Like many things in the new millenium, feeding babies with cereal is no longer just a case of going into the store and grabbing the closest can of cerelac. Now there's different shades and brands of baby cereal
competing for mommy's attention.
I've been feeding my twins cereal for over a month now and as usual, I've explored a lot of options. So here's my take on the world of baby cereal
Rice Cereal
This is supposed to be the first and easiest on baby's digestive system. My babies were not too fond and neither was I. It tasted really blah. Couple tastelessness with constipation issues that accompany rice cereal and it's filed under "been there, done that, will not do this again". I definitely prefer the brown rice versions to the white rice ones
Brands: Gerber, Beechnut, Earth's Best, Plum Organics, Happy Baby are the brands I've seen in store
Oatmeal Cereal
We actually tried this before the rice cereal and I'm quite pleased with that decision. The thing to watch out for with oatmeal is that the different brands have different textures and your baby may prefer one over the other. I've enjoyed the Beechnut and Earth's Best brands. Gerber also has this in organic and original. Other brands are Plum Organics and Happy baby - both brands wear the premium organic label and pricetag
Barley Cereal
This is not as popular across the board as oatmeal and rice but I like it. That's what we're currently trying in the mornings and the girls seem to be wolfing down their food a bit more. I don't know if that's due to their age, the added mangoes or the taste of the barley cereal. Barley baby cereal is quite hard to find in stores and the only brand I've seen is Gerber at Walmart
Wheat Cereal
With the proliferation of gluten allergies out there, this is not one I intend to try. Gerber brand is also the only one I've seen in stores
Multigrain Cereal
This is where I intend to end the baby cereal journey. Since we've been introduced to rice, oatmeal and barley, it's the natural next step. Once I decide on the brand(s) to go with, we'll just transition from this to adult morning cereals in 20xx.
The thing with multigrain cereal though is that there are variations across the brands.
Gerber = rice + oats + wheat
Earth's best = oats + barley + spelt (a close relative of wheat that some claim is not as allergenic as wheat)
Beechnut = rice + oats + wheat
Plum Organics = rice + oats + quinoa
Happy Baby(Bellies) = oats + amaranth + quinoa
Above is a table of the nutritional compositions of the different grains that could be found in a box or pouch of baby cereal. If you are unable to find these cereal in store, they can be bought on Amazon.com. Click here to see what other parents are saying and to buy baby cereal online.
competing for mommy's attention. I've been feeding my twins cereal for over a month now and as usual, I've explored a lot of options. So here's my take on the world of baby cereal
Rice Cereal
This is supposed to be the first and easiest on baby's digestive system. My babies were not too fond and neither was I. It tasted really blah. Couple tastelessness with constipation issues that accompany rice cereal and it's filed under "been there, done that, will not do this again". I definitely prefer the brown rice versions to the white rice ones
Brands: Gerber, Beechnut, Earth's Best, Plum Organics, Happy Baby are the brands I've seen in store
Oatmeal Cereal
We actually tried this before the rice cereal and I'm quite pleased with that decision. The thing to watch out for with oatmeal is that the different brands have different textures and your baby may prefer one over the other. I've enjoyed the Beechnut and Earth's Best brands. Gerber also has this in organic and original. Other brands are Plum Organics and Happy baby - both brands wear the premium organic label and pricetag
Barley Cereal
This is not as popular across the board as oatmeal and rice but I like it. That's what we're currently trying in the mornings and the girls seem to be wolfing down their food a bit more. I don't know if that's due to their age, the added mangoes or the taste of the barley cereal. Barley baby cereal is quite hard to find in stores and the only brand I've seen is Gerber at Walmart
Wheat Cereal
With the proliferation of gluten allergies out there, this is not one I intend to try. Gerber brand is also the only one I've seen in stores
Multigrain Cereal
This is where I intend to end the baby cereal journey. Since we've been introduced to rice, oatmeal and barley, it's the natural next step. Once I decide on the brand(s) to go with, we'll just transition from this to adult morning cereals in 20xx.
The thing with multigrain cereal though is that there are variations across the brands.
Gerber = rice + oats + wheat
Earth's best = oats + barley + spelt (a close relative of wheat that some claim is not as allergenic as wheat)
Beechnut = rice + oats + wheat
Plum Organics = rice + oats + quinoa
Happy Baby(Bellies) = oats + amaranth + quinoa
Above is a table of the nutritional compositions of the different grains that could be found in a box or pouch of baby cereal. If you are unable to find these cereal
in store, they can be bought on Amazon.com. Click here to see what other parents are saying and to buy baby cereal online.
