chewing and swallowing bread trains your baby’s mouth muscles. This is important for good oral motor skills. In addition, bread contains important nutrients, such as iodine, which are not found in porridge.
Want to know more: Want to know what your baby can eat at 6 months? You can read that in this article.
Source: Nutrition Center
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