Infant and Allergies

my son has had eczema since 1month of age and is now 3. he struggles with food and environmental sensitivities and allergies (to peanuts, cashews) still. we wanted to go the natural route toward cure and didn't want him to have to be avoiding foods if not necessary so are treating him with homeopathy via a professional. dr. polich is in naperville (www.dupagehomeopathic.com) and has prescribed him a remedy that he can take when he has a breakout or accidentally ingests a nut food that makes him vomit and then get hives. It works faster than benedryl (in 2 minutes), which I prefer not to give anyway, due to the fact that it suppresses the body's reaction. homeopathy works to heal from the inside out. So, it's likely your baby will have this issue for a while. I agree that starting solids too early is not healthy for your baby's digestive tract, which is one of the most immature systems the body has early on. Waiting until it is more developed will help to protect it. And most indications are that w/ skin sensitivities like your baby has, are due to the gut not being able to handle what is passing throught it.

Dr. Polich is giving a free seminar on 5/22 (info is prob. on her homepage) in Naperville in the evening. You can email or call them to sign up if you're interested in attending.
Here's a great newsletter Dr Polich wrote about eczema as an example of how homeopathy helps relieve symptoms and starts on a path toward cure:
www.dupagehomeopathic.com/newsletters/eczema.pdf

I have always heard 6 months and that is what I stuck with because of fear of allergies and sensitivities. I would stay with your gut on this - maybe add a cereal if they need a little more. Most of those are safe with their formulas. Even at 6 months, my oldest some sensitivities. She later grew out of them, but good that you are cautious. You are the mom and know best - you can listen to the doctor, but doesn't mean you have to do.

Don't start them on solids until they are ready. Just because your dr. said it was ok doesn't mean they are ready. You can even wait until they are over 6 months and they will be fine. The Superbaby food book is a very good reasource, as one mom already said. The biggest thing to look for is, do they want your food? If they are under 12 months and growing fine, you shouldn't need to push them until they show interest. Feel free to try things once in a while, but there is no need to rush it. As for the allergies, just start things one a time and make sure you give it a few days before you try another food. My son reacted right away, but especially if there is a food sensitivity versus an allergy, it might take a few days or longer. But, the Superbaby Food book is good about following allergy guidelines. Good luck!

Mollie- I have 7 month old twins. I was skeptical to start them on solids too as recommended by my ped. at 4 months, so I went with what I thought was best for them. Why the rush to start at 6 months? It is recommended by most peds to start solids between 4-6 months. I compromised & started them at 5 months on rice cereal. Do what you are comfortable with. My boys were 3 weeks premature, so I calculated that into the factor when I decided when to start them on solids. I don't have any experience with allergies/soy formula, both my boys are bf. Starting solids is their introduction to learning how to eat off a spoon. At 6 months is when you need to be concerned about them obtaining iron (in bf babies I believe only-since formula contains the needed iron). Most moms are already adding cereal to the formula, in belief that this will fill their belly at night (I'm not a believer in this, but others swear by it-research indicates it does not fill their belly at night though). At 6 months when you start veggies, hopefully, they will have learned how to eat by spoon, & if they don't, don't worry, babies learn quickly. Do what you feel is best! Moms know their babies the most & if it makes you leary to start now, hold off. No need to lose sleep over whether it is at 4 months, 5 months or 6 months! Good luck! It does get easier as the twins get older (trust me, I know, from being a new twin mommy too)! You will find some time to yourself in the next couple months, especially when they hit 6 months mark, things will get easier.

Follow your instinct on when to start solids! The book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron helped me tons. Our son does have allergies and I'm so thankful that I waited on peanut butter - it probably saved his life.

You may want to check out http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com they have some info on that that specifically states that solids not be started until 6 months. It also has lots of good infant food info. I'd also consider a new doc. If you have children showing food sensitivities than it is always better to wait. The only benefit to starting early is about texture, not about nutrition...and there is plenty of time for texture later.

Something that will help with the dry skin patches is Renew Intensive Skin Therapy from Melaleuca. I've been shopping there for almost 4 years as a PC [preferrred customer] and their products are amazing.
http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.productDetail&...

Another thing is you may want to eliminate any products that contain Quarternium-15. If your baby already has dry skin patches, products containing Q15 will most likely make it worst. http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/quaternium-allergy.html

Q-15 is in some Johnson's Baby products, Gerber Grins & Giggles, Equate Baby Wipes, etc.

~M

There is a specific food introduction schedule that starts around 6 months. The reasons why we wait to around that time are they have to be able to hold their heads up and be close to holding themselves up and they start producing more digestive enzymes to handle food. I can assist you with the allergies/ eczema. I'm a Naturopathic Doctor and I have a 6 month old daughter. You can call me at ###-###-#### anytime. I do house calls too.

Hello-

I recommend you check out

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html

I know you are busy so here are the highlights (I hope it's okay to cut and paste as far as copyright. I think since I'm providing a link it is okay.)...

Solids readiness depends on both the maturity of baby’s digestive tract and baby’s developmental readiness for solids. Although the maturity of baby’s digestive system is not something that we can readily observe, research indicates that 6 months appears to be ideal for avoiding the allergies and other health risks of too-early solids. After this point, different babies are ready for solids at different times -- developmental readiness for solids cannot be determined using a calendar. Most babies are developmentally ready for solids somewhere between 6 and 8 months.

Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:
Baby can sit up well without support.
Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Baby is ready and willing to chew.
Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

Hope this helps!