Question about Infant Cereal Made with Breast Milk

Heather - posted on 06/18/2009

Hello Nicki!
Stephanie is right on both her points. Avoid heating up breast milk and baby food mixed with it in the microwave... IF you are looking for something else to mix with the cereal our Ped. has suggested prune juice. My daughter loves it!!! We buy the organic 100% juice and I feel good b/c I know she is getting both the nutrients from the cereal as well as the benefits of the prunes. Good luck :)

April - posted on 06/18/2009

I started my daughter on rice cereal w/breastmilk first and have since started giving her oatmeal also. I do heat it up in the microwave, but only for about 13-14 seconds on 50% power. Before putting it in the microwave, I go ahead and mix the cereal and the milk together, then heat it all at once. I figure if the baby is still breastfeeding, then she'll get the nutrients she needs mostly from that anyway. Another thing I do sometimes is to pump a couple of ounces just before it's time for cereal and then I don't have to heat it up.

Valerie - posted on 06/18/2009

I buy the kind you mix with formula or breastmilk for my son because he has a severe milk allergy, I just mix it with water anyway! It works fine for us so far.

Nicki - posted on 06/18/2009

I've been trying to heat the breast milk in hot water for cereal, but if I am in a hurry, I've done it in the microwave. If the microwave does destroy the nutrient content of the breast milk, I guess it's not as nutritious for him that way, but it's not like that's the only breast milk he is getting.

However, I really don't like the texture of the rice cereal with breast milk. I find it is really hard to get it to the right consistency and if you let it sit for a minute or two before you feed it, it gets thicker and clumpy. And then by the time I am half finished feeding it, it is so liquidy that I can hardly keep it on the spoon. I will be much more careful to buy the mix with water kind in the future!

Nicole - posted on 06/18/2009

My son wouldn't eat the cereal when I made it with breastmilk; he kept trying to suck on the spoon and then got mad when nothing came out, lol! So I started mixing it with juice and he loves it! I guess it was a taste association thing. And the vitamin C in the juice will help him absorb the iron in the cereal.

Lydia - posted on 06/16/2009

I used to heat my babys breastmilk in the microwave - only breifly so that it wasnt cold when she drank it. I just made sure I gave it a good shake before I gave it to her. Hasnt done her any harm.

Stephanie - posted on 06/15/2009

The reason that you aren't supposed to heat breastmilk up in the microwave is mainly because it 1) can destroy all of the nutrent quality of breastmilk, and 2) the milk can heat unevenly and burn your baby's mouth...