When we were babies, the most common thing was that we drank artificial milk, so when our mothers started giving us cereals, by four months, preparing them was very simple: they threw artificial milk in a bowl, I don't know how many tablespoons of cereals, they gave turned and already had a porridge.
That is why when we now ask our mothers how to prepare a cereal porridge they tell us that it is very easy: milk and cereal powders. However, today not all children drink artificial milk at 4-6 months (they are still the majority, but the percentage is not so high anymore) and many children come to fulfill the recommendation that says babies should drink breast milk exclusively until 6 months of age.
Then, when the baby reaches six months and the mother wants to give her cereals, the big question comes: How do I prepare cereals if I don't get milk? Do I prepare them with cow's milk? Do I make them with artificial milk? With what milk? What if I don't give cereal?
Cereals can be made with breast milk
The first thing a breastfeeding mother should consider is that cereals can be prepared with breast milk. It seems obvious, it seems logical, but I know of many mothers who breastfeed and use artificial milk to make cereals because the pediatrician told him that "now that he begins to take cereals, they are prepared with artificial milk."
With breast milk it costs a little more to get a density of porridge, but it ends up getting more cereal. At the nutritional level it will always be better, logically, than the combination artificial milk + cereals.
Cereals cannot be prepared with cow's milk
As we said a few days ago, cow's milk is not recommended until at least 12 months of age, because of the low iron content, because of the risk of causing bleeding and because they contain many proteins, so cereals, if the baby is between 6 and 12 months old, cannot be prepared with cow's milk.
They can be prepared with artificial milk
Of course, cereals can be prepared with artificial milk, we all know this, but This is a recommendation that should only be given to mothers who give artificial milk to their babies.
Artificial milk, although it is modified cow's milk and therefore adapted for babies to tolerate it, continues to carry many of the components of cow's milk and is therefore potentially allergenic.
If a baby has not tried any dairy derived from cow's milk, it is recommended that don't do it at least until the year, to avoid the risk of allergy. Let's not forget that cow's milk is the food that produces the most allergies up to five years of age for children.
On the other hand, it may be disrespectful to tell a mother that she has chosen breastfeeding as a way of breastfeeding and that she could have even fought against the wind and tide to establish her breastfeeding that now she has to give artificial milk when she can prepare the cereals with her own Milk or even with water.
Cereals can be prepared with water and broth
With water? Many mothers say when you tell them that they can prepare cereals with water. If a child sucks several times during the day and at night and does not depend on a dose to receive the amount of milk he needs more or less, cereals can be prepared perfectly with water.
Without going any further, the first cereals that are offered to a baby are those that do not carry gluten, which are those that carry rice and corn. Adults, when we eat rice, we usually cook it with water, and not with milk (although rice with milk is great - salivating ... -).
When the baby is already six months old and is taking vegetables, we can take advantage of the remaining stock to prepare the cereals. It's not that I'm going to add a lot of nutrients, but it will always carry more than just water. Another thing will be the taste, which will modify it, whether you like it or not.
What if I don't give cereal?
Cereals are a modern invention. In the past there were no boxes with dextrinated or hydrolyzed cereals, so preparing a cereal porridge is something now. This does not mean that it is bad or absurd to give cereals, but that it is not strictly necessary.
If we give cereal, perfect. They are a huge source of calories and are also enriched with iron. If we don't give it, then nothing happens either, many children at six / seven months already take rice, suck cookies and even bread and, as in that age, they also start with meat, because they already have a reliable source of iron. I only gave mine the cereals of the samples that arrived at home, and giving them to them is to offer them to them, another thing is that they ate them.
