Food Allergies & Introducing Solids

My husband and I both having had food allergies wanted to avoid that for our children so we did a lot of research and found that introdusing solids early would NOT be the best way to avoid this so...we waited until one year to add solids to our first childs diet. He also was growing quite well...he was 10# at birth and was wearing a 2T for his first birthday. We had 11 children and while not all of them made it all the way to a year we went at long as we could. It got harder to be strict with more children and "helpful people". I know this goes against what most doctors are now saying but as we all know the trends change with every generation as far as when to feed our little ones so that shows you that there really is no right and no wrong. As far as baby being interested...they are interested in everything and everything goes in the mouth whether it is animal, vegitable, or mineral so that really is not any indication in my book. I heard that one a lot over all these years of raising children (our youngest is almost 3 and the oldest 22). Our children are very healthy and had no food allergy issues in spite of the allergy issues of us as parents. I hope that is helpful. You have to go on your gut instinks and I hope my experience is of some help to you. I would be happy to anser any specific questions you might have! Best wishes as you make your choices and way to go on the organic food for baby!! YEAH!!!

Sincerely,
K. B

www.shaklee.net/takecontrol

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If he is showing intrest in your food, then he is ready for baby food!! I started both of mine around 4 months old and neither one of them have food allergies. They both had eggs and peanut butter before it was recommened too and no problems there either. There is starting to be more research done on weather withholding baby food till 6mts, not giving them the whole egg before 1yr old and peanut butter before 2yrs is really going to prevent allergies or not. (The peanut butter by 2yrs old is more of a choking hazzard than anything.) But it is believed that if we are going to have food allergies, we are going to have them regaurdless when the food was introduced to us. Especially since you are BFing, what you eat goes into your milk and the baby gets it. So if you eat eggs, the baby gets eggs. A friend of mine son is allergic to eggs and it happed all of a sudden and he was BFd only so go figure. The DRs said he would probably out grow it and they will test him later down the road to see.

Good luck!
S.

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Was in your same boat - my little man was and still is in the 97th percentile for ht and wt - I did the cereal @ 4 mos, b/c he was just starved! It helped A LOT and he loved it - he is now 3 and has zero allergies - eats really well, growing properly etc...go ahead - it will make for a happier little guy!

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I started giving mine cereal at 2 weeks old. The child couldn't get enough! We started introducing solids at 3 months. He likes to eat! He is now almost 2 and no allergies.The only things I havent given him is seafood and honey.

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You are getting a lot of good advice. My daughter is 3 and exclusively breastfed. We were concerned with food allergies because she had eczema. She was over 7 moths old before I gave her any cereal and I was all worried about solid foods and making sure she got enough. I also was going to stop breast feeding at 1 but we kept nursing until she was 2. She is hardly ever sick so I think I did the right thing. Basically you have to go with your gut. Cereal won't make them sleep longer during the night and IMHO a larger, breast fed baby will be hungry more often so trust your gut. You are the only one who knows what is best for your baby. :)

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I exclusively breastfed my daughter, too. When she was about 5 months old, she began to follow my spoon or fork when I was eating. She would also get excited, kick her feet and coo. I bought some rice cereal to see if she would eat it, SHE LOVED IT. I think she was READY to eat. I was concerned at first because my other children did not begin foods until 6 months. But she seemed eager and did not have any problems with the rice cereal. We even began fruits as soon as she did not show any adverse reactions to the cereal. The only problem we encountered was getting too much cereal; she got constipated. She is now 13 months old and has continiued to be a strong eater, enjoys all foods and cant seem to get enough!!! Good Luck.

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My baby is not even two months yet and she has shown interest in what we are eating. I have tried a little cereal mixed with some applesauce and formula and she loved it. She did get angry with me for only giving her a tablespoon full, but other than that she hasnt had any bad reactions or constipation which is more than I could say for formula alone. Im still only ging to give her a litte ever once in a while, but she is really ejying it so far.

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Please listen to your heart and not the dr.! Do the research (I think you already have) and don't be fooled by the fact that he is bright and sees you eating, and thinks it looks like fun! You know what is best for him, and what you're doing is right. I waited to nearly 8 months to try to avoid food allergies and I know that it helped a lot. I had to work hard not to eat those offending foods (ice cream, chocolate) while I was nursing my daughter. She would get infections and perforated eardrums from ME eating those, so imagine if I fed her foods. You are preparing him for a healthy life by providing the best food right now. Hang in there and just smile at those who tell you they know better than you! Also seek out La Leche League and GO. Best thing I ever did. A room full of moms who are nursing is like realizing you DO belong!

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My son, now 5 months old, follows the food to my mouth. I believe all my children did at that age. I did start solids at 4 months old with my older two, but that was because I didn't know any better than just listen to the ped. Now, I start feeding my kids, when *I* want to.

I start off with avacado and not the carbs...rice cereal. Then I'll move on to veggies and fruits.

My oldest two, well, one does have food allergies and the other seasonal allergies. I wouldn't say by feeding them too early, they would develop allergies. But, I would begin feeding them when *you* feel you should. It really isn't recommended to feed a child earlier than 6 months old...although I know many of us do. I'll probably be starting this month sometime when he turns 6 months old.

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My daughter is 8 months old, I introduced solids at 4.5 months old. First, I started feeding her one tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with your milk to an appealing consistency. (My daughter likes her solids thicker).
Gradually increase her solid intake a little more each day until she reaches two tablespoons in 7 days. Then introduce bananas with the cereal, starting at one tablespoon mixed with two tablespoons of cereal and increase bananas until you get to two tablespoons of cereal and two tablespoons of bananas in 7 days. This is a tried and true way of introducing solids, by mixing them together so the baby doesn't only eat her favorites. I did the above and went in this order: cereal, bananas, prunes (or applesauce if her stools are more loose), carrots, green beans, then a meat.

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My pediatrician had me introduce solids at 5 months but he wasn't interested until 6 and he hated rice cereal. If he is still waking up every 2 hours IN THE NIGHT, I think you just have to realize he is not actually hungry but just looking for comfort and you should not feed him just because he cries, especially if he is already big for his age. I was still exclusively breast-feeding at that point too but my boy slept through the night at 3/4 months and ate every 3-4 hours during the day. You may be totally against letting him cry in the night and not indulging him but feeding him too much and letting him get too big will do more damage in the long run (not to mention he isn't getting good, uninterrupted sleep). If you are just talking about the day time, food might be a good idea and 5 months is what a lot of pediatricians recommend.

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