any harm done?

[corban's mum]

my DS gave my (just) 4 month old DD a huge chunk of honeydew melon this morning while i was getting dressed.. she was standing up in her walker and he put it on the table part in front of her, i walk in to see her holding it and suck/chewing the heck out of it, no tongue thrusting, just proper gum gum gumming on it and screamed to high heaven when i took it off her (and gentley explained to DS that bubs wasn't old enough for food yet- he just replied that she was staring at him and smacking her lips so he felt bad not giving it to her lol)

obviously 4 months is too young for solids, but ive heard that babies can become allergic to the foods that theyre given before their bellies are "sealed" or something? will she become allergic to melon? or does the fact she wasn't thrusting it out instinctively mean her belly is probably on it's way to sealing and she'll be ok? i know it probably seems like a silly question....

[Llyra]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Obviously it's not the ideal situation, but I can't imagine any harm is done. My DD1 had her first experience of food at about that age, when she grabbed a huge handful of spinach sauteed in lemon and LOTS of garlic off my plate-- she was so fast I never even saw-- and stuffed it into her mouth. As it happened, it was SPINACH, so she gagged and I had to pry it out of her mouth. But she swallowed quite a lot of the sauce.

The real worry about the open gut is in the earliest weeks and months-- remember, 30 or 40 years ago, we were starting babies on solid food as early as two WEEKS old. At four months, lots of babies are showing interest in food, and while we know it's probably best to wait until six months, It's also not the end of the world if they accidentally get a few tastes along the way.

[Knitting Mama]

I don't think a taste will hurt her. I would still wait until she's sitting independently, able to self feed, etc. but a taste is fine, I am sure.

[corban's mum]

im such a worrier sometimes, she seemed to like it, but yeah just hoping not to spark off any allergies etc :s

[P.J.]

No, I would seriously doubt one little bit of melon will cause any harm. Carry on....

[Plummeting]

The current research does not support the idea that giving solids before six months increases allergies to the particular foods given. Besides, babies get exposed to the proteins from the foods you eat in your breast milk anyway.

[sk8boarder15]

I wouldn't worry! But you may have just found a good candidate for one of her first foods!