Oatmeal Cereal = Gas?
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Sadly the leading ingredient in infant cereals is arsenic. 😕😕imagine trying to digest that. The next ingredient’s are aluminum and mercury. All of which are terrible for anybody let alone babies. I say make your own puréed fruits. Like bananas, peaches, apples. That’s what I’m using for my daughter. She is 3 months and started on these foods at 12.5 weeks. 🤷♀️
My son had a similar issue when we started him on rice cereal. Baby oatmeal was easier on him. We started verrrrry small and very runny, with more milk than oatmeal and we spoon fed to him. Then as each day went by we added more. We started out only giving him the oatmeal before bed and now we just added morning feedings. It might take awhile but going slow definitely helped his little digestive system get used to it. And my son is very happy and healthy. Arsenic is not as common in the oatmeal so that might be helping.
We tested over 100 cereals made from a wide range of grains (including rice) from many well-known brands, including Gerber, Earth’s Best, Beech-Nut, Nestlé, and five others. Comprehensive lists and data are in the report. Our tests show 84% less arsenic in non-rice and multi-grain cereals than in infant rice cereal, on average. All but one of the 42 containers of infant rice cereal we tested had more arsenic than any of the 63 other cereals included in our study. FDA has failed to finalize its 2016 proposed limit for arsenic in infant cereal. Our results suggest that cereal makers have already taken steps to limit arsenic. We found 85 ppb of arsenic, on average, in rice cereals tested in 2016 and 2017, versus the 103 ppb average level FDA found in 2013 and 2014. This decrease is NOT enough to protect infants. Our tests are from a nationally accredited laboratory and have been released with the support of doctors, experts, and other organizations.
Although we are often told to start baby on rice cereal and oats, starchy grains like oats are hard to digest, especially if they’re not properly prepared. Babies don’t begin producing the enzyme Amylase, which helps them digest grains, until molar teeth are fully developed so it may be hard for your baby to digest that especially since she seems more gassy. Maybe consider holding off on starches for optimal digestion :)