First Foods for Baby Who Has Food Allergies in the Family

E.-

It looks like you have gotten some good advice about foods to try.

I also have feeding issues, in that my nine month old refuses to eat foods, except for crackers and yogurt. And by refuses, I mean regurgitates anything else. No bananas, no applesauce, nothing. My son still wakes up to nurse at midnight, sometimes at 4 am, and then at 6:30 am.

My pediatrician, who I do trust, told me NOT to refuse the night feedings because of his limited diet he probably still needs them. My son sleeps in his crib from 8-midnight, and then comes to bed with us. If you wanted to try to transition to a crib, this might be a way to go, get him used to sleeping in the crib at bedtime, and then just take him to bed, (sleep on the floor, whatever) the first time he wakes up. That way you are dealing with the sleep issues while you are still awake, and not the later ones when all you want to do is sleep.

No doubt he will protest at first, usually the first night is bad, the second night is worse, and the third night even worse, but after that if you stick with it, it gets better.

My pediatrician told me not to get frustrated, to just keep offering the foods, and be patient. Right now my son is chubby and healthy. I was looking forward to weaning at year or so, so I wouldn't have to pump, but will deal with that when we get there.

Good luck.

Many babies dislike baby rice cereal. I would try rice pasta and corn pasta, and make a porridge of rice cooked in chicken broth. How about Quinoa products? I think Quinoa is gluten-free and is very nutritious. Try canned black and red beans, rinsed and served as a soft finger food. Egg yolks are probably the most nutritious thing you can serve and do not cause allergies - only the whites do (unless your child has a severe egg allergy). Buy organic eggs and softboil them to separate the white from the yolk. Serve the yolk with a pinch of sea salt. I would also offer organic yogurt, avocado, cooked organic carrots, pureed or minced turkey, lamb and chicken. Good luck!

Don't worry too much about a couple months from now, you'd be amazed how fast they transition to solid foods. We didn't do a lot of cereals, went to fruits and vegetables, and between 10/11 months to a year my son just really quickly started eating more (from half a jar to 1.5 jars). They're often not that interested in solids at 9 months. Insofar as sleeping through the night, he may be waking up because he's used to nursing, not because he needs to nurse. I've often heard a good tactic is to go walk/rock/cuddle, but try to avoid feeding, and they'll start giving up the night wakings on their own.

Try the Happy Baby Happy Bellies cereals. They also make frozen purees and puffs. My daughter did really well on these when other commercial brands of cereals were bothering her. Also,check out Annabel Karmel cookbooks. She is an English baby/toddler cookbook author who breaks things down better than anyone else I found. Good Luck.

First and foremost, you need to find another peditrician that takes your insurance that you are comfortable with. If you don't trust your pediatrician and he is not meeting your needs, then there is no sense in spending the money on going to see him. Do some research and get some recommendations from others in your area about which pediatrician they like and then go check that ped out to see if he/she will work for you.

As for the allergies, a previous poster mentioned a blood test for a gluten allergy. I think alot of doctor's like to wait a bit before doing those tests but because there is a family history, it may not be a bad idea to go to an allergist and see what they say. Good luck.

you are on the watch for allergies and that is great but be careful that you are not reading too much into him refusing foods. kids do that. and sometimes they puke for no reason. and sometimes they are having a reaction. fun little puzzles to keep you on your toes. some insurance companies will cover a one time nutrition consultant. or even if you pay out of pocket it may be worth the piece of mind.

I know how hard a special diet can be. I have a 7 year old daughter allergic to Wheat, Diary, Soy & Eggs. Another daughter with a sugar intollerancy (natural & processed). If there is a wegman's near you I would go there. I have found so many things that are allegen free. I have also learned to cook things that can be adapted to who is eating it.

looks like you got some good suggestions already. I would just add that you can also give him tofu I think - its soy based which should be ok. I will be honest I don't know much about food allergies but there are a lot of other foods to try out. Also someone mentioned quiona - This is supposed to be a great source of protein and fiber. A friend of my used to make it with ALL kinds of fruits and veggies. She would puree a bunch of stuff together with quiona - her daughter loved it.

I would also try going to the library or book store for cookbooks - there are some great books out there that I had used BUT they were not targeted for babies with allergies.

Good luck!

You should have really listened to your doctor. I know it's hard - especially when they are growing like crazy. I have allergies and come from a family with a lot of environmental and food allergies. My girls also have allergies. They were both well over 1 year old before I started them on solids and we went very, very slowly. My old allergist I had treating me since I was 1 year old. He has since passed away but I found another one - since you are in Herndon it may not be too far for you to go. His name is Dr. Robert Sikora and he is at the Potomac Center in Woodbridge, VA. He is AWESOME! When we started with him he re-tested everyone so he could see how we were doing. My oldest has been on shots since she was 3 and my youngest since before 1. When we met Dr. Sikora my girls were 6 and 10. They are no longer allergic to many of the things they were when they were younger - but I also kept them away from those things when they were younger too. Good luck - I would say the reactions your child is having are due to the allergy but it would be best to consult an Allergist.

I have few a thing or to to share.
First of all this magazine:http://www.livingwithout.com/
AND, I have learned the best for babies is avocado's, and fish, as high protein diet for growing babies!!
Here's a friend of mine website that "might" help you too!
http://happyhealthyliving.wordpress.com/category/food-hea...

God Bless, and I will be praying for you and yours!
P.

What about gluten-free noodles, crackers, gerber yogurt drops. There are whole sections in the store now for these products. You don't say if the dr. you are seeing is a pediatrician or allergist. If its not an allergist, I would consult one and follow his/her recommendation. Also checkt to see how early they can test him. Just because you have the allergy doesn't mean that your child will.

For the sleeping issue... please try to get him into his crib. Place a soft sheet on the crib and just make the commitment that as soon as he doses off, you put him in the crib.
M.

E.,

My only experience with Celiac Disease is I once had an intern who had just been diagnosed with it and I talked to her a lot about it, but I'll try to help! I took a quick look at previous posts, but I hope I'm not repeating. Potatoes came to mind, but I think it's been mentioned. Also, there are lots of gluten-free products out there now. Okay, maybe "lots" is stretching it, but they do exist. Probably most likely to be found at natural food type stores. Some supermarkets may carry them (or start carrying them if you request!). Online and cookbook searches may help even though you probably can't use the recipes right now if you're introducing one food at a time to check for allergies, but a scan of ingredient lists may give you a couple of ideas for new foods to try.

Don't worry if he doesn't eat much of whatever you offer at first. He just needs to practice eating and, as he gets better, he'll eat as much as he needs. For some babies that's a little and for some it's a lot.

I totally agree about conquering one thing at a time. Get comfortable with him eating enough to be satisfied before you deal with the sleep issue (as long as you can live with the sleep issue longer). Once you're more confident that he's getting enough to eat, you'll be ready to hold off on a feeding here or there to try to determine how much is hunger and how much is comfort or habit. It's tough enough making that call in the middle of the night when everyone's tired!

Good luck. I hope you're able to find what you need!
B.

A few comments based on posts - please don't give your baby hotdogs, they are carginogens!!!!! Also, my pediatrician said I could do sweet potatoes and carrots in my home made baby food and when he eats them later as long as I use organic. Since they are root vegetables they have too much nitrogen otherwise. Lastly, a good book for making your own baby food is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, it's excellent and kids generally switch to larger chunks and adult food very easily since they are used to the taste. I agree, even if you have to drive an hour, it is worth it to get a pediatrician you trust! Good luck!!

Avocado is good, as is soft cooked rice, potatoes, soft carrots, and hard boiled egg yolks. Bob's Red Mill is a brand that has a lot of gluten free things. Giant might carry them in a natural foods section. It's been ages since I've been in one (not in NoVA anymore) Whole Foods is another good place to find gluten free foods. Not so much Trader Joe's, but they do have some stuff available. Watch the labels there for stuff processed on shared equipment. Even though the baby rice may not have gluten containing ingredients, it could be processed on shared equipment with gluten containing foods. The sleep upset may be a sign of his gut being irritated/allergy/intolerance. You may want to eliminate gluten from your diet just to be safe. Breastmilk is all baby needs for the first year anyway. The 6 month no solids is a minimum as is the 12 months breastmilk recommendation. Starting solids at this age is more about exploring tastes and textures in the breastfed baby. Veggies and fruits and grains in small amounts are necessary for the formula fed baby because formula doesn't have the micro and phytonutrients your milk provides through your diet. Most of what you're going to find out there on infant nutrition is for formula fed babies as that is what most doctors and nutritionists are taught because it can be easily quantified and measured and has not been the norm for many many years. Also, it's not really considered food issues unless he's not eating regular table foods by 18 months.

My only concern about your post is your cosleeping arrangement. I'm all for sleep sharing, but safely. Air mattresses are just as dangerous as couches and waterbeds. My husband wishes our 18 month old would night wean already, but that's where she gets the bulk of her calories. When my husband and I replaced our mattress a few years ago, we opted for a firm king instead of the queen we were replacing because of anticipating the kids being in the bed with us to night nurse. Mothering.com has a whole forum on the family bed and is a great resource for nightime parenting issues as well as food allergies and intolerance.

Otherwise, it sounds like you have a good handle on things and are very in tune with your baby's needs and cues. You're doing a great job with breastfeeding and watching cues when giving complementary foods. Keep up the good work!

E.,

I am not sure how early your child can be diagnosed, but a blood test can tell whether he has an allergy to gluten. Keep in mind, however, that you may not be able to stick with the conventional route, and unfortunately, paying out of pocket can get expensive.

Below are two pediatric practitioners who offer alternative avenues. They're not in your neck of the woods, but it may be worth a trip for consultation. Also, they can direct you to other practitioners who share the same philosophy.

My friend took her daughter to Heartlight (Dr. Compart) where they tested her for a gluten allergy and discussed how to treat it on a daily basis. Furthermore, there are organic markets - MOMs and ROOTS - which offer a wide selection of gluten-free products.

Best of luck to you and your baby!

Sears Pediatrics
Margaret Sears-DeMenthon, D.O.
6578 Guilford Road
Clarksville, MD 21029
###-###-####
http://www.searspediatrics.com

Heartlight Healing Arts
Pam Compart MD, Elaine Trogdon MD, and Cathleen McGrath MD
Integrative Healing Center with Specialty Services for ADHD and Autism
9145 Guilford Road
Suite 100
Columbia, MD 21046
###-###-####
(877) 641 8472
http://www.heartlighthealingarts.com

Hi E.,

It sounds like your son is waking up hungry in the night. He should be sleeping at least 8 hours through for you at this point. I agree with your first doctor that you shouldn't give him gluten until at least a year. I have also struggled with gluten issues so I have an idea of how hard it is. Here are soome food suggestions:

Potato chunks, peel and cut a potato into chunks the boil the chunks for 45 minutes until they are soft through. Then cut them into smaller chunks easy for your son to pick up and put in his mouth.

Once he gets good at potato chunks you can start in with ground meat. Get ground turkey or beef and cook it in a frying pan until cooked through. Then give him the little chunks. The groud meat is easy for your son to break apart, however I wouldn't give it to him until he is good at eating potato chunks.

Another good food to start with is banana. You can cut it up into chunks and give it to him.

Give your son cut up bits of food every day and every meal before you nurse him or give him purees and he will figure out how to eat it. Even if it is not what he preffers hunger wins out and he will learn how to eat.

Another thing you can feed him is cheese. I would cut up a slice of american cheese into little squares and give it to my son to eat. He loves it.

Really, it sounds like finding starches for his diet is the big sticking point. Veggies and meats are probably not an issue (at least that's what I'm guessing from what you said). Don't discount things like hot dogs (I gave my babies hebrew national since they're the most natural and healthiest), string cheese, cottage cheese with diced or pureed fruit in it, yogurt, diced ham, almost any lunch meat at the grocery store, like bologna etc..

I don't know anything about Gluten intolerance, but you didn't mention corn. Corn is considered a starch and not a vegetable, so maybe you could find a good recipe for him using corn meal instead of flour. I know the corn bread I make does have flour in it, but I'm sure there's a way to make it with just the corn meal. Also, the potatos sound like a good idea, there's a million and one ways those can be prepared from tater tots (which aren't too bad when they're baked instead of fried) to french fries, to scalloped potatos, to mashed potatos etc.. You might also look into POI (Hawaiian root, very starchy, they make rolls and breads out of it.) And about the rice cereal, he may just not like the texture or taste. Maybe give rice one more try in the form of some rice pudding or something, just so you know for sure how he reacts to rice.

That's the best I can offer with no real understanding of gluten intolerance, but these things seem to make sense. Maybe you could make something out of one or two of these ideas.

I don't believe babies NEED solid food until they are one year old. Breastmilk is a perfect complete food. Wait til he starts grabbing your food to eat it. Then he is ready to eat. Feed him what you eat. AF

So, my son has/had TONS of food allergies and we were prepared as much as you can be because I had a lot of food allergies. First food was Beechnut cereal, make sure it's Beechnut or another non-soy formula, Gerber contains soy, which with a history is a common food allergy. I made it with expressed breastmilk. Then when it came time for foods, I made all my own baby food, anything jarred and he broke out in a rash and threw up, doctor said try your own, and it stopped. Nice benefit is if you make your own, they are used to the real taste of food, so they eat a better diet when they get to real food. I made baby food asparagus, Brussels sprouts, spinach, you name it. The only thing you can't make at home is carrots, the carrots you buy at the store shouldn't be used for baby food. As far as fruits go, no berries, they usually are at risk for allergies. If you make your own baby food, just steam/boil the food until soft and then puree, you can put it in freezer trays, if you use the standard ones, each "cube" is 2 oz. Common allergies are soy, milk, wheat, fruits and nuts, so after adding any one food, wait a week before giving any other new food, to make sure no allergy develops, so if you start to notice anything, immediately stop that food to prevent a worse reaction. No soy or milk until a year!! Good luck!!

Hi!
My kids loved avacado and banana mixed together. It's really yummy! Also adding meats into your food processor can work as well, just make sure it's ground!!

As for real foods, my 7 month old daughter eats peas and green beans, plus actual beans, we had navy beans recently and she liked them! I just give her one at a time, and it takes her a while to eat it. I don't try to spoon feed real foods, I just let her go at her own pace.

I never give my babies oatmeal or rice cereal, so that really isn't an issue. Nutritionally speaking the first year is really just practice. But I understand your concern that it's only a few months left til you wean him. You don't have to wean at a year, by the way. The world average for weaning a bf baby is age 4. That being said, I think the US frowns on it after age 2!! Some after age 6 months, but those guys are idiots. LOL!! It's just not socially acceptable so much in the US, but it's still a perfectly nutritionally sound feeding choice!

Sweet potatoes, too. Mix them with pears and put some cinnamon in them! Yummy!

But as long as the veggie or legume is soft, it's worth a try!