Did we do solids "wrong"?

[AFWife]

We did BLW. We don't have a pediatrician (military, long story and our choice) I can't STAND all of the baby books (I read the Dr. Sears one at 8 months) but the "What to expect" book made me sick so I tossed it.

Anyway, now a friend on FB is inferring that we did solids wrong. She said something about the 7 big allergens and children under 2 not having corn products. I asked what she was talking about and got a list of things he "shouldn't" have. No wheat before 10 months, no peanuts under 2, no corn products (straight corn is find but nothing processed) under 2, no dairy under 12 months unless my ped clears yogurt at 10 months, no eggs (cooked in stuff is fine but not alone) until 12 months, no shellfish under 12 months....

Here's OUR history: We introduced solids at 6 months. DS liked to suck banana through his mesh feeder but that was about it. We went by HIS schedule. We'd try to give him bites but he always looked at us like WTH and spit it out. Then 9 months rolled around. Suddenly he was offended when you didnt' share bites of dinner. Okay, ready for solids! So, we've just been giving him bites of whatever we're eating. He's 11 months old and has had most of what's on her "no" list. Wheat before 10 months, raw dairy (pasteurized makes him sick even when I eat it but raw has been fine) he's had straight milk and yogurt, corn products (okay, I didn't know that the crackers he loves have HFCS in them...working on that), he doesn't like eggs but he's had them scrambled, and he's had bites of our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...he likes it by the way. We've also never held back on spices unless it was REALLY hot.

She said that because he has a dairy issue he's at risk of developing more issues to foods...

She's mostly mainstream. BF'd until 2 with both her sons. CD'd both sons. But she vaxes on schedule (and is militant about vaxing) and isn't going to have another baby because her doctor told her it would come too fast and she'd have to be induced...yeah...

Thoughts?

[FillingMyQuiver]

Well, all of my kids have had the list of allergen food well before the recommended age and I don't think we did solids "wrong"

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it, as long as you're watching your child for the signs of a food allergy.

There is a school of thought that children shouldn't have grains until they have their first set of molars b/c they don't have the enzymes in their saliva to break the grains down. There's a school of thought that you should only introduce foods one at a time so you can watch for allergic reactions. There are so many different ideas when it comes to food introduction, I don't really think anyone can say 1 is "wrong".

If it works for you, and you're watching your child for allergic reactions, I say just thank her for her advice, remind her you're his parent, and move on.

FTR~ DS2 has food sensitivities. We discovered when he was hospitalized for FTT that he's sensitive to large quantities of soy (I was BFing and had an Odwalla protein drink- not knowing it was completely soy based. 2 days later, the nurses had my try a soy formula w/ DS, he broke out in a rash from it.) DS2 is also sensitive to tomatoes, a few here or there is fine, tomato sauce or pizza or ketchup 1x/wk is okay, too frequently and his eczema flares. He breaks out in a rash from shellfish, too. We discovered that through my dad's tomato sauce that he adds shellfish to.

He tried pb&j, wheat bread, milk, corn, and a whole slew of things before he was 1yo. But I wasn't producing enough milk b/c I was pg at the time and he REFUSED formula, so we were trying to supplement his caloric intake any way we could. I don't think introducing the "allergen" foods to him caused his food sensitivities.

[AFWife]

Yeah, we didn't trial foods one at a time either. I mean, I watch him for reactions...but other than the store bought dairy stuff he's been fine. He hasn't reacted to anything else. We don't have food problems in either side of the family (except lactose intolerance or dairy allergy...we're not sure which) I figured out, on my own and with MDC, that I couldn't have dairy when he was 1 month. *shrugs* I've never thought about it otherwise.


I also can't help but think that her son's food allergies (dairy and soy) were made worse by vaccines...but that's for the other forum!

[blumooned]

If you did it wrong, then so did we! We did it almost exactly like you did.

Here's my understanding of the recommended restrictions (after lots of reading - books & online):
they are more necessary in families that have history of allergies
they are no longer recommended by the AAP

There is also little evidence that delaying the timing of the introduction of complementary foods beyond 4 to 6 months of age prevents the occurrence of atopic disease. At present, there are insufficient data to document a protective effect of any dietary intervention beyond 4 to 6 months of age for the development of atopic disease.

We introduced everything to DS except honey and just kept an eye out for reactions - there have been none!

and isn't going to have another baby because her doctor told her it would come too fast and she'd have to be induced...yeah...

[AFWife]

To the last part:

Yeah, she said she wasn't in labor that long with her last one and the doctor told her that a third would be too fast to make it to the hospital...so she'd have to be induced to make sure she "made it in time"

I've taken most of her advice on BFing and she's the one that gave me all of my BumGenius diapers...

[Abraisme]

Uhm, I think you're perfectly fine. From what I've read it doesn't much matter what age you introduce most foods. Food allergies are more about genetics than timing. I really don't think that most people in our history would have timed the foods that the introduced. I feed my 7mo pretty much anything that I'm eating at this point (no junk food and she must be able to chew it of course).

[alegna]

Sounds like you did fine. I can understand how it's *possible* to keep all those foods from a first baby, but how on earth do you do that for the second and more?

Especially if they LIKE food?

-Angela

[Chamomile Girl]

If it makes you feel better, my pediatrician (in a rare, ungauarded moment) said that all of those guidelines are bunk, and that the new thinking is just give kids what you eat and watch for a reaction (whith the exception of things small enough to be choking hazards).

[Anastasiya]

Tell her you're following this: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

This "allows":

Corn at 10 months
Wheat at 8 months
Dairy at 6 months
Eggs at 8 months

The only things it says are "prohibited" are strawberries, peanuts and shellfish, due to serious allergy problems. However, I've always given my kids peanut butter at around 1 year.

[Peony]

Eh. We do the same thing. DS gets whatever is in the fridge/pantry or what a sister hands to him. I follow none of the rules, I know them because I frequently do talks about how to do solids with BF baby, and the moms love the "rules" but I personally find them worthless.

[NYCVeg]

The thing about allergies is...no one knows what the heck they're talking about. The guidelines change continually--where they used to say that you should delay major allergens, now they're saying the opposite. If you don't have food allergies in your family and/or your LO doesn't show signs of them, do whatever you like.

FWIW, we did everything "right," according to your friend. Dd was EBF, no solids until 6.5 months, no major allergens until >1 year. Dd has severe, life-threatening food allergies and is allergic, in total, to around a dozen foods (that's down from around 20), including many foods she's never even had, except potentially through breastmilk. The pathology of allergens is, IMO, extremely complex, and in dd's case I suspect it was a combination of strong genetic predisposition plus environmental factors. But my point is: you can do everything "right" and still have the poor outcome, and vice versa: so do whatever seems to work for you.

[Abraisme]

Originally Posted by Anastasiya

Tell her you're following this: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

This "allows":

Corn at 10 months
Wheat at 8 months
Dairy at 6 months
Eggs at 8 months

The only things it says are "prohibited" are strawberries, peanuts and shellfish, due to serious allergy problems. However, I've always given my kids peanut butter at around 1 year.

My 7mo has had all of these things, minus shellfish and that's only because we don't eat it much.. She LOVES strawberries and will eat several whole ones at time. I didn't know that I was supposed to hold off on them.. Opps!

[redvlagrl]

We have no allergies in our family and did BLW. DD had everything fromt the get go - dairy (cheese and yogurt), wheat, whole egg, whatever...

I had done some research and there are some studies which show that early introduction of potential allergen can actually be a *protective* factor. DD has no sensitivities whatsoever and eats most foods (not so keen on meat though).

[Astraia]

I tell people that age limits on food are based on old information. There was a thought that the longer you delay certain foods the less likely you are to have an allergic reaction to that food. That's been shown to be FALSE and that delaying any foods past 7 months has no effect on allergies. The big thing, from what I understand, is that if you wait until your kid is 2 to introduce peanut butter and they have a severe reaction they'll be bigger and easier to treat. That's what I've gathered from my reading anyway. A lot of people also confuse sensitivity with allergy. Sensitivity is things like a sore stomach or gas after a certain food, which often passes with age or not eating too much of it. Allergy is what we really care about, and those reactions are much more severe and dangerous .. and from what I understand, rare.

[Blueone]

We started solids around 5.5 months and so far I am not very militant about what is introduced with the exception of wheat/gluten and dairy. I've tried both with him and dairy is always tossed up because his tummy can't handle it and wheat/gluten causes gas and a very fussy baby or has caused major constipation. Celiac's runs in my family. Dairy has always been a problem (we were unable to breastfeed due to problems on my part) so we've been using lactose free formula and are currently testing soy formula out on him because he's started forming a rash on his cheeks again (dairy does that).

Otherwise, don't worry about it. Just enjoy that your child has no allergies so far and is healthy and eating well! I really hope that at least the dairy allergy leaves and that the gluten intolerance passes.

[staceychev]

Good thing your friend doesn't live with in a 3-generation household. We were living with my mom when we were introducing DD1 to solid food, and I'd walk into the kitchen to hear statements like "I just gave her peanut butter and she really loved it!"

[dahlialia]

DD2's first introduction to food was grabbing my smoothie cup and gulping some down. Strawberries and peanut butter included

We just avoid honey, and choking hazards.

[NSmomtobe]

Allergy issues aside, I think peanut butter is also a choking hazard. It should be spread thinly over a cracker or another food and not given by the spoonful.

A first aid enthusiast friend told me that there were 3 things that the Heimlech manouevre will not work on. One was peanut butter and another was marshmallows. I think the third was balloons.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by NSmomtobe

Allergy issues aside, I think peanut butter is also a choking hazard. It should be spread thinly over a cracker or another food and not given by the spoonful.

A first aid enthusiast friend told me that there were 3 things that the Heimlech manouevre will not work on. One was peanut butter and another was marshmallows. I think the third was balloons.

When we gave it we "scooped" a tiny bit on our finger and he "licked" it off...it was more for a taste thing because he was begging for a bite of our pb&j

[askew]

We delayed grains until 9 months, but not for allergy sake, but that babies don't produce the enzyme they need to break down grains until 8-9 months. Everything else they just eat what we eat.