Introducing Baby Cereal

Baby cereal may be the first food you introduce to your baby. The smooth texture of the baby cereal means your baby shouldn't have difficulty chewing or swallowing it. Making sure foods are a manageable texture for babies is important to prevent them from choking. Here are some tips on introducing baby cereal to your child's diet.

If your doctor has recommended that you add baby cereal to your child's diet, you may use prepared infant formula powder or ready-to-use infant formula rather than water to make the cereal in a bowl. It’s generally not recommended to add infant formulas or toddler formulas in a bottle or sippy cup.

How to Introduce Baby Cereal

Making baby Cereal

What you’ll need:
- 3 tsp of baby cereal
- Prepared infant formula
How to:
- Add the baby cereal to the formula to desired consistency
- Mix together well.
- Leave to thicken, which takes around 5-10 minutes.

What Helps:

The cereal should be the consistency of cream of wheat — smooth and semi-liquid
Cereal may be mixed to thicker consistencies once feeding skills progress

When she was old enough, I mixed cereal and fruit together, which my baby seemed to like. It kept things more interesting, and it ensured she got vitamins from fruit!”

Yolanda G.

Enfamil mom

Here are some other reasons to avoid serving baby cereal in a bottle:

You Risk Overfeeding: When your baby drinks breast milk or formula, they instinctively know how much to consume. Adding cereal into a bottle means they might keep drinking the usual amount—even though they’re taking in many more calories.

Your Baby Could Choke: Baby cereal is thicker than breast milk and formula. Young babies don’t have the proper swallowing reflex just yet. This could lead to gagging, choking, or aspirating the cereal into their lungs. By adding solids to your baby’s diet at the appropriate time, you can help your baby’s developing swallow reflex.

So stick with old-fashioned spoon-feeding when introducing baby cereal. Gradually thicken baby cereal by adding less breast milk and formula; the thicker texture helps improve chewing and swallowing.

Trying to figure out when to start your little one on solids? Learn when and how to safely introduce solids to your baby.

All information on Enfamil, including but not limited to information about health, medical conditions, and nutrition, is intended for your general knowledge and is not a substitute for a healthcare professional's medical identification, advice, or management for specific medical conditions. You should seek medical care and consult your doctor or pediatrician for any specific health or nutrition issues. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment, care, or help because of information you have read on Enfamil.