Organic Porridges

Every baby gets there at their own pace — at the earliest from the start of the 5th month. Signs of readiness: your baby holds their head up alone, sits with a little support, is interested in food, grabs things and brings them to the mouth, can take food from a spoon and no longer pushes it straight back out with the tongue.

Recommendations differ slightly: some guidelines advise starting at around 6 months, others between about 4 and 6 months depending on the baby. Your pediatrician can help you find the right time.

The classic German weaning plan replaces one milk feed at a time: first a vegetable, potato and meat meal at lunchtime, then a milk and cereal porridge in the evening — such as HiPP Good Night Milk Porridge — and after that a milk-free cereal and fruit porridge in the afternoon, for example HiPP cereal porridge prepared with water and mixed with fruit puree.

Start the evening milk porridge only once the lunch meal is established: babies quickly get used to its mild, sweet taste and may then turn down vegetables.

Lumps form when porridge is stirred into liquid that’s too hot: the starch in the grain then binds with it too quickly. Boil the water, let it cool to about 50 °C (122 °F) and then stir in the porridge, following the preparation instructions for your porridge.

That’s completely natural and harmless. With every spoonful, a little of your baby’s saliva gets back into the bowl, and its enzymes start breaking down the natural grain starch that makes the porridge creamy — so the longer a meal takes, the runnier it gets.

Tip: wipe the spoon briefly with a damp cloth before dipping it back into the porridge.

For many babies, the spoon is a big step, and patience pays off: it can take up to 15 tries before a baby accepts a new food, so keep offering it without pressure. If your baby refuses, take a short break and try the spoon again rather than going straight back to the breast or bottle.

If the refusal continues, wait a few days — teething or a cold can put babies off the spoon, and some simply aren’t ready yet.

HiPP 100% Oats and HiPP 100% Rice are suitable from 5 months. HiPP 5-Grain and the HiPP milk porridges — Good Night Baby Biscuit, Banana Semolina and Oat & Apple, and Gentle Semolina — are suitable from 6 months.

HiPP Good Night Milk Porridge is made as an evening meal. Served as the last meal of the day, it helps keep your baby full and satisfied through the night. It comes in Baby Biscuit, Banana Semolina and Oat & Apple, is rich in iron and calcium and contains no added sugar.

No. Formula powder and HiPP powdered porridges are not sensitive to heat in transit.

At home, store packs dry, out of the sun and below 25 °C (77 °F). In very hot weather you can keep unopened packs in the fridge — but never opened ones, as the powder can get damp there.

HiPP 100% Rice is the gluten-free choice: it is made from organic rice flour only, with no allergens listed.

HiPP 100% Oats and HiPP 5-Grain contain gluten, and the HiPP milk porridges — Good Night Baby Biscuit, Banana Semolina and Oat & Apple, and Gentle Semolina — contain wheat. The allergen list on each product page has the details.

Yes. Once solids start, stools often become firmer and less frequent, and it’s normal for babies to push hard and go red in the face. Digestion usually adjusts within a short time.

What helps: offer a little extra water or tea, a few spoons of fruit as dessert after lunch, and plenty of time to kick and move — gentle tummy massages support digestion too. If the stools stay hard, see your pediatrician.