Babies and Solid Foods

T

TXHookem

1,000+ Posts
Our 6 1/2 month old started eating solids 2 months ago... he's a big boy with a hearty appetite. So far, we've introduce him to the following:

Rice Cereal
Bananas
Apples
Pears
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower

He's to the point when I can start introducing more interesting foods, spices and other ingredients. Our pediatrician has given us the go-ahead. However, I'm frustrated by the 3 day rule about introducing foods. Now, I know it's important so I'm going to follow it. However, does that rule apply to things like olive oil or pepper, etc... you know, basic ingredients that go into making a dish. For ex: let's say I want to give him guacamole (probably without the japs), do I have to intro him to avocado.... wait 3 days... tomato... wait 3 days... onion... citrus... wait 3 days... and so forth? I feel like it will take forever to introduce him to spices like cinnamon, herbs like basil, etc.

Today will be full fat yogurt... yum!
 
3 day rule is important to follow. Food allergies are very common in young kids, and trust me, its not fun to deal with. Not only are you dealing with a crying/fussy baby all day long, but htey get stuff like diaper rash, generalized skin rash, diarrhea with blood in it, nausea, vomiting, etc. you get the picture

The 3 day rule allows you to determine which food is causing the allergy. If you throw them at him all at once, you wont know what the offending agent is.

There's no need to rush a solid food diet. Its not a totally benign thing. Many kids do great with no solids until after they are 1 year old. There's no evidence that introducing kids to solid foods before 12 months improves nutrition, growth, development, etc
 
Agreed although his pediatrician said we should really get him going on the solid food diet - in fact, he loves solid foods and still takes about 24 oz of formula a day.

I'll just have to take it one ingredient at a time... kind of slow but what can you do?
 
i think that 3 day rule is BS. If there turns out to be a problem, you can re-analyze once you know you have a problem.

i dont think food allergies are as common as some people will lead you to believe.

our kids never ate baby food - they went from bottles to table food in about 3 days. just make sure you give them small pieces.
 
the other thing to consider is that if your kid does have an allergy its probably going to show up a lot quicker than 3 days. probably in a matter of hours.

a lot happens to a kid in 3 days. the whole process of introducing one item every 3 days is very poorly controlled. If there is an allergy, you will have to test it again at least a couple times to be certain that ingredient X is what they are actually reacting to.

My wife has a friend who thought her kid was allergic to bottled water b/c she had diahrea the day after the kid first had some Ozarka. the reality was the kid just got sick the same day as she drank the water, but that didnt stop the mom from annoying the **** out of me for months asking if "that water is tap or bottled"

without a family history, i would be inclined to follow your physicians advice and not overreact.

FYI i am not a MD
 
brandon do you have kids? It's easy to be a purist when you aren't in the thick of things.

IMO, the 3 day rule is BS unless you have familiy history or some such.
 
That's what I'm thinking . I might try to call his pediatrician today and just get some insight from him. He's reasonable and knows when to be flexible on some "rules" based on each child. I can't imagine having to wait for 3 days to add freakin' cinnamon to his apples and then 3 days to use olive oil before I can make him tomatoes 3 days later (!?).
brickwall.gif
 
Every parent has to do things their own way, and I try not to ever judge, but on this one I agree with Brandon87 (proving once again that what happens on the West Mall stays on the West Mall).

When my daughter went into anaphylaxis, I was glad we knew what did it.
 
Call your doctor. Plus, the AAP and about everyone else will tell you that the forumla or breast milk should still maintain as the primary source of nutrition until about 12 months of age.

So what if 5% of people have a food allergy. That number is nebulous because allergies happen on a scale and I can guarantee I could find a food allergy in about 100% of you.

It's the severe ones you have to worry about. You also want to consult your doc on what foods to avoid until later. Shellfish and peanut allergies are a ***** and you don't usually outgrow them. I recommend parents avoid those products in kids until at least 2 if not 3.
 
I left them a voice mail to ask in more detail. When we talked during his 6 month check-up, he made it sound like just about anything is now doable, save for the obvious... peanuts, milk, eggs, etc.

His meals are typically as follows... start with solids (ex: this morning he had some yogurt and some banana) and then top it off with formula - typically a 6 oz bottle. That's the routine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At 4:00, he gets his afternoon snack - an 8 oz. bottle of formula. So, he is still at about 20-26 oz. of formula a day plus the solids.

We started him on solids (with the green light from his pediatrician) at 4 months because he was ready - doubled his birth weight, was "eyeing" our food constantly, could hold his head up, etc. He's always been ahead of the curve when it comes to eating, sleeping, etc. We've been really really blessed with this guy.
 
Bozo-

I'm sure that was terrifying but it furthers my point that there are about 5 things you really need to worry about (really just 2).

nut allergies and shellfish allergies are serious business. i may be completely wrong, but is it even a remote possibility that a child could have an anaphalactic reaction to something obscure like avocado or potatoes or spinach?
 
It's pretty simple... growing up in Italy and talking to Italians who have had babies, I know children are exposed to all kinds of foods... what's the benefit? Fewer picky babies and the ability to feed your children the same food you eat and not the same old chicken nuggets and fries. I want our child to have a balanced diet and he has the propensity to enjoy all kinds of foods and learning to enjoy different flavors and textures.

...and we talked to our pediatrician. He said that there are times that the rules can be bent because they're not practical. For ex: he's never had a patient with an allergic reaction to spices. So, if I know he enjoys apples (which he does) and I can spice things up by introducing cinnamon or ginger, why not?
 
It's just food. Good grief. People have been feeding their babies for centuries. We've given pediatricians way too much power/responsibility for raising our kids these days.
 
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