For baby between four to six months, short grain white rice is the best choice because it is shorter and sticker and is quite easy for baby to digest. If you buy a big bag of the short grain white rice from supermarket, except making baby cereal, you can always use them to make rice puddings, rice balls or sushi. Botan or Nishiki are the two major rice brands.

Here are two simple homemade rice recipes:

• With Rice Cooker
  • 1 cup of rice, 4-6 ounces of water (or as instructed in the rice cooker manual, usually 1 cup of rice yields 2.5 to 3 cups of cooked rice);
  • Place rice and water into rice cooker until it is cooked;
  • Place cooked rice into food processor or blender;
  • Add water/breast milk/formula accordingly until rice is smooth.
• Without Rice Cooker
  • Boil rice and water in a pot;
  • Simmer it for about 20 to 30 minutes, keep stirring;
  • Once rice is cooked, add water/breast milk/formula accordingly;
  • Place them into blender;
  • Puree it until smooth.

You may want to use just one type of rice to make the cereal today and use three types of other rice altogether next time.  It is your call, as long as your baby digest them well, any combination goes.

Homemade rice cereal can be stored in the fridge for up to maximum 48 hours. You may also pour them into ice trays, cover and freeze them overnight. Once they are all frozen, pop cubes out and store them in a container and label with the date.  They can last in freezer for one month. However, you probably will find the texture of thawing frozen cereal is quite different with freshly made ones. Simply just add some water/breast milk/formula as needed until it is smooth again. BUT, never refreeze unfinished portion into freezer again.

Homemade baby rice cereal is not everyone’s cup of tea, you may want to try to make some and see how it works for you.  Making baby food from scratch is a fun process. Enjoy!!!

At this stage, having solid food is a tasting adventure for your baby. Just like adults, your little one has her own appetite.  We don’t recommend following any guidelines or charts that specifically tell you how many ounces of food baby should receive.  From our experiences, just follow your baby’s lead.  She may eat one jar of pureed pear today, and nothing for tomorrow. Or she may have one teaspoon of purred avocado for lunch and half jar of purred apple for dinner.

Every baby is different; just follow her cues when you give her solid food. Baby will never let herself be hungry.  For example, when baby opens her mouth or tries to grab your hand, it indicates she wants more food. On the other hand, when baby tries to push the spoon away or spit some food while you are feeding her, she wants to tell you “mommy, I am full, no more bite.”

In the beginning, feed your baby one new food at a time. The best time to give her a new food is in the morning, so you would notice if there are any allergic reactions your baby may have by the end of the day.  In addition, always wait two to three days before starting another new food. If she has developed some allergic reactions such as rash on her face, diarrhea or tends to be quite fussy than usual, stop the new food right away and call your pediatrician or family doctor for advice.