Most mornings for breakfast, DS has oatmeal, pureed fruit, and some finger foods (cheerios, cut up grapes, etc). I breastfeed him, and I rarely pump, so when I do, I typically only get an ounce or two (he gets plenty when I nurse him, but I just don't get much with the pump.) I've just been mixing his oatmeal with water, because he absolutely will not eat it if I mix it with formula, and I don't pump enough to mix it with breastmilk. I feel like it would be healthier if I mixed the oatmeal with something else that has protein in it, but I'm not sure what to mix it with. He'll be ten months old next week. Is it too soon to give him whole cow's milk in his oatmeal? What about soy or almond milk? Or is water a better option than either of those at this age? He eats yogurt and cheese with no problem, so he doesn't seem to have a dairy allergy/sensitivity, but I don't know if cow's milk would be ok in cereal yet. Any thoughts?
Re: What to mix with oatmeal?
I'm pretty lax about those rigid timelines of when to give what. If it were me, I'd do whole cows milk. Others can judge all they want on that.
Otherwise you could mix in water (or small amount of pumped milk) and some yogurt, whatever ratio gives a decent texture. That's what our DCP does.
I've also made it with pureed fruit that turned out waaaay too soupy. Doesn't really have protein, but it was a good way to use up a giant batch of super liquidy apples.
Thanks! I haven't mixed it with yogurt yet, but that does seem like a good way to give him more "bang" per bite, so to speak.
Haha! You're probably right about me over thinking it. The box says only to mix it with formula or breast milk, and I tend to be a "follow the directions exactly as they are written" kind of person, but you're right... it's not really going to make much of a difference if he gets a few ounces of water instead of a few ounces of milk. He's in the 85th percentile for height and weight, so he's definitely not lacking calories...
I think you can go ahead and try the oatmeal with cow's milk -- why not. We do coconut milk and almond milk.
ETA: Are you giving baby cereal. I give DD regular oatmeal. I hate those baby cereals and they are fortified I think so i don't think you would need to worry about adding anything other than water for more nutrition.
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