Older babies and watermelon?

[AdInAZ]

Is an 11 month old baby old enough for watermelon? I feel like it would be a great food my ds, but I'm nervous about him being allergic to it since he seems to have an allergy to stawberries. Are those foods in the same family??

[evergreenmom]

oh geez, I didn't even think of that. I gave my 8 mo old watermelon yesterday but in a mesh bag. Hmmm...so far nothing is wrong with her.

Lisa

[mean_jeannie]

No, watermelons are related to cucumbers and pumpkins. I think it is safe.

I have not heard of allergies to any of those vegetables before.

[lactivist]

It was my ds2's first food. He just licked it a little. He was about 4 months and dove onto it when I was eating it. He still loves it to this day. He definitely isn't allergic to it. I have given all my babies watermelon in the first year and no allergies.
Wendi

[Shami]

my 6 month dd loves it

i never heard watermelon was a risky food....yikes

i cut it in long fat french fry shape and she sucks and bites off the end

wish i new how to put a picture here for you

[PatchChild]

DS loves water mellon and has since around 8 months old. No major alergy risks that I know if.

[wombatclay]

Both girls have really enjoyed watermelon.

According to the allergy websites (http://www.acaai.org/public/advice/foods.htm for example), people with certain grass/pollen allergies may react after eating some melons, including watermelon. But it's not linked with strawberries anywhere that I could find!

[Ironica]

Some kids do pee like crazy after eating watermelon. It's a well-known phenomenon for the EC crowd. ;-)

You can be allergic to *anything*, but watermelon isn't a special risk.

[Llyra]

I think watermelon is perfect for an 11 month old, and I hope he enjoys it. Yum! My kids all ate it by about 8 months; it's one of the first fruits I introduce, since I've found that it's easy for them to gum down.

[~Katie~]

My 8 month old DS eats it all the time, we buy small seedless watermelons for him and just cut it up into little slices that he can hold onto.

[lizabird]

My kids have both loved watermelon from a fairly early age.

Yes, watermelons are melons and some people can be allergic to melons, but generally it's not something you really need to worry about unless, perhaps, you have a melon allergy then there's probably greater risk.

FWIW, my aunt is allergic to cucumbers and melons and she has a severe hives reaction almost immediately if she ingests any cuke/melon. She has unusually severe allergies, though.

[AdInAZ]

Thanks for the advice! I sliced a little triangle wedge for him and he loved it! His favorite part was gnawing on the rind as he is teething now. I finally took him out of the highchair one and a half hours later (!!!!). And he was mad that I took his rind away. I figured he had better crawl around a play some before his next meal.

[fruitful womb]

Originally Posted by AdInAZ

Thanks for the advice! I sliced a little triangle wedge for him and he loved it! His favorite part was gnawing on the rind as he is teething now. I finally took him out of the highchair one and a half hours later (!!!!). And he was mad that I took his rind away. I figured he had better crawl around a play some before his next meal.

That is so funny. ! Before I had kids I saw a 5 month old baby on the floor playing with a watermelon rind. It was too cute.

I've heard, that watermelon contains natural SPFs to protect the human skin from harmful sun rays. Here is a site I found that has pretty good information about watermelons.