The more babies grow the more concerned their parents become about the quality of food that they eat.
In the first few months of a baby’s life, breast milk is usually more than enough for the baby because it contains all the necessary nutrients the baby needs. The more the baby advances in age, the less satisfying breast milk becomes.
A lot of methods have been devised in a bid to make more satisfying foods for the baby. One effective way is the use of oatmeal. Yes, breast milk can be thickened with oatmeal.
In this article, we’ll take you through a detailed process on how to thicken breast milk with oatmeal. Read On…
How to Thicken Breast Milk with Oatmeal
The process of thickening breast milk with oatmeal is no rocket science at all. You can pull it off with ease if you’re equipped with the right knowledge.
You don’t have to worry anymore about your baby’s feeding as we will now take you through the whole process of breast milk thickening with oatmeal. Take your time, read carefully and understand well. You’ll be happy you did.
1. Get Uncooked Oats and Blend
This is the very first step you need to take in the whole process. There are different types of oats that you can use for this purpose.
Take your time and find out the type of oat your baby needs before buying. When choosing the oat, always put your baby’s preference, health, allergies, and likes into great consideration.
After getting a suitable oat, what comes next is blending. Pour the uncooked into a blender and blend until it becomes a fine powder. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take a lot of time to do.
The finer the powder, the better it is. Also, you need to be very careful when blending the oats. I’m talking about hygiene here.
Make sure everything you make use of is properly cleaned. Babies react to even the smallest dirt. They are highly sensitive. Do yourself and your baby good by being clean.
2. Express the Breast Milk
This is the next thing you should do after blending the oats to taste. Express the breast milk you would use and keep it safely in a feeding bottle.
Some mothers find it quite easy to express breast milk with ease. But this isn’t the case with some.
A good number of women have struggled and still struggle with expressing enough breast milk for their baby’s nutritional needs. But don’t be too concerned about this. There are several options available for you.
There are certain foods that you can eat to help with better breast milk production. These foods will stimulate your breasts to produce more milk.
Breastfeeding also helps a great deal because it stimulates the breasts to produce more milk. Before you embark on any dietary plan for breast milk production, do your due diligence by consulting with your doctor first.
You know, some diet plans could look so great and still not be healthy or good enough for you and your baby. Breast pumps make the expression a whole lot easier. You can check out some of them here and know the best one for you.
3. Mix
This is the last step of thickening your breast milk with oatmeal. After blending your oats properly and expressing enough breast milk, mix them.
You could mix a cup of oats with half a cup of breast milk. There is no set proportion for you to follow, so you are at liberty to do what suits you. Also, your baby’s preference matters a great deal here.
You could feed your baby a thick meal together and a lighter one tomorrow to truly ascertain what your baby loves. You can always modify the thickness of the mixture to suit your baby’s needs.
Read Also: Foods That Make Breast Milk Taste Bad
Why Use Oatmeal?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parents of children with dysphagia or gastroesophageal reflux, use oatmeal instead of rice cereal to thicken their food to swallow safely or reduce reflux.
Oatmeal is not among the member of the wheat family (i.e. it is gluten-free), so it’s safe for kids that have celiac disease.
Feeding Tips for Parents
- Talk with your baby doctor or feeding expert about the different types of oatmeal cereals on the market and how to use them correctly. The amount of oatmeal you need to add to the breast milk or formula depends on your child’s condition. Make sure you follow the recommendations of your doctor or feeding therapist.
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- If you are mixing oatmeal cereal in pumped breast milk: It is best advised you do it right before your baby feeds. When you mix the oatmeal too soon, the enzyme content in the breast milk breaks down the oatmeal— thereby making it ineffective.
- If you are mixing oatmeal cereal in a formula: It is best advised you do it no more than 20 to 30 minutes before your child will feed.
- If your baby is already drinking from a bottle, you may need to switch to a larger nipple size to allow the oatmeal to flow freely. Nowadays, we have a lot of feeding experts that recommend either using a faster flow nipple or commercially precut, cross-cut nipples which are often provided by the hospital.
- Ensure that your baby is sitting in the right position, improper positioning can affect his or her ease and enjoyment with feeding.
- Ensure you are not overfeeding your baby. If the baby is gaining weight rapidly, but spitting up a lot, try and lower the amount at each feeding. Babies with reflux, for instance, usually perform better with smaller, more frequent meals.
- The commercial thickening agent, avoid using Simply Thick, in any infant. This is because it increases the risk of developing a life-threatening condition known as necrotizing enterocolitis.
Related Posts:
- Best Baby Formula Thickeners
- How To Thicken Baby Formula Without Cereals
- Best Formula For Acid Reflux and Gas
- Formulas That Taste Closest To Breast Milk
Other Frequently Questions
In Place of Oatmeal, What Else Can Be Used In Thickening Breast Milk?
Now we’ve known how to thicken breast milk with oatmeal, we will also like to answer one popular question most mothers ask, which are alternatives to Oatmeal.
Oatmeal is the best cereal to use to make breast milk thicker, but it isn’t the only thing that you can use. White and brown rice are also good alternatives. There is a myriad of others that might suit your baby well.
We advise you to carefully study your baby’s dietary needs before you settle on any of them. Oatmeal is the most popular choice because most babies love it more compared to other ones.
Can Breast Milk and Oatmeal Mixture contain other things?
This is another question that new mothers ask. Yes, you can get creative even with the oatmeal and breast milk mixture.
Let your baby’s taste buds explore different varieties. You could begin by adding fruit purées to the mixture.
A dash of cinnamon is not a bad idea too! While being creative, please do not forget to note your baby’s needs and allergies. You can introduce the fruit purées in small amounts and check how your baby would take them.
How Long Can Breast Milk And Oatmeal Mixture Last?
This is another important question that we have to answer. Now that we know how to thicken breast milk with oatmeal, it is also important that we know how long it lasts.
The breast milk and oatmeal mix can last between two to four days. Its longevity is majorly dependent on how well you can preserve it. You can preserve it in the refrigerator at moderate temperature.
Also, don’t make it last too long. The more it overstays, the less nutritious it becomes. It is for this reason that a lot of mothers prefer to make their baby’s breast milk and oatmeal mix at regular intervals instead of making it in bulk and refrigerating.
Conclusion
Do you see that thickening breast milk with oatmeal is no rocket science at all? Not that you’ve known how to thicken breast milk with oatmeal perfectly, it’s time to make your baby an awesome meal. Enjoy!
