Baby oatmeal - anything special?

starlightstef · August 2013

We won't be starting DS on solids for a while yet, but when we do, I intend to start with oatmeal. The other day I was wandering down the baby eisle at the grocery store and noticed they sell baby oatmeal by gerber and other brands. Is there anything special about this oatmeal or is okay to just feed him plain ol quaker oats?

JSS1002 · August 2013

letranger said:

Why start with oatmeal? It isn't that nutrious for babies.

I don't think that was what she asked.

OP, I haven't explored the oatmeal yet, but the rice cereal is like a powder that you mix with formula and it thickens to your desired thickness. So I'm not sure if the baby oatmeal is similar to 'adult' rolled oats or if it is similar to the rice.

Kate_C · August 2013

Oatmeal cereal for babies is ground up, unlike regular Quakers. It is more the consistency of cream of wheat, if you ever had that. I honestly am not sure if it makes a difference, but I would think the whole oats might be harder for baby to eat. Not that you chew oatmeal, but the texture might be tough to handle.

starlightstef · August 2013

letranger said:

Why start with oatmeal? It isn't that nutrious for babies.

Because our ped said to start with either rice cereal or oatmeal before moving on to fruit and veggie purees. And rice has been in the news for arsenic concerns, so that leaves oatmeal! Babies get most of their nutrtion from BM for the first year even after starting solids.

Other posters: thanks, that makes sense that it would be finer!

chellebell82 · August 2013

From my experience working in child care (Quaker) oatmeal would be a little to hard for babies to eat right away (they can closer to 8/9 months). The baby oatmeal is more like rice cereal. I haven't started solids of any kind with my LO yet, but will probably skip the baby cereals all together.

bibby32714 · August 2013

We recently started with baby oatmeal and it way finer than the adult version...if I didn't know better I wouldn't know it was oatmeal.

jaime52005 · August 2013

starlightstef said:

letranger said:

Why start with oatmeal? It isn't that nutrious for babies.

Because our ped said to start with either rice cereal or oatmeal before moving on to fruit and veggie purees. And rice has been in the news for arsenic concerns, so that leaves oatmeal! Babies get most of their nutrtion from BM for the first year even after starting solids.

Other posters: thanks, that makes sense that it would be finer!

jaime52005 · August 2013

My pedi said we can start with veggies fruits cereal etc. It does not matter she said..she said she doesn't know y people always think cereal first its all up to you

ClandestineX · August 2013

Contrary to popular belief, oatmeal is a 'superfood.'

It is full of fiber, protein, iron and you have less of a chance of having an allergy to it than rice cereal.

chellebell82 · August 2013

From what I've read and know about oats in general, particularly since I had (prior to pregnancy) an allergy to wheat is that rice is actually best to start with due to less chance of allergies. https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/first-foods/ I'd be interested in information that states otherwise though.

Oats particularly oats from the US are often cross contaminated with wheat. If a parent has a wheat allergy or celiac disease their child is more likely to also have a wheat allergy/celiac disease, which would most likely be why they are saying that rice is less likely to cause an allergic reaction than rice.

ClandestineX · August 2013

chellebell82 said:

From what I've read and know about oats in general, particularly since I had (prior to pregnancy) an allergy to wheat is that rice is actually best to start with due to less chance of allergies. https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/first-foods/ I'd be interested in information that states otherwise though.

Oats particularly oats from the US are often cross contaminated with wheat. If a parent has a wheat allergy or celiac disease their child is more likely to also have a wheat allergy/celiac disease, which would most likely be why they are saying that rice is less likely to cause an allergic reaction than rice.

I have heard that rice cereal has crazy amounts of arsenic in it. I do agree though if an allergy to wheat (or any allergy) runs in the family, do whatever you can to prevent a reaction to your kid.

With a lot of foods... unless you grow your own garden or butcher your own meat, there is a lot of cross contamination that you don't really know about.

smiles21866 · August 2013

ClandestineX said:

chellebell82 said:

From what I've read and know about oats in general, particularly since I had (prior to pregnancy) an allergy to wheat is that rice is actually best to start with due to less chance of allergies. https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/first-foods/ I'd be interested in information that states otherwise though.

Oats particularly oats from the US are often cross contaminated with wheat. If a parent has a wheat allergy or celiac disease their child is more likely to also have a wheat allergy/celiac disease, which would most likely be why they are saying that rice is less likely to cause an allergic reaction than rice.

I have heard that rice cereal has crazy amounts of arsenic in it. I do agree though if an allergy to wheat (or any allergy) runs in the family, do whatever you can to prevent a reaction to your kid.

With a lot of foods... unless you grow your own garden or butcher your own meat, there is a lot of cross contamination that you don't really know about.

This. My pediatrician told me that they do not recommend rice cereal anymore because of the arsenic.

OhSewCrafty · August 2013

JSS1002 said:

letranger said:

Why start with oatmeal? It isn't that nutrious for babies.

I don't think that was what she asked.

OP, I haven't explored the oatmeal yet, but the rice cereal is like a powder that you mix with formula and it thickens to your desired thickness. So I'm not sure if the baby oatmeal is similar to 'adult' rolled oats or if it is similar to the rice.

I don't think that's what she asked either.

Mandmeesh · August 2013

SpringPeeper said:

We didn't start with oatmeal, but when we gave it to her, we took the quaker oats oatmeal and ran it through the food processor..

This. Just run the regular ol' oats oats through the food processor or blender. And thicken it up with BM if you have. The ones at the stores are just prepared for you

Kate_C · August 2013

Mandmeesh said:

SpringPeeper said:

We didn't start with oatmeal, but when we gave it to her, we took the quaker oats oatmeal and ran it through the food processor..

This. Just run the regular ol' oats oats through the food processor or blender. And thicken it up with BM if you have. The ones at the stores are just prepared for you

Is there some advantage to making it yourself? I'm just curious. I didn't think the prepared stuff was particularly expensive and we don't use oatmeal except for baking. Is there nutritional value to doing it yourself, or is it just a cost savings thing?

Mandmeesh · August 2013

^wss. If you make it yourself, you save moolah and there are no added ingredients to help preserve like in the jarred stuff. Quaker oats is just oats.

Kate_C · August 2013

Pssht. Who reads ingredients? <------- this irresponsible mom clearly does not. How is here so much stuff in oatmeal?! But aren't those mostly nutritional additives (vitamins/minerals) rather than preservatives?

Mandmeesh · August 2013

I don't know. If I can't pronounce an ingredient, I don't eat it! Lol

ClandestineX · August 2013

Kate_C said:

Pssht. Who reads ingredients? <------- this irresponsible mom clearly does not. How is here so much stuff in oatmeal?! But aren't those mostly nutritional additives (vitamins/minerals) rather than preservatives?

Yes, all of those are just added vitamins and minerals, which is why I still use Gerber Oats.

starlightstef · August 2013

SpringPeeper said:

Things like tocopherols are used as preservatives, but since they also carry vitamins, they are allowed to label them as such. Ou seem them in other foods not labeled as "vitamin packed" as well. It just depends on your tolerance level. DD1 couldn't have anything with tocopherols because they are often derived from soybeans. And it was easy to whip up a batch of oatmeal in the food processor, so why not? We just ground it up and put it back in the oatmeal container!

Easy breezy! Love this idea

I'm big on not eating things I can't prenounce!

mozartmarimba · August 2013

If I went by the motto that I can only eat something if I can pronounce it, I would be eating things loaded with additives and missing out on some of the good, natural stuff. But I also did really well with Organic Chemistry...

I do like the idea of using "homemade" baby oatmeal though since we already have the oats. (When he's old enough.) However, our LO's first food after BM will be poi since it is nutritious, extremely low incidence of allergy/intolerance, and he won't know that it is bland.

ClandestineX · August 2013

mozartmarimba said:

If I went by the motto that I can only eat something if I can pronounce it, I would be eating things loaded with additives and missing out on some of the good, natural stuff. But I also did really well with Organic Chemistry..
a. I do like the idea of using "homemade" baby oatmeal though since we already have the oats. (When he's old enough.) However, our LO's first food after BM will be poi since it is nutritious, extremely low incidence of allergy/intolerance, and he won't know that it is bland.

One of the few!

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