Porridge for 6 month old

[naturopath]

Sorry, probably v silly question, but how do you make porridge for a 6-month old?

He's only had baby rice and a bit of pureed fruit a few times. Totally breastfed but occasionally will take a little bit of Nutramigen (can't have normal milk or soya).

First - which porridge? Is there a special 'baby' one, or is Ready Brek etc. ok? Second - which milk? - Nutramigen? Oatly?

thanks!

there are special baby porridge that you can make using milk (formula generally, not sure about EBM).

We used the Boot's organic baby porridge for about a month before moving onto Redy Break. Fairly easy to make as you just take the milk and mix it with the powdered porridge.

The only problem with the baby porridge's are that they come in small packets only, are pretty pricey and contain a bit of sugar (considering Redy Brek has no added sugar or salt).

I just bought a bag of porridge oats and cooked it with rice milk for my 6-month-old. Sometimes I add a bit of pureed fruit, but usually he just eats it as is, and loves it.

baby porridge waste of money imo but I did find that dd couldn't cope with the lumpy/nutty texture of 'real' porridge as eaten chez badge straight away, so readybrek was a good move.

I'd use standard porrige (organic if you want).

cook in the microwave with twice as much mill as porrige (stirring fairly regularly).

milk not mill

My 7 month old has readybrek or real porridge oats .
She usually puts it every where else but her mouth but she seems to enjoy pasting it in her hair .

Sorry to jump in on your thread OP, hope you don't mind....

Can you make porridge for 6m old with cows milk, or does it have to be bm or formula?

I usually use cows milk I am sure you can use it after 6 months in cooking.

I wean with the plum 4 grain porridge stuff, made up with cows milk. Then onto weetabix and normal porridge.

Both of mine have had cows milk in their food from 6 months on with no adverse affects. You just can't give it as a main drink, putting it in food is fine, assuming no allergy.

Would the pin head porridge be a good option? Less lumpy but less processed than ready brek etc.
(I'm not advocating it, as haven't tried it yet, just an idea)

Thanks all

thing is, readybrek isn't 'processed' in the sense of having crap added, it's just really really finely milled oats.

Thanks Mrs Badger, I had it in my head that it was along the lines of those Milupa boxes.
Got a box myself earlier.

I've always made porridge for myself with just water - a true Scot! DD has the same porridge as me - normal porridge oats made with water. She's got CMP allergy, and there's no way I'm eating porridge made with Nutramigen (gag!), so easiest just to make one lot with water that we can all have.

thanks all - ok, so I think 'll be making Readybrek with water (as I have that at home already) and see how that goes down.

He's not really liking the baby rice with Nutramigen

Oh, just a note of caution - Ready Brek has an allergy label on it stating that it can contain milk. We saw the dietican this week, who said that supermarket own brand ones tend to be milk-free.

Are you sure it's the Nutramigen and not the wallpaper-paste baby rice he's objecting to? [runs away]

One nice thing also is to add a cube or two of fruit puree to the cooked porridge mush. AK pear, apple and raisin puree has gone down well at my house ...

good idea.

I noticed the allergy warning on the Readybrek today, although didn't actually give him any yet as was out all day.

Have made baby rice with water as well - he has same reaction - not that interested.

Will def add fruit to the porridge - thanks!

I tried my DD on normal porridge with fruit puree and whilst she spits out quite a lot of the oats (which I can't get smooth) most of it goes down. I've now figured (she's about 6.5m) that I'm not going to go backwards and carry on with the adult stuff. Means we eat the same breakfast which is a lot less hassle!!!

If rolled oats are too lumpy just whizz them in a food processor first.

Slightly off topic....but related. Has anyone else noticed that baby porridge (no names, but begins with H and do a very fine line in beanz) instructions say 9 level dsps of porridge + water same amount for babies over 6 months. And on Ready Brek it says only 5 heaped dsps of porridge + whatever milk etc as 30g portion size ie implication is for an adult. Surely there's an issue re: portion size? Just a thought.

FWIW I still find Ready Brek fairly nasty - def tastes....salty...?? or summat compared to normal porridge oats. Which I'm now going to stick in the food processor (lack of sleep meant hadn't thought of that simple solution - thanks Lionstar). And yes I know there's no added salt etc in RB cos I did look at ingredients. Mind you, I liked the taste of the baby porridge. And fruit puree into it def a winner in this neck of the wild west.

Wouldn't ready brek with water be too low in calories for a baby though? It would be quite filling but I thought they needed it to be made with full fat milk or formula?

DD loves readybrek (I hate it). I only use it instead of normal porridge because it's quicker. Sometimes I crumble half a weetabix in if she's having poo trouble .

I did mean milk with the 'Brek....just typing at speed as usual and brain not fully engaged.....

Ginga, I'm so glad you mentioned that... My DD is coming up for 8 months and when I saw that on that particular brand, I started to panic that I was starving her as she only has about 5 heaped teaspoons (weaning spoons) of it made with cow's milk and that produces enough for her!!

Also, if you use another C&G brand, theirs just says 1 teaspoon to 8 teaspoons of water/milk and then do whatever amount your baby needs. It's a bit of a difference!!