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When the time comes for your baby to start taking solid foods, oatmeal is one cereal that you can always go to. Talk of a nutritious food that is perfectly suited to your baby’s soft digestive system, oatmeal serves you quite well.
Many parents seem to be bothered about putting their baby’s oatmeal cereal in the refrigerator. So they asked “can you refrigerate baby oatmeal cereal”? Short answer – Yes you can. If you happen to be one of these caring parents, then you’re in the right place, as we offer a balanced answer to your question in this piece of content. So yes, brace up, and stay with us!
Best Oatmeal Cereal for Babies
What makes oatmeal an ideal food for your baby derives from a number of reasons. And these include: high fiber and nutrient contents, soft digestion, prevention of constipation, and a few more. In one sentence, your baby finds in oatmeal cereal, a delicious and system-compatible food.
1. Gerber single-grain oatmeal baby cereal
Gerber single grain oatmeal is one of the few best oatmeal cereals on market, as it comes with:
- Iron to enhance baby’s learning ability
- Tasty nutrition for little ones
- Wholesome ingredients
It is strongly recommended by pediatricians, and offers you and your baby, a both comfortable and exciting feeding experience.
2. Quaker Instant Oatmeal
Quaker instant oatmeal comes with the best of qualities for your baby. And amongst these qualities are:
- Great source of fiber
- 100% whole grains
- 48 packets
- Maple and brown sugar flavour
With a great fiber source, your baby is provided a food that supports his/her peculiar digestive system. You may have a busy day, but Quaker oatmeal ensures that you do not miss out on all the goodness you and your baby deserve.
When To Start Oatmeal Cereal for Babies
Normally, babies can start taking oatmeal cereals at 4 months of age. Although, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the consumption of solid foods by babies, should begin at 6 months. So your baby should be ready for oatmeal cereals from his/her 4th-6th months of life.
Benefits of Oat Cereal
- Oats are excellently nutritious
- They are rich in antioxidants
- They are able to lower cholesterol levels
- They reduce the risk of childhood asthma
- They decrease constipation
- Help to reduce weight
- Oats lower blood sugar
- Offer a lot of vitamins and minerals
Can you refrigerate baby oatmeal cereal?
Refrigerating not only makes it chilled and more delicious, it also helps preserve it from external contaminants. But it doesn’t end there. The refrigeration is contingent on a few conditions.
- You can only refrigerate it for a couple of days
- The food should be tightly sealed
- The texture should be constant
Baby cereal lasts quite longer when refrigerated.
Refrigeration is one way of maintaining hygiene with your baby’s food. So yes, you can, and should give it a shot.
How Long Is Baby Cereal Good For Once Mixed With Breast Milk?
When you mix your baby cereal with breast milk, caution has to be taken. Caution in the sense that, breast milk doesn’t last all that long, and can quickly go bad with the cereal, depending on your environment’s temperature.
Optimally, baby cereals mixed with breast milk rarely lasts beyond 6 hours. If temperature is not really on your side, it may go bad in 2 or 3 hours.
So when you mix breast milk with baby cereal, it takes 6 hours to go bad.
How Long Is Baby Cereal Good For Once Mixed With Water?
As much as baby cereals are great, once opened and mixed with water, there’s a limit to how long it can last. Although, this depends on the relative temperature of your environment, chances are slim that it will last beyond six hours.
If you prepare the cereal with a pre-boiled tap water, though, and keep it in the fridge, you could still have it fresh for 4-5 days, or more.
Water, in itself, is an hygienic substance, and stays preserved for a real stretch of time.
How Long Is Baby Cereal Good For Once Mixed With Formula
It’s another story entirely when you mix baby cereal with formula. We all know baby formula contain ingredients like cow’s milk whey, protein, and carbohydrates. Cereals, on the other hand, come with nutrients and biological vitamins. Hence, the mixture is easily spoilt.
Generally, it stays for nothing less than 2 hours. And like other cereal mixtures, it is dependent on the room temperature.
Can You Store Breast Milk With Rice Cereal?
Rice cereal, like oatmeal, is a solid food for babies. Although, a preponderance of people believe it is not solid, because it easily dissolves. But the fact is that, rice cereal is a solid food.
Now, breast milk is in no way solid. As a matter of fact, for the first six months and thereabout of your baby’s life, breast milk is the only ideal food for her. Ordinarily, it doesn’t make sense to store the two, as their textures are quite different.
But yes, people do add rice cereal to a bottle to achieve a thickened mixture, but this is not completely recommendable.
The only rational ground to store breast milk with rice cereal is, if your baby has acid reflux. But this, in fact, is rare.
So, you normally should not store breast milk with rice cereal.
When To Stop Mixing Cereal With Baby Food?
Your baby starts taking in chopped, diced, or mashed foods when he clocks a year and some months, and this is because his digestive system is getting advanced, as much as his teeth development.
It makes sense that as your baby gets close to his first year birthday, you should stop mixing the baby food with cereal.
Can You Refrigerate Baby Oatmeal Cereal?
Most moms ask “can you refrigerate baby oatmeal cereal?” Yes, you can. Oatmeal is a nutritious food for babies. They are rich in antioxidants and they offer lots of vitamins and minerals too. However, your baby can only take oatmeal cereal from 6 months of age. Examples of good oatmeal cereal for your baby include Gerber single-grain oatmeal baby cereal and Quaker instant oatmeal.