I understand that babies are typically introduced to "solid" food (which is really mushy) starting at about six months of age. I've also heard that it's best to introduce one food at a time, two weeks apart, at least in part to identify possible allergens. How important is this? How much does it matter if the baby is introduced to much more than that? Also, how important is it that the food be pureed as opposed to mashed with lumps or such?
Curious George over here...
Thanks, Hatrack! Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
The allergen thing is fairly important. But lumps are okay, provided that they're small and soft enough to swallow.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
There are also certain things a baby should NEVER be given before two years of age: whole grapes, pieces of hotdog that have not been sliced lengthwise; chunks of raw carrot -- these are all choking hazards. A baby younger than one should never, EVER, EVER be given honey. Not even a little bit. And it is generally a bad idea to give a child under age two nuts or chocolate, as they tend to be allergens. Better to wait until age one for citrus, tomatoes, eggs (especially egg yolks), and milk, which are also allergens.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
If you give a baby an allergen (like say nuts) are they more likely to develop that as an allergy or is it just that being little they will have a more severe reaction?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Both.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Thanks, Tom and rivka. You've confirmed some of my suspicions, and gave me some new information.
Unfortunately, I can think of no tactful way to express this to the mother.
It's apparently quite common here, when solid food starts at six months, to start feeding the baby pretty much everything (with the exception of spices). No two week delay for each food. It struck me as so very wrong given everything I'd heard, but wanted to confirm that it wasn't just me going nuts. Or, rather, more nuts. Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
Two weeks between new foods seems a bit long to me. Our doctor said three or four days was enough.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Thanks, scholar. I wasn't sure about the time frame, either.
What I'm seeing here, though, is a bit more than that. The baby started on solid food less than a week ago, and is already eating rice, carrots, beans, chicken, and bread that I've seen.
I'm not going to say anything - it's none of my business, and as I mentioned, there's no tactful way to say this, especially given that it's common in this culture to do what they're doing. I mostly wanted confirmation that I wasn't nuts.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I'd be nervous about the beans and bread. At our preemie infant CPR class (you have to take a special one before they'll discharge the baby from the NICU), the nurse advised against both of them before age 2 because of the choking hazard.
We were also advised to wait on strawberries until age 2 because of potential allergies.
As to whether it'll hurt his digestive tract - that really depends on the baby. Aerin had reflux for a long time and we had to be careful, but she has a pretty strong stomach now. Her 1-year-old cousin, on the other hand, loves to eat hot dogs and lemons and chicken wings. Of course, he weighs 30 pounds and Aerin weighs 27, so he's not a good example of how to feed your baby.
Some babies, particularly preemies, love strongly-flavored and spicy foods. Aerin loves balsamic dressing and cilantro and black pepper
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
What really annoys me is the Gerber stage 2 foods. They have strawberry and citrus. Also, there are a few that have multiple fruits but don't have the individual fruits, so if you want to try that flavor, you'll be introducing two new items. It seems like food specifically designed for children that age should follow the guidelines most pediatricians give out.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
The beans were cut up very very very small - ie, to the size of a grain of rice, so not a choking hazard, I don't think.
I'm just bothered by how enthusiastically people grab whatever food everyone else is eating and feed it to the baby without thought. On the other hand, I'm also relieved that lumps don't matter so much and paste-like is not absolutely essential.
And maybe I'm just paranoid. I dunno.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
why can't you feed babies honey?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Botulism. Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
Food for babies. There is a point when the babe shows interest in the food around him or her. We just stated giving our little fellah a little of whatever we were eating - within limits of course, and well mashed, bashed or smushed for his toothless maw.
No honey, nuts, uncooked meats/fish or other suspect foods, but he loved curry from the outset...
Every child is a law unto themselves, but as long as they are happy and not in any obvious danger, go with the flow.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
Rivka - thanks for the link. I knew honey was on the blacklist, but I wasn't sure why.
You learn a new thing every day!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
My oldest went in for her six-month checkup about a month before Rosh Hashanah, a holiday that tends to feature honey. The pediatrician was VERY emphatic about not giving her even "just a taste" -- partly, he told me, because of the parents who hadn't thought just a tiny taste could hurt the year before.
And whose daughter, thank goodness, did eventually recover from the botulinum poisoning.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
eek, thanks rivka!
eta: I do not at present have, or plan to have, babies Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Two weeks between foods is insane. Unless you have an EXTREME family history of EXTREME allergies and your doctor recommends that approach, introducing a food every 3-4 days is quite sufficient for identifying allergens. Heck, the first line approach for people who are more worried than usual about allergens is to increase to one new food per week, not every 2 weeks. There has to be something weird going on for such a drastic situation. Talk to your doctor about your concerns (if you have any) and to work out a plan.
And frankly, as you get to know your own child you'll figure out to what extent they need all the "rules" applied to them. Some babies get very good at eating very quickly and can, for example, eat grapes whole, eat raising, eat nuts, etc. My son is 21 months old and he eats everything....raw veggies, you name it. He took to eating quickly and well. By 9 months we were done with mushy baby food (except the cereal, which he seemed to like). He would eat modified versions of whatever we ate (either overcooked or cut up really small or both). Having no history of food allergies on either side of the family, we didn't concern ourselves too much with any of the foods they said to stay away from with the exception of honey, which isn't an allergy thing...you need to stay away from that for 1 year. We also waited until 1 year for peanut butter, but only because some say to stay away from it for 3 years. You'll have to use your own judgment.
P.S. No beans or bread? Are you serious? What are toddlers supposed to eat? And how are they going to learn to eat if you never give them even the most basic of basic chewing foods? Toast was one of our first finger foods at about 7 or 8 months!
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
*gives her baby whole grapes* *and apples*
We held off on wheat until almost a year, cow milk until a year, egg until a year (small amounts of yolk at 11 mos. or so), peanuts until 3, other nuts until 2, fish until 1, etc. I have a huge family history of allergies and lactose intolerance, and Emma reacted to zinc (no diaper cream for her) and Bridget reacted to citrus (we are still going very slow about even trace amounts in her food.)
Emma wouldn't eat things with a certain texture. I had to thicken baby food to get her to eat it. She wanted lumps. She was eating curried lentils and rice at 10 months old. Bridey was different. We held off on bold flavors (which she didn't like) until about 14 months, and she is gradually adjusting to the food we eat (although she did always like garlic, being our child.) She ate a lot more baby food (partly 'cause I had less energy to make her things she would eat, partly 'cause we had a little more money, and partly 'cause she liked the texture.)
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
Yeah, I have given Lego whole grapes too. He wanted them, and he never, ever willingly eats fruit. I peeled a grape and cut it in quarters. He wouldn't touch it. He wanted the kind that looked like balls. So I gave him the tiniest one I could find, and he sucked the middle out and spit out the skin. He asked for another.
I felt like a terrible mother, but he was clearly doing fine. I just keep an eye on him when he's having grapes.
I was surprised by beans being a choking hazard too. I mean, baked beans are one of Lego's very favorite foods. It never occurred to me that they might be a choking hazard. They're so small and soft! When you said beans, did you mean larger ones like lima or kidney beans?
Finally, is there any reason Lego should not be eating black olives at 16 months?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Whole olives would be the same risk of choking as grapes -- if you're confident in his chewing them he'll probably be okay, but don't let him eat them when you're not right there with him.
The choking hazard with bread is with big globs of soft white bread -- if the child stuffs the whole slice in his/her mouth it can become a big pasty mass that's easy to choke on. Whole wheat bread or dry toast are less likely to be a problem. Basically anything that turns to playdough when mashed and mixed with spit is bad. You want things that turn to dust or gruel instead -- like teething biscuits.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kama: eta: I do not at present have, or plan to have, babies
So all that talk about wanting to have my babies was a cruel lie?
*weeps*
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
What dkw said about the bread. People eat a lot of rolls and biscuits down here, which is probably why it was on the list. I meant untoasted bread - toast and cracker-like things are fine.
The beans could be a preemie thing. My classes were all in preemie food safety, so it's hard for me to tell what's okay for term babies. Aerin's favorite food is edamame, but she lets me peel and separate it.
It's still hard for me to let Aerin eat anything that's bigger than her pinkie nail.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
I held off on the grapes, popcorn and whole olives for a while. Beans? I have have never failed to cook beans within an inch of their life, and it was a first for all my kids. I have always, always left the spices in. Ironically, the kids I was most careful with have food allergies and the one I fed ganache to at 5 months can eat everything- not that I recommend it, but it's a "just goes to show" thing.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Hmmmm... I hadn't considered baby before. Next time I whip up a new recipe, I'll be sure to include some baby cutlets and perhaps some baby fillet.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
My ten-month-old baby WON'T EAT baby food.
Started refusing it at around seven months, when her second two teeth came in. Sometimes I can get her to eat a little baby food if I spread it on crackers (Ritz for vegetables and meat, graham for fruits). She also likes Yobaby drinkable yogurt, and the regular yobaby yogurt is just about the only thing she's willing to let me feed her with a spoon. So we have had to find finger foods that she can eat, like little pieces of cheese or Cheerios or cantaloupe.
Now she has a cold and refuses to eat anything but watermelon, which she insists on feeding herself. We buy seedless watermelon and cut it into baton-shaped pieces so she can pick it up herself. She makes a huge mess, but that's how she wants to eat, so we let her.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I never fed John baby foods, but he's moved into the "finger foods only" stage now too. I cut all sorts of root vegetables into french-fry sized pieces, toss them with a little olive oil and appropriate spices, and roast them in the oven. The current favorites are yams with just oil & a little salt, turnips with oil & balsamic vinegar, and gold potatoes with garlic, onion salt, & cumin. Carrots with a little lemon juice were also a hit.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
My kids stuff whole pieces of white bread in their mouths occasionally, but usually Em takes bites and Bridey rips pieces off 'cause they've learned it's easier that way. They rarely even start to choke, I never let them eat unattended until they're about 2 or so (and even then only things there's no way they'll choke on), and they figure out about the week after they start finger foods how to gag up things that are choking them. At some point you have to let them learn to eat; I guess I just let them learn earlier than other parents.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Oh, when they are about 5 or 6 months and starting baby foods I also put bananas in the mesh "whole food feeders" and let them gum on it while I feed them. It seems to help them learn to chew.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Hey, everyone, thanks for all your replies and for sharing your experiences. I now know way more about feeding babies solid food than, well, I'll ever need to know.
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