Many parents are concerned about introducing Allergenic foods to their babies and it is one of the most common questions I get asked in my Weaning Academy and during #WeaningWednesday.
I spoke with Claire Gray, a Paediatric Nurse at the Allergy4All clinic in Dublin, who specialises in allergic reactions in children from 6 months to 16 years of age. We discussed the best time to introduce allergens and what signs you should look out for.
The best advice we can give you is to introduce allergenic foods around 6 months. Yes it can be scary,
peanuts the most feared, but the sooner you do it the sooner you will know.
STEPS FOR INTRODUCING ALLERGENS
- Once you have been weaning for a couple of weeks you can introduce allergens from around 6 months
- Make sure you baby is feeling 100% on the day before you introduce
- Try an egg before peanut butter making sure its boiled or scrambled (cooked well)
- When giving peanut butter add to a fruit or vegetable they are used to. A good example is sweet potato
- Keep allergenic foods in their diet regularly, at least once or twice a week
If your child does have a mild reaction to an allergen head to http://ifan.ie and check out the allergen ladder or head to www.allergy4all.ie for more information.
In my Starting to Wean online course I go into further details including:
- Introducing allergenic foods
- Allergy symptoms and what signs to look for
- Schedule to introduce allergenic foods
- Recipes to introduce allergenic foods
If you are nervous and need a schedule to help you, check out my Staring to Wean course. The course includes access to our Weaning Webinar recording.
