Baby porridge question?

[Cakeandmarshmallows]

Sorry if this is stupid question but I'm new to all this. My little boy is 5 and half months old and I think he's ready to start weaning. I'm going to try and do mix of baby led and puree and thought about starting with baby porridge but how to make this up, as in what liquid? My boy is exclusive breast fed, so should I use formula or boiled cooled water? I've not got on very well with expressing so I'm not sure I would be able to use breast milk.. This is all so new and confusing!!! Thanks in advance for help.

Depends which one you buy. Some have milk included so you add water. Some don't so you would use some form of milk. You could use formula (Maybe buy a small carton of ready made) although from 6 months you can use cows milk in cereal

No need to use baby porridge. Just make normal porridge in your usual way.

We just used ready brek and made up with full fat cows milk.

I wouldn’t use water, babies need every calorie they can get. Normal oats or ready Brek with full fat cows milk will be fine as long as baby is meeting all the signs of readiness

You can add fruit purée and a little cinnamon too if you like

Buy oats, put water in, heat. That's it

Another vote for ready brek, so t waste your money on baby rice. I used milk and those little fruit pots for flavour.

I liked the baby porridge when first weaning as it's instant - just add boiled water.

I think you can give them cows milk from 6 months in porridge etc, it's just that you are not supposed to give it to them as a drink in replacement of breast milk or formula at that stage.

Cows milk (full fat) is fine in cooking from 6 months. For baby led weaning you can make porridge thick and then it's easy to self feed. Just use normal oats as well, no need for special baby porridge mixes.

Go with plain oats, the ingredients are just oats where as ready brekand baby porridgehave extra stuff.

Then either break into a powder bedore or blend after making.. and make with full fat milk.

Ready brek has added vitamins but no added salt or sugar

Another vote for ready brek. It doesn't have added nasties like sugar or salt. We used formula for the first few goes to make it a familiar taste, then full fat cow's milk after that (LO was 6 months)

Yes the only added stuff to ready brek is to fortify with vitamins and calcium.

I really would steer clear of the baby porridges too.

If baby starts projectile vomiting & has a rash after the milk in the porridge, look at a milk allergy.

I BF then gave DD milk for daycare. It took me a while to work out why she was so ill

Im.sure it wont happen, but I was so bloody tired It threw me.

Yoni same but different happened to us...
But yes, porridge oats or ready break made up with cows milk should be fine.

DunesOfSand I really wish I could turn the clock back. She was so ill. Every G.P, Health visitor & walk in health centre told me it was viral for months.

I feel so bloody guilty. I really do.

If you wait a few weeks you could do porridge fingers. I got the recipe from the BLW cookbook and both my kids loved them. You just:

• mix 3/4 tbsp pats (just ordinary oats) with 3/4 tbsp whole milk,
• leave it until mushy (a few minutes) then
• press into the bottom of a small flat dish (I use a small 2in x 3in Tupperware box)
• microwave for 2 mins
• cut into fingers and serve once cool.

We use the cow and gate creamy porridge. You just add water to it 🙂 ds also breastfed

I don't think it really matters either way, I never got much expressing so I never bothered using breastmilk but I knew he was getting plenty from feeds. I used baby porridge to begin with, tried normal but he pushed the big oats out his mouth. Just follow your baby's lead. I started on a mixture of purees/BLW but after about a couple of weeks he started refusing the smooth purees and moved up fairly quickly to what we were eating at 7 months old.

I used normal porridge oats and full fat cows milk.