When can babies eat butter?

[DevaMajka]

Not just to eat, obviously but when used as an ingredient.

Is it the same as with any other dairy?

[Abraisme]

Yup, I have never considered butter to be special in any way. My baby has had some residual butter since she started getting dairy (6mo).

[Chamomile Girl]

My kid loves, loves, loves butter. He started eating it at 6mo too. He would eat is straight from the stick if I let him.

[Italiamom]

I think that there are some exceptions with butter. I would check with the ladies in the traditional foods boards, they might have better insight on this...

[Auraji]

I started giving dairies to my DD around 6m when she started eating. She would get yogurt, cheese cubes and butter spread on toast or a bagel.

[Llyra]

The main reasons we withhold dairy in infancy are 1. because of potential allergy to casein, the protein in milk, and 2. to avoid displacing breast milk as the main source of nutrition.

Butter is more than 80% milkfat, and contains almost no casein, and therefore I wouldn't worry a hoot about #1. #2 is only a concern if you're going to offer HUGE amounts of the stuff.

So I'd offer butter at any time, to any baby who's otherwise old enough to eat solid foods. I'd offer good organic butter, and if I could find pastured butter (from grass-fed cows) I'd offer that by preference, because it's richer in fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids than conventional butter is.

[DevaMajka]

Thanks all! This will make it easier to give hime foods that I'm already cooking for myself. For some reason I was thinking dairy should wait! I'm not sure why
I guess because I did an ED of dairy a while back, and just got it in my head "no dairy for ds." He doesn't react to it through me, so hopefully he's fine with it!