Quick weaning question - porridge

Metranil_Vavin

My baby is 6 months old and I have started introducing her to her first tastes of solid food.

So far she has had butternut squash, mashed banana and carrots and potato puree..she seems to like everything so far which is great.

However I recall buying special baby porridge for my son when he was weaning, so bought a box of Organix baby porridge for DD, which she doesn't seem to like..I don't blame her, it smells horrible and I wouldn't eat it so I chucked it away!

My question is..DS has a bowl of porridge most mornings with a bit of banana chopped in. I get the Sainsbury's own brand porridge oats which is pretty much the same as Ready Brek. It doesn't appear to have any nasties added (sugar, salt etc), so is it ok for me to try the 6 month old on it?

You can add full fat cows milk to baby food can't you? It's just you shouldn't give it to them to drink until 12 months? LO is still mostly breast feeding, we are now giving her a bottle of formula at night though.

Thanks

Kayalana99

I think its generally said that its OK whilst using it for 'cooking' but I wouldn't.

Back when I had DS1 I did a bit of looking into it and the list of possible side effects if you give it to a baby before 1 were as long as my arm...stuff like bleeding out of the bum for example stood out to me.

Personally, if you've just started weaning I'd leave it a bit longer...but I know people will probably disagree and say I'm being over paranoid!

"Cow's milk (e.g., whole, 2%, 1%, 1/2% or skim) is not appropriate for children under the age of one year, according to the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cow's milk is a poor source of iron, and iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional problem in infants. Cow's milk that has not been specially heat processed (such as the heat processing used in infant formula) can cause intestinal blood loss in some babies. Iron is lost with the blood. Also, the levels of protein and sodium in cow's milk are higher than recommended for infants. Additionally, cow's milk is low in vitamin C, vitamin E and copper. Further, cow's milk contains butterfat that is difficult for a baby to digest. For these reasons, the Committee on Nutrition recommends that breastfeeding or iron-fortified infant formula be continued during the first year of life."

Metranil_Vavin

eek thanks for the info Kayalana. I guess I could mix it with formula or b/milk couldn't I?

I should know all this stuff having done it all before, but it's amazing what you forget with this child rearing malarky!

Kayalana99

Metranil_Vavin wrote: »

eek thanks for the info Kayalana. I guess I could mix it with formula or b/milk couldn't I?

I should know all this stuff having done it all before, but it's amazing what you forget with this child rearing malarky!

Well they do say its ok in small quantities but I thought why take the risk..of course you could its only what they would normally be having but mixed in.

L68jb

We used baby porridge but my son didn't like it. I bought ready brek as it didn't have nasties and health visitor suggested it as it is cheaper than baby porridge. We used warmed cows' milk, again after instructions from HV and he's been fine. We started using weetabix for breakfast as well as he got older. I know of people who've used formula but my son is bf and really didn't like the porridge mixed with formula.

Gillyx

Porridge oats are absolutely fine for a 6 month old baby, a lot of people do BLW now and don't buy any sort of food marketed at kids. They tend to be a rip off and full of chemicals. The only food that isn't recommended under 1 is honey and whole nuts.

Again cows milk is absolutely fine for a 6 month old in cooking, it isn't recommended as a drink and can make them very poorly indeed if used in this way but in cooking absolutely fine. The passage above seems to be Americanised and probably doesn't reflect the views of the NHS or indeed the WHO.

For all she will eat, it's likely to be the smallest amounts, and certainly for me if I was making a cheese sauce for example there is no way I'd be using formula for the rest of the family, it stinks, I'd make one lot of sauce and use cows milk for everyone. It probably is a very personal choice though

bigmomma051204

Have just run an Intro to Solids session today - random!

Full fat milk is okay to give as long as it is cooked - ie fine in sauces, custards & porridge. To be honest, the issue with milk is more what it DOESN'T do (give sufficient nutrients to un-weaned babies) than what it DOES do .... Scare strories such as bleeding bottoms etc REALLY don't help! :cool:
As suggested though, you can use expressed milk or formula to make up the porridge etc BUT if you are making a panful for your DS anyway, seems silly to make two separate lots!

Just a reminder too (although I am sure u remember it!) no honey at this stage...no nuts, no salt or sugar (added into food) AND I would encourage a bit more veg - all the foods apart from potato are sweet and will encourage a sweet tooth Which is fine but not really necessary at this age

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/812.aspx?categoryid=62& <--- Info

Although its not for everyone.... Have you thought about baby led weaning? Its now the recommended way to "wean" your baby and makes interesting reading - also no need for mushing everything or blending everything!! http://www.babyledweaning.com/

sooty&sweep

Hi
Both my children had weetabix for breakfast as I recall with cows milk but formula was their main milk source.
I've got some great pictures that show precisely what my son thought of baby rice !
My daughter naturally chose baby led weaning as she refused mush and much preferred to eat with us.
Don't worry about lack of teeth. My daughter didn't get her first tooth until 13 months and she managed fine without teeth. I just made sure everything was tender.
Jen

Metranil_Vavin

Yes their gums are amazingly strong!

olgadapolga

My youngest had porridge (normal, not the "baby" rip off variety) from six months, made with full fat cows milk. She loves it.

We are doing baby-led weaning and I wish it had been "around" when I had my others as it is a breeze. Really simple - I just give her what we eat and if that's five new foods then it's five new foods. She's taken to it like a duck to water, happily chomps her way through her dinner, will try absolutely anything and spoon-feeds herself. It's great. No purees, no mashing, no hassle apart from a bit of mess where she uses the spoon as a catapult to share her food with everything in sight.

peachyprice

Kayalana99 wrote: »

I think its generally said that its OK whilst using it for 'cooking' but I wouldn't.

Back when I had DS1 I did a bit of looking into it and the list of possible side effects if you give it to a baby before 1 were as long as my arm...stuff like bleeding out of the bum for example stood out to me.

Personally, if you've just started weaning I'd leave it a bit longer...but I know people will probably disagree and say I'm being over paranoid!

"Cow's milk (e.g., whole, 2%, 1%, 1/2% or skim) is not appropriate for children under the age of one year, according to the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cow's milk is a poor source of iron, and iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional problem in infants. Cow's milk that has not been specially heat processed (such as the heat processing used in infant formula) can cause intestinal blood loss in some babies. Iron is lost with the blood. Also, the levels of protein and sodium in cow's milk are higher than recommended for infants. Additionally, cow's milk is low in vitamin C, vitamin E and copper. Further, cow's milk contains butterfat that is difficult for a baby to digest. For these reasons, the Committee on Nutrition recommends that breastfeeding or iron-fortified infant formula be continued during the first year of life."

Nothing quite like a bit of American scaremongering.

Cow's milk as an ingredient on other foods (eg. porridge, sauces etc.,) is fine. Cow's milk as a substitute for breast/formula as a main source of nutrition is not.