Recently I started my 11 mo old (will be one next week) on wheat, eggs, yogurt. When when I visited my ND for my checkup and told her this, she said to wait until he is 18 mos to introduce these foods because babies digestive system cannot properly break down these foods until the molars cut through. Has anyone else heard this? Has anyone had their child become allergic or sensitive to wheat, eggs or dairy from introducing them to the diet too early? My ND has a degree in Nutrition so I trust her, but my son is very hungry and is not too interested in baby food anymore. I am at a loss on what to offer him without boring him with the same ole mashed bananas, peas, etc. He does love wheat free waffles, but I don't want that to be something he eats every day.
My 2 year old son has dairy and egg allergies which effected what we could feed him when starting foods, but if he could gum it or chew it, he could eat it!
I also don't know what an ND is.... :) I was really conservative about introducing foods that are "risky" in terms of allergies. But many doctors and others say you can start introducing a lot of these foods (yogurt, wheat) before 1 year. Generally, after 1 year it's considered safe to try just about anything, just go slowly. I can understand that without the chewing from molars, the food may not be digested as well (you can tell by just looking at the poop!) But that would simply mean that the child does not get all the nutritional benefit; I don't see why that would provoke allergies. Your ND undoubtedly has some reasons for her approach, but from all that I've read and heard from various Drs, there's no reason to delay until 18 mo unless there's a family history of allergies, or if you've noticed any reactions so far. Remember that there's only so much you're in control of -- some people do tons of things to prevent allergies and their kids are allergic anyway; others take no precautions at all and their kids never have an issue. Personally, I think 11 months is getting a bit old to just be eating mashed bananas, etc. Children's taste preferences appear to be established, or at least greatly influenced, in the first 2 years. I try to give my kiddos all kinds of different flavors and textures (of only healthy things) in the hopes that they'll like a wide variety of foods and thus be healthy eaters. To me, restricting diet until 18 months runs the risk of teaching your child to only like a small range of foods. My 2 cents!
I am one to always wait until later. I didn't introduce peanut butter until J was 2 but found out my friend was already giving it to him. I think the longer parents can wait to introduce things tro kids the better it will be.
In my opinion your child is old enough to be eating "simple" basic table foods. I was using my Pampered Chef Food Chopper on regular food at this age on all my grandkids with very small portions. So, I think it's not the texture of the food but what it is. WIC gives eggs starting at 12 months, bread, peanut butter, cheese, and regular milk too. If the government gives it at that age and they have the best experts available to them to make these decisions then it's okay by me.
Good morning Melissa,
My son is 1, last week. Our pediatrician said to move our son from formula to milk at 1 year and we have introduced scrambled eggs because they are easy to pick up and he refuses to be feed so everything has to be pick-up and bit sized. I think he as has wheat at school. He seems fine. I have never heard the 18 mo about Dairy but I know making sure he doesn't choke on something is a constant concern. Good Luck!
My daughter is allegic to wheat eggs and dairy and we avoided them until she was 18 months old. I do not think that has anything to do with why she is allergic, I just think she is predisposed to allergies. If you have a family history of allergies (any allergies, not just food, but pet and pollen and insect allergies as well) then your child has a greater chance of having a food allergy. Not to mention the fact that you can develop an allergy to almost anything (my daughter is also allergic to nuts and citrus). So to answer your question, if you don 't think you have any genetic predisposition, it probably does not make any difference. Just watch for the signs of an allergic reaction, which are eczema and coughing as well as hives and vomiting. Usually the first reaction is not very serious, but subsequent reactions can be life threatening. If you add foods one at a time and watch for any sign of trouble, you should be okay.
I would suggest introducing the top 8 allergen foods one at a time - our daughter went into shock at 11 months from eating an egg - swelled up, hives head to toe, turned blue. Since then found out she is severely allergic to peanut also. She is 4 now and has almost outgrown the egg allergy. If you introduce one at a time during a few day span and have no problems, then try another, but I say 1 at a time so in case your baby does react, you will better know what triggered the reaction. Food allergies are very serious, and a lot of people don't know how serious they really are - I know I had not a clue until this happened to our daughter. Just my opinion, hope it helps! :)
Silly question.....what is an ND?
We have 2 kids - 3.5 and 22 months. Our pediatrician told us with the first child to withhold the introduction of certain foods because of possible food allergies. His opinion was completely different at our daughter's 1 year birthday last March - the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) had altered their policy in the period of less than 2 years.
I would strongly encourage you to follow the advice of AAP as it is based upon the lastest clinical information/studies. Here's a link to their website discussing it:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddle...
What our pediatrician did say, though, was that food should be provided based upon their ability to chew (steak for a 12 month old probably not a good idea) or a known family history of allergies to a specific food. He also cautioned to offer foods in small quantities to be able to assess if there is an allergic reaction.l
Pretty sure I've given Braeden ALL of those foods and he's 11 months old. I didn't start them all at once of course, but he does eat them all. He refused baby food at 7 months and has been eating soft solids and now crunchies for a while. If you notice an issue stop the foods. Our dr. said try anything but milk and honey and now I even give him milk. He's a happy, healthy guy so I'm not worried about it.
Yogurt is actually a better food to introduce before milk because it doesn't contain the same types of proteins that whole milk has so it's easier for baby to digest. If you have a family history of wheat allergy then sure it's better to wait but if you don't i haven't seen one single thing about waiting till 18 months and having the molars present has nothing to do with it. It sounds as if she is taking a different view toward nutrition (which is fine to each his own) but it's not the current guidelines/recommendations out there. You can certainly offer the egg yolk as the whites is what is commonly considered an allergen. And it offers good fats baby needs. Look for the eggs that have extra omegas. Also, avocado is great for baby, veggies of any kind, fruits, low-sodium cheese (again a different protein composition from whole milk). Check out this site for great info and ideas on what to feed baby.
I hadn't heard 18m. I do know that for the yogurt, you should introduce regular milk or whatever milk you'll be tranistioning to first, to make sure that he doesn't have a milk allergy.
As for eggs. Hmm. I mean is he not supposed to eat birthday cake next week?
I would double check with your pediatrician.
M.
I have not heard of delaying the introduction of these foods past 1 year. 18 months seems like a random number. Children get their teeth at different rates. Of course their digestive system is still developing, but they can still digest these things usually without much trouble.
I have 5 children (from 13 years-old to 5 months old) and with the older ones I gave them soft eggs, wheat and yogurt after they were a year old. Of course, I introduced the foods slowly and their main diet consisted of milk and fruits and vegetables because that is a healthy diet (wheat products tend to be processed). However, none of them have any food allergies and they all had eggs, wheat and yogurt between the age of 1 year and 18 months.
I did exactly what you did with all 3 of my kids and my pediatrician was fine with it, as were my kids. In fact they were all eating peanut butter and strawberry jelly when they were a year old. We have NO history of food allergies in our family though, sometimes that plays a role when they want you to introduce new foods.
I have never heard 18 mos, that is totally a random number in my opinion. I have heard 1, 2 and 3 even, but not 18 mos.
I looked into food allergies quite a bit when I started feeding my now 2 yr old, and from what I could determine, it seems to be a matter of opinion on the doctors part. It seems like every doctor says something different. The guidelines that I have seen most recently say that there doesn't seem to be any difference in occurence of allergies whether you delay some foods or not. I think no one really knows, and they were trying out the "delay" theory, and it didn't really hold up. I chose not to delay any of those things you mentioned. Yogurt? I can't understand delaying all dairy until then, much less the other stuff. How are they supposed to aquire tastes for things? And I really don't understand what the molars have to do with anything allergy related.
Yogurt doesn't have the enzymes that are difficult to break down like regular whole milk does. I waited til a year for the milk, and a little longer on the honey just to be safe (honey is not recommeded because of botulism, not allergies). Everything else I just used the 4 day wait rule, and gave them to him as he was ready for the texture. The only things he wasn't eating by 18 mos were things that were choking hazards, like peanuts. But he had already had peanut butter thinned with yogurt. Did you breastfeed or use traditional formula (not soy or rice, etc)? If so, those are dairy products. So he has already had dairy. There is no way my son would have still eaten baby food at 18 mos, and I wouldn't want him to. He already have food preferences by that time, and I didn't want his preferences to be pureed sweet potatoes. He needs to learn to eat real food.
What is an "ND'? Like all the kiddos in my family , they eat everything. My DD was ten months at Thanksgiving one year and had turkey, dressing, yams, mac n cheese, etc. What makes you think that he is allergic? Have you had tests done? A degree in nutrition doesnt make her a proffesional. Your kiddo is hungry? FEED him!!! You know, he'll be 17 one day...and it wont matter that he had a chicken mcnugget.
My DD has had peanuts, popcorn and scrambled eggs....I, personaly dont think that kids are THAT allergic to foods.
Just MY opinion.
Mag :)
P.S. Kids wont starve themselves. They will eat, whatever you give them, when they are hungry.
Although my son developed egg allergies I am not absolutely sure it is due to him eating them before he was 1 year of age. If I were you I would also consult your pediatrician regarding that. I feel that allergies are more genetic than environmental especially when it comes to food allergies. If you have a major concern about what your ND stated get a second and maybe even a third opinion.
